Giardia:  The new enemy of both you and your pet

What are the signs of Giardia in your pet?

Diarrhea is the most common sign. It may be slight in the early case and more severe and chronic in the long-term cases.  The overall prevalence of Giardia in dogs in North America is about 8%, with much higher levels in puppies (36-50%) and up to 100% in shelter and kennel animals.  The prevalence in cats is much lower (about 4%).  It is most common in pets under 3 years of age.

How do we control Giardia in our pets?  To date, no drug by itself, has been shown to be 100% effective. 

Four step procedure to controlling Giardia: 

    1.  Decontaminating environment, with the use of organic chlorine products

2.     Using antiparasitic medication to treat animals

3.     Cleaning cysts from your pet’s coat, by washing the rectal area daily.

3.     Preventing reintroduction of infection with the new Giardia vaccine

If you have concerns about this parasite, please contact your doctor. 

Summer 2006 Hot Topic

Allergies

Allergies!  Yes, many of us do suffer from them - sneezing, runny nose, coughing and headaches.  This is the worst season of all for them.  Some of you may not know, but your animals may also be feeling effects of allergies, though their symptoms are often very different from ours. 

Dogs and cats do suffer from allergies too (Atopic Dermatitis).  Though they can show similar signs as we do (coughing, sneezing, runny nose), the most common symptoms that they show are chewing at the feet, scratching, chronic or recurrent ear infections, and skin problems.  Like us, these problems cause a lot of discomfort.  

Though sometimes there can be one main allergen causing the symptoms, it is more common that multiple allergens are the problem.  The sources of allergens typically come from the environment and/or the food.  The more common environmental allergens are tree, grass, and weed pollens, molds, dust, dust mites, and flea bites. 

In the past, the options for treating allergies were extremely limited, often leading to chronic steroid use to alleviate the symptoms, which unfortunately often lead to long-term side effects.  Luckily, now we have more options available to us.  Treating allergies is often dealt with at multiple levels – treating the environmental and the food allergies.  We have many hypoallergenic diets to choose from to rule-out food as a source of allergies.  To treat the environmental allergies, we can test what the animal is allergic to with a simple blood test.  This will help us fine-tune our treatments, or even sometimes eliminate the allergen from the environment. 

With the allergy test results, we can have serum made up to give allergy injections just like they do with humans.  These injections are given to help desensitize the animal from the allergens in the environment when we are unable to remove the insulting agent (i.e. pollens, molds, dust mites). 

We also have various medications available which can help decrease the body’s immune response to the allergens in the environment.  Most of these medications have been proven extremely safe, and very effective to make our furry friends comfortable through these very itchy seasons.  Norvartis has a website which reviews allergies in animals and discusses their product Atopica (www.us.atopica.com).

We at Syosset Animal Hospital will continue to stay on the forefront of this ongoing battle so we can offer the most up-to-date treatment options available.  If you think your pet may suffer from allergies, please call to schedule an appointment with one of our Doctors so we can discuss what options would be best to help alleviate some of these very uncomfortable symptoms.

Spring 2006 Hot Topic

Feline Bartonella and Human Cat Scratch Disease

Bartonella is a bacterium that affects cats and dogs, as well as humans.  This is a very important topic because, as veterinarians, we not only do our best to treat and protect our animal patients, but we also do our best to educate their human owners on how to live safely with their pets.  Infected cats can be healthy (asymptomatic), or show various degrees of inflammatory disease.  It has been reported that about 20% of healthy cats in the United States are infected carriers.  At this time, there is not much research regarding Bartonella infection in our canine friends.

There are multiple strains of Bartonella that cats can carry.  The bacteria are transmitted between cats by fleas and ticks, and through biting and scratching during fights.  Most infected cats are healthy carriers and the disease will go unnoticed by their owners.  Those cats that do develop symptoms generally develop inflammatory symptoms secondary to the bacteria adhering to capillary walls (in the small blood vessels).  Bartonella can affect many systems in the bodies of cats causing oral disease, respiratory disease, ocular disease, intestinal disease, heart disease, liver disease, dermatological disease, and can cause enlarged lymph nodes and fevers of unknown origin.  Treatment for cats entails antibiotics for at least 3 weeks.

Whether our infected feline friends are asymptomatic or showing symptoms of disease, they are always a risk to the family members living with them while carrying the disease.  The bacteria can be spread to people via cat scratches and bites, contact with fur, and possibly by infected fleas and ticks.  Although most infected people do not become ill, Bartonella, transmitted from cats, can cause numerous human diseases.  The most common human disease is Cat Scratch Disease.  More than 22,000 cases a year occur in humans.  Symptoms include swollen painful lymph nodes, which can abscess and rupture.  Sometimes internal organ involvement can occur.  Treatment usually includes a coarse of antibiotics.  Other diseases in people include Bacillary Angiomatosis (a skin condition), Fever of Unknown Origin, heart diseases, eye diseases, neurological disorders, muskuloskeletal diseases, inflammatory bowel disease, mononucleosis-like syndrome, lung diseases, and co-infection with Lyme disease.

Here at Syosset Animal Hospital, we are dedicated to keeping your pets and family healthy.  We test regularly for Bartonella in cats and will continue to do so as long as it poses as a threat to animals and to their owners.  The test is a simple test to run, requiring a few drops of blood.  We regularly test all new kittens, all cats with a history of flea infestations, and all cats showing possible symptoms of infection (conjunctivitis, gingivitis, chronic rhinitis, et al).  It is also especially important to test cats that live with young children or with people who are immunosuppressed (i.e. Chemotherapy patients, organ transplant recipients, or infected with HIV).  Cats that do come up positive are treated and retested in 6 months with a Bartonella titration test.  This will determine whether or not there was an appropriate response to the treatment. 

Our veterinarians or staff would be very happy to answer any questions or concerns you may have.  Please also feel free to learn more at the following web sites:  www.cdc.gov/healthypets and www.natvetlab.com.If you have questions regarding your health or your children’s health not directly related to your animal, please call your human physician or pediatrician.

Winter 2005 Hot Topic    

Canine Influenza

The canine influenza virus has been getting much attention in the public eye recently.   This article will educate you on this new disease and hopefully clarify some of the inconsistencies that have been reported by our press.  The canine influenza virus was initially identified in racing greyhounds in 2004.  More recently, the virus has been identified in pet dogs in various states throughout the country, including New York. 

The canine influenza virus is a new pathogen of dogs.  It is believed to have jumped species from horses to dogs.  Because the virus is so similar to the one found in horses, and there is no evidence of transmission from horses to humans (in over 40 years of the equine disease), it is not believed that the virus has the potential to transmit to humans. 

The virus spreads most easily where numbers of dogs are kept in close proximity, such as racetracks, boarding kennels, dog parks, and doggie day care facilities.  The incubation period is 2-5 days.  Unlike the flu in humans, there does not appear to be a flu season in dogs.  Because the disease is new, there will be no natural immunity.  Therefore, most dogs exposed will get infected, though not all infected dogs will develop clinical symptoms.

Studies show that about 20% of exposed dogs will develop an immune response without showing any clinical signs.  Most dogs that contract the virus will develop symptoms such as fever, runny nose, and a cough.  Unfortunately, many of these symptoms can also be seen in dogs with “kennel cough”, commonly caused by Bordetella bronchiseptica infection.  This presents a challenge for the veterinarian to differentiate between the two.  Both canine influenza and kennel cough can progress into a secondary bacterial pneumonia – which can be life threatening.  A small percentage of dogs infected with the canine influenza virus (about 5%) can develop an acute hemorrhagic pneumonia, which can be fatal. 

The diagnosis of a canine influenza infection at this time can be done by detecting antibodies to the virus through a blood sample sent to Cornell University.  This test takes time to get results.  A more convenient rapid test is being worked on. 

Treatment of this disease would likely include fluid therapy, antibiotics to prevent secondary bacterial infections, and sometimes may include antiviral agents.  Most cases that do develop clinical signs reportedly do recover fully. 

A vaccine is not currently available against the canine influenza virus to help prevent the disease, but research is underway.  The best way to prevent the disease would be to avoid exposure to dogs exhibiting the symptoms of the flu virus (coughing, sneezing, nasal discharge).  At Syosset Animal Hospital, we have always, and will continue to make sure that any animal with these respiratory symptoms in our care will be place in our isolation ward, away from any other animals.  We will also make a concerted effort to prevent exposure in the waiting room, by having animals showing respiratory signs wait in the car and go directly into an examination room.  Our healthy boarding animals and our surgical and ICU cases are always kept separate from potentially contagious animals.

We at Syosset Animal Hospital are dedicated to stay on top this situation so we can make sure to treat, and more importantly prevent, the spread of this new disease.  Please feel free to contact us via phone, e-mail, or stopping by if you have any further questions or concerns.