Volume 3, Spring
Keeping “Bugs” at Bay! Might it be Mange? Purrfect Solutions: Problem Urination Deadly Heartworms… Is your dog protected? A New Concern – Canine Influenza
Contents An Ounce of Prevention: How to Control Those Fleas & Ticks / 2 Red Mange May Be the Culprit! / 4 Problem Urination in Cats / 6 Heartworms & Your Dog: What You Need to Know / 8
Pet Quarterly® is an educational resource provided by your veterinary hospital. It is published by Educational Concepts, LLC, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Comments are welcome at info@petquarterly.com
©Copyright 2006. All rights reserved. Pet Quarterly® magazine does not make any representations as to opinions or facts as presented. Reproduction of contents in any form is prohibited without prior written permission of the publisher.
Influenza in Dogs: Should I Be Worried? / 11 spring, volume 3
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An Ounce of Prevention:
HOW TO CONTROL THOSE FLEAS & TICKS By Karen A. Moriello, DVM, DACVD
Benjamin Franklin coined the phrase, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” in an article he wrote about firefighting. His point was simple: It’s easier to prevent fires than to extinguish them. The same is true of flea and tick problems. It has been estimated that for every 6 fleas you see, there are 300 you don’t see. Even if you never see fleas or ticks on your pet, that doesn’t mean they aren’t there. Biting, Blood Loss, & Disease
Facts on Fleas
• Even pets showing no signs of flea infestation may have a problem. • Fleas can transmit intestinal parasites (tapeworms), the bacteria associated with plague, and the bacterium Bartonella henselae that causes cat scratch fever. • Flea infestation and flea allergy dermatitis are the most common skin diseases of dogs and cats. • Flea control requires treatment of the pet, the home, and the yard. • Consult your veterinarian if you suspect a flea infestation.
The Take on Ticks
• In addition to Lyme disease, ticks can cause paralysis and can transmit ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, tularemia, and St. Louis encephalitis. • Like fleas, ticks can trigger hypersensitivity reactions. • Never remove a tick with your bare hands. • Consult your veterinarian if you notice any type of reaction in an area where a tick has been removed.
Fleas and ticks are not “just a nuisance.” At the very least, bites can cause pain and local irritation. They weaken or can even kill animals through blood loss. Young, old, and debilitated animals suffer the most. Both fleas and ticks can also trigger hypersensitivity reactions. For flea allergic animals, severe itching with secondary hair loss and skin infection can result from just a few bites. Flea infestation and flea allergy dermatitis are the most common skin diseases of dogs and cats. Skin lumps are common findings at the site of previous tick attachments. These bite reactions can mimic the early onset of benign or malignant skin tumors. Fleas can transmit intestinal parasites (tapeworms), the bacteria associated with plague, and the bacterium (Bartonella henselae) that causes cat scratch fever. Ticks can cause paralysis and can transmit ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, tularemia, St. Louis encephalitis, and of course Lyme disease. Flea & Tick Control Made Simple If a flea or tick infestation is suspected, a veterinarian should be consulted, and the infestation should be documented in the event that the pet contracts a disease transmitted by fleas or ticks. Severe infestation may also require additional veterinary therapy to alleviate itching or to treat for secondary skin infections. Flea allergic animals require special veterinary care. Flea control requires treatment of the pet (adult fleas prefer to stay on the pet), the home, and the yard (immature stages are found in these locations). Removing Parasites
• Flea shampoos are ineffective as sole flea and tick control measures. Flea combs can be used to remove fleas but may only remove 10% to 50%. • Ticks should never be removed with bare hands. They can be safely removed by grasping the tick’s head and pulling pet quarterly
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steadily away from the animal. Drop ticks in a vial of rubbing alcohol or flush them down the toilet. • Reactions at the tick bite site are common. Immune reactions result in firm, hard, small masses that are not painful. If the site is warm to the touch, tender, and/or oozing, consult your veterinarian. Applying Control Products
• Treat all pets in the house. • If you have both cats and dogs, use only products labeled as safe for both to prevent accidental poisonings. • Use newer products that require only once-a-month application (e.g., Frontline®); the simpler the regimen, the easier it is to maintain the control program. • Don’t depend on flea and tick collars. • Follow label instructions carefully. • Use a product that targets both adults and juvenile stages. Treat year-round. Treating the Home
• If people are being bitten by fleas or if there is an obvious infestation of ticks in your home, contact your veterinarian immediately. • When treating indoors, target areas frequented by pets. • Routinely wash the pet’s bedding in hot water and dry it on the “hot” setting. • Routinely vacuum to remove flea eggs and stimulate new adults to hatch. Steam cleaning is even more effective than vacuuming. • Effective environmental products are available from your veterinarian. Use foggers in vacant rooms and environmental sprays in rooms with furniture. • Restrict pets from areas that are hard to treat. • Remove fish, birds, and other small mammals from areas being treated. • Follow label instructions carefully! Keep products away from children. Treating the Yard
• Target where the pet spends time and shady, humid areas. • Spraying the entire yard is wasteful and unnecessarily spreads a toxic substance.
Does My Pet Have Fleas?
One female flea can lay up to 600 eggs; therefore, long-term control is needed. Courtesy Merial
• Keep dog runs clear of mulch and wood chips. • For both fleas and ticks, keep the grass short. This limits ticks’ ability to climb on tall grass and exposes the ground to rainfall that may drown fleas and destroy the food supply for larvae. • Remove mulch, grass, and weeds from areas under decks. • Do not feed stray cats, raccoons, opossums, or other mammals near your house—they are flea reservoirs. • Spray the yard with water to reduce flea populations. • Maintain a gravel border between wooded areas and lawns. What Product Is Most Effective? Products vary in effectiveness, and there are regional differences in product effectiveness. Given the cost of flea and tick control and the importance to do it right, talk to your veterinarian to find out what product is best for your pet and your family. In general, over-the-counter products do not work as well as products obtained from your veterinarian. n
• The best way to monitor for fleas is to examine pets every week. • If family members are complaining of small, red, itchy bumps, especially around the ankles, you may have a flea problem. • Signs of fleas in pets are itching, biting, and corn cob nibbling. Cats will often overgroom. • Some animals are oblivious to fleas and their bites; just because you don’t see your pet biting or scratching doesn’t mean they’re not there.
Does My Pet Have Ticks?
• Tick monitoring is best done while petting your pet. Feel for small bumps or lumps. • Pay special attention to the head and back, even though ticks may attach anywhere. • Check pets daily during tick season.
Red Mange May Be the Culprit! By Patricia D. White, DVM, MS, DACVD
Demodicosis, also called “red mange,” is a skin condition caused by a tiny mite that lives normally in small numbers around the hair roots of all mammals. The mite, Demodex canis, is not considered to be contagious, so healthy people and pets coming in contact with a pet with demodicosis cannot “catch it.” The mite is not visible to the naked eye—only your veterinarian can identify it by examining samples under a microscope. Your veterinarian will look for an 8-legged adult organism with a unique, long, tubular body. Eggs and larvae may also be identified on scrapings (Figure 1). All normal, healthy dogs have small numbers of these mites in their skin. When your veterinarian diagnoses demodicosis as the cause of a skin condition, it usually signals
that your pet’s immune system has become less able to fight disease. Why this happens is not known; however, a variety of genetic, immunologic, environmental, or skin conditions can cause the disease. Types & Signs of Demodicosis There are two broad forms of the disease—localized and generalized. The localized form is common in puppies (usually three months and older) and shows up as one or more patches of hair loss and mild scaling of the skin. Lesions first occur on the face and front legs. The areas are not itchy, but the skin may take on a characteristic pink hue (Figure 2). These focal or localized conditions may spontaneously clear up as the immune system matures.
What You Should Know • Red mange is caused by a tiny mite that normally lives in small numbers around the hair roots of all mammals. • This type of mange is not contagious; an affected animal cannot “give it” to another animal. • The tendency to develop demodicosis can be passed on to offspring in the genes; dogs diagnosed with generalized demodicosis should not be used for breeding.
Veterinary Help • The diagnosis is made by your veterinarian; samples are taken by scraping the skin and looking for the mite under a microscope. • If your pet has generalized demodicosis, your veterinarian will want to perform additional tests to determine the underlying cause. • An affected animal with generalized disease should be spayed or castrated.
Generalized disease (where most of the body and/or the feet are involved) is further classified into juvenile-onset disease (beginning at less than 18 months of age [Figure 3]) and adult-onset disease. Affected skin may become darker and thicker, with open sores and/or ulcers from an accompanying severe bacterial skin infection (Figure 4). Lesions can occur anywhere on the body, including the feet, and severe pododermatitis (foot infection) is not uncommon (Figure 5). Skin infections due to damage by the mite are common and may become so severe that a dog will develop severe swelling, ulcers, and fever. If the mother or father has generalized demodicosis, then the pups are more likely to develop the disease (known as a “genetic predisposition”). In such cases, affected animals should not be bred. Normal stresses on the body, such as heat cycles, pregnancy, or whelping, can cause an outbreak of the condition, so most veterinarians recommend castrating or spaying as soon as the disease is controlled. Generalized demodicosis also tends to occur more often in purebred dogs. Treatment Treatment depends on the patient’s age and disease severity. In the localized form, the dog may heal on its own and treatment may not be needed. If the pet is to be bred, it is important to watch for a worsening of the condition or spread to other areas. If this occurs, the animal should not be bred and your veteripet quarterly
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narian will recommend one of the treatments below. Young dogs with generalized disease should be evaluated for internal parasites (worms), nutritional status, and environmental stresses. These conditions should be treated as needed in addition to treatment for the mites. Adultonset generalized demodicosis usually occurs in senior dogs. It may develop from use of drugs that hamper the immune system (such as prednisone or chemotherapy drugs), but usually signals the presence of underlying disease, such as Cushing’s disease, hypothyroidism, diabetes, or cancer. Dogs with generalized demodicosis may require intensive treatment with amitraz (Mitaban®) dips or with an oral medication. If a skin infection is present, antibiotics will also be prescribed. Whole-body clipping is required so that the dip solution can reach the mite down at the hair root. Side affects of amitraz are not uncommon, especially in small dogs, and include sedation, decrease in body temperature, loss of appetite, vomiting, and diarrhea. Dips are usually applied either weekly or every other week. If no severe side effects are seen, dips are continued for at least eight treatments and until repeated skin scrapings reveal no mites. Scrapings should be done every 2 to 4 weeks to evaluate response. Amitraz is the only treatment that the FDA has approved for this disease. Some dogs are very sensitive to this agent, but others do not respond even after months of therapy. For these animals, extralabel (i.e., not approved by the FDA) oral spring, volume 3
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1: Red mange mite life stages: Adult, larva, and eggs; 2: Localized form of demodicosis; 3: Pug puppies with juvenile-onset generalized disease; 4: Dog with severe adult-onset generalized disease; 5: Pododermatitis resulting from generalized disease
agents to kill mites may be used: Ivermectin, a cattle-worming agent, and milbemycin oxime (a heartworm pill) have both been used successfully. The medication is administered daily for at least 4 to 6 weeks and until two consecutive scrapings are negative. Collies, Australian shepherds, Border collies, shelties, Old English sheepdogs, and some mixedbreed dogs have a sensitivity to high-dose ivermectin and should not be treated with this
drug. These dogs usually tolerate milbemycin. Good to Guarded Outlook The prognosis for localized demodicosis is good, while the prognosis for generalized disease varies from good to guarded depending on the underlying cause. Not all dogs are cured with first-time therapy—some dogs with generalized mange must have regular treatment for the rest of their lives. n
Problem Urination in Cats By Terry Marie Curtis, DVM, MS, DACVB
In cats, inappropriate urination is the most common behavior problem presented to veterinarians. Approximately 10% of all cat households experience this problem. Generally, as the number of cats in a household increases, so does the incidence of elimination behavior problems. There are two classes of problem urination in cats: inappropriate elimination and urine marking or spraying. With inappropriate elimination, the cat generally stops
using the litter box and uses target areas of “suitable texture” instead. The cat usually squats—like it would in the litter box—and there is typically a large amount of urine involved. With urine marking, the cat generally continues to urinate in the litter box. The target areas are those with “behavioral significance,” such as near windows or doors or on the owner’s clothes or suitcases. The cat usually stands with its tail up and twitching. The urine amount involved is usually small. It’s important to note that there can be a combination of both inappropriate elimination and marking, where the cat deposits large amounts of urine on vertical surfaces. In a multicat household there may be more than one culprit. Confining one cat may determine who the eliminator is, but if there’s an underlying social issue, such as two of the cats fighting, confinement may not shed any light. For example, a confined cat that previously had a problem may eliminate normally or may not spray because it is no longer being intimidated by another cat. Medical or Behavioral?
Pet “Pee”ves: Keep This in Mind • If your cat is urinating in places it shouldn’t, it could be a sign of a medical condition. Be sure to consult your veterinarian. • In cases where the cat is just looking for a “better toilet,” offering the cat a variety of box types and litter types is generally the answer. • For cats that urine mark or spray, castration or medication is usually indicated and most cases respond to these solutions. • Most important, don’t despair! Your veterinarian is always available to help or to find a specialist who can.
Before determining if your cat has a behavioral problem, medical causes for inappropriate urination need first to be investigated and treated by your veterinarian. These include urinary tract disease, disease of the brain or spinal cord, and any condition causing pain or discomfort while urinating (such as surgical wounds). Long hair around the anus or back end can cause discomfort during elimination, and long hair between the toes may change the way the litter feels on the cat’s feet. Possible behavioral causes for inappropriate elimination include dislike of litter, litter preference, dislike of litter box, dislike of location, and location preference. With dislike of the litter box or litter, symptoms may include perching on the edge of the box, minimal or no digging/covering, shaking the paws, and/or a hurried exit. Causes include a change in litter, a box type that the cat doesn’t like (covered, too small), poor hygiene, and/or a history of a painful event associated with the current litter and/or box. With litter preference, the cat prefers a specific texture, such as carpet, wood floor, or linoleum, to typical litter. While studies show that cats prefer a finely textured, clay litter, there are individual preferences for texture, granularity, and coarseness.
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Medical causes for inappropriate urination need to be investigated and treated by your veterinarian. Overcoming Elimination Issues To help the cat overcome a dislike or preference, it is important to provide a litter the cat “likes.” You may need to be creative and try things such as diapers, carpet swatches, towels, or potting soil (if the cat is used to eliminating outdoors). In general, make sure that there are plenty of boxes (ideally, the number of boxes should equal the number of cats plus one). Make sure that the cat can get in and out of the box easily without having to experience an unpleasant encounter with another cat or dog. The size of the litter box is important: The bigger, the better. Plastic storage boxes work best—either shallow or deep. Deep ones are preferred for cats that stand when urinating. A “doorway” can be cut into the box if the cat has problems jumping in. It is important to keep the litter box clean by scooping it at least once a day. The litter should be completely changed and the box washed with mild soap and water every 1 to 2 weeks. The litter box should be placed where the cat spends most of its time, in a quiet, well-lit area, away from food and water. A preference for or dislike of a particular location may not be discovered until the litter box is moved to another location for some reason, and the cat continues to eliminate in the former location. There may be an anxiety component, such as separation anxiety, where the cat eliminates outside of the box while the owners are away, or upon their return. Most cases of inappropriate elimination are resolved with environmental modification alone, and medication is not needed. Be sure to clean the soiled areas with an enzymatic cleaner, such as Nature’s Miracle® or UrineOff,® and make them unattractive (for example, by using upside-down plastic carpet runners with the “nubby” side up, aluminum foil, motion detectors) and make the “toilet area” desirable. Provide the cat with new boxes (open, covered), different litter types, in different locations. Making the Marking Stop Urine marking/spraying is a form of normal feline communication. Both females and males can spray, but spaying/castrating decreases the incidence of marking by approximately 90%.. If there are outside strays that are causing the problem, denying access to windows may help, as may motion detectors. Use of Feliway® spray or diffuser may also help to calm the cat in an unknown or stressful spring, volume 3
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environment. Cats that continue to urine mark or spray may require medication, and its use is based on the cause of the problem (anxiety component), the health of the cat, social issues, owner compliance (will you be available to medicate the cat once or twice a day?), and expense. Other alternatives include various cat enclosures where the cat has access to the outdoors but is safe. For more information, see www.cdpets.com and www. catfencein.com. It Generally Gets Better! Cats that eliminate inappropriately due to behavioral problems generally respond very well to treatment. In cases where the cat is just looking for a “better toilet,” offering a variety of box and litter types is generally the answer. For cats that urine mark or spray, castration or medication is usually indicated and most cases respond to these solutions. There are some cases that may need the extra attention of a specialist, so remember that they’re out there ready to help! Your veterinarian can help find the right one for you. n
HEARTWORMS & your doG What You Need To Know
By Marlene Siegel, DVM
The Life Cycle of a Heartworm
inside the dog they molt twice. The fifth-stage (L5) larvae become the adult heartworms. Male and female adult heartworms mate, producing L1 microfilariae and the cycle repeats. It takes approximately 6 months from the time a dog is bitten by an infected mosquito to develop adult heartworms. Microfilariae can survive for several years in the bloodstream and adult heartworms live in the dog for up to 7 years.
The life cycle of a heartworm is interesting. L1 are the microfilariae (or baby heartworms) in the blood of the infected animal. The mosquito sucks up the L1 while feeding on the dog’s blood. The larvae molt twice in the mosquito before they can infect an animal. The third-stage larvae (L3) are expelled from the mosquito’s mouthparts while the mosquito is feeding on a dog. The larvae then burrow through the skin and once
Think of a garden hose. If pieces of debris block the hose, pressure builds up due to the obstruction. This is what happens to the heart and blood vessels when more and more worms congregate within the right ventricle of the heart. The smaller the host, the fewer worms it takes to cause a problem. Coughing results from the inflammation
Heartworm disease in dogs was first diagnosed over 100 years ago. Since then, it has been widely recognized throughout the world as one of the most important health problems affecting pets today. Heartworm infection in dogs has been documented in all of the states except Alaska.
Courtesy Merial
How Heartworms Harm Your Dog
Be sure to discuss what testing procedures are appropriate for your pet with your veterinarian. produced by the heartworms, blood vessel obstruction, and fluid accumulation. The dog may display exercise intolerance, nosebleeds, shortness of breath, and pneumonia. Left untreated, heartworms can cause heart failure, damage to other organs such as the liver and kidneys, and eventually death. To complicate matters, there are times when the larvae take an abnormal pathway, wandering from the usual course of development and ending up in the eye, stomach, or skin. A microorganism or germ, called Wolbachia, lives in the gut of the heartworm. As the heartworm dies, Wolbachia is released. This organism is suspected of playing a significant role in the illness and death associated with heartworm disease and its treatment. Prevention Is Best Dogs of any age and breed are susceptible to heartworm disease. Fortunately, the disease can be prevented using several options, all of which are extremely effective at killing the larval stage of heartworm. In addition, monthly heartworm preventatives also prevent intestinal worms, which infect 3 to 6 million people every year. So, heartworm preventatives protect both pets and their people. The ideal time to begin heartworm prevention is when your puppy is 8 weeks old. Pretesting at this age is not necessary. Dogs over 6 months
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All dogs should be tested annually for heartworm. pet becomes positive while on their product. These companies do require the pet to have had annual testing to qualify for the guarantee. When switching from one heartworm preventative to another, it is necessary to test!
Heartworms in the heart of a dog. Courtesy Merial
of age are at risk for having circulating microfilariae. If heartworm preventative is given to a dog that has circulating microfilariae, the microfilariae may die, resulting in a severe, sometimes life-threatening allergic reaction. It is therefore imperative to test any dog that has been off preventative for more than 6 weeks. The Importance of Testing The American Heartworm Society recommends annual testing to ensure that an infection is caught in plenty of time to effectively manage it. The longer an infection goes undetected, the more serious the damage and the greater the risk for complications. Even dogs given heartworm preventative on a monthly basis should be tested annually with an antigen-based test (that is, a test that detects protein from the adult heartworm). Owners who give heartworm preventative every month may have a false sense of security, feeling that annual heartworm testing is not necessary. Unfortunately, there are many reasons why dogs given a preventative may become heartwormpositive. The most common reason is failure to give the medication as directed and on time—surveys show that probably only 75% of the prescribed doses are given. Other reasons include the dog spitting out the pill without the owner realizing 10
it; miscommunication with household caregivers resulting in the task being missed; intermittent missed doses or late treatments; and, just as with birth control pills, sometimes the pill fails. Current testing technology detects an active adult heartworm infection. If a dog is on a heartworm preventative and has a negative test, it can still have a developing heartworm infection if it has missed some doses of preventative. If the heartworm infection matures while preventative exists in the bloodstream, the pet won’t have an allergic reaction to the death of the microfilariae. If the infection has gone past the L3 molt, the heartworms will continue to develop despite the fact that a heartworm preventative has been implemented. Therefore, it is important to retest in 6 months any pet that has missed doses of preventative. Be sure to discuss what testing procedures are appropriate for your pet with your veterinarian. Many companies that manufacture heartworm preventatives offer a guarantee to pay for treatment if a
Key Points
Prevention: Safe, Easy, & Inexpensive Many animals die each year from complications of heartworm disease. Compared with the cost of treatment and danger when the animal has an infection with adult heartworms, heartworm prevention is safe, easy, and inexpensive. n
• Heartworm infection can be fatal for two confirmed reasons: blockage of arteries by mature worms and severe allergic reactions resulting from the killing of L1 larvae. • Giving your dog a monthly heartworm preventative is the best way to protect against heartworms. • Even dogs being given a preventative should be tested for heartworms on an annual basis.
Influenza in Dogs
Should I Be Worried? By Heather L. Troyer, DVM
As many readers already know, a new virus has hit the pet dog population in the United States. The first indication of canine influenza virus (CIV) appeared in Florida in mid-2004. By summer 2005, large numbers of dogs were being infected and on August 19, 2005, a statewide alert was issued to veterinarians about the disease. The first reported outbreak outside of Florida was at a veterinary clinic in New York City. In September 2005, a well-televised outbreak of severe and contagious respiratory disease affected 88 dogs at a boarding facility in New York. By this time, a national outcry for veterinary assistance and information had begun. Many pet owners were left with questions concerning viral transmission, recognizing symptoms, and whether their dogs were at risk just walking down the street. After treating 25 patients that were sick with CIV at our hospital, our staff became well-versed at addressing these concerns. Dog, Horse, or People Flu? CIV was first recognized at a greyhound racetrack in 2004. Many of these dogs simply had a cough; however, some developed pneumonia and died. Specialists from the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Cornell University searched for the stealth pathogen. When they mapped out the genetic sequence of the virus, they learned that it was an “H3N8 enveloped” virus (another example of this naming system is the notorious H5N1 avian influenza virus). The CIV is very closely related to another well-known respiratory pathogen called equine influenza virus (also an H3N8). After advanced scientific analysis, researchers concluded that the virus was transferred from the horse to the dog and that the transfer had resulted in a brand-new virus that caused acute respiratory disease in dogs. Remember: CIV has not infected humans, and there has been no known transmission to any other animal species.
every dog will show symptoms. We estimate that 80% of dogs with CIV will develop some type of symptom and 20% of dogs will become silent carriers of the virus.
80% of dogs with CIV will develop some type of symptom and 20% of dogs will become silent carriers of the virus. The virus incubates for 2 to 5 days before signs appear and can be transmitted through respiratory secretions for 4 to 7 days after infection. Fortunately, most of the dogs that have the flu just seem like they have the equivalent of a human cold. This milder form of the disease involves a soft, wet cough that persists for 10 to 30 days despite antibiotic therapy. Others have a dry, hacking cough that might sound similar to “kennel cough.” Most of these dogs also become lethargic and have thick, green nasal discharge and low-grade fever. A much smaller proportion of dogs develop bacterial pneumonia and become very sick. Pets with pneumonia display general signs of lower airway disease in addition to coughing: They have trouble breathing, fever, lethargy and/or diminished or no appetite, and dehydration. Although complications are uncommon, approximately 5% to 8% of dogs with CIV die. Therefore, it is very important for pet owners to
Dog Flu Facts Because CIV is a new disease, there is no known natural or vaccine-induced immunity to the virus. Therefore, any dog that comes into contact with it will become infected. However, this does not mean that spring, volume 3
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moderate sedation and is used to determine appropriate, often life-saving, antimicrobial therapy. Treatment & Prognosis
Above Examining a stable canine influenza patient
contact their veterinarian as soon as they observe any of these symptoms in their dog.
It is very important for pet owners to contact their veterinarian as soon as they observe flu-like symptoms. Testing CIV is difficult to find in a sick dog. So far, no “gold standard” test—one that is nearly 100% accurate in a clinical setting—has been found. One method of testing a patient would be to find the virus itself, but a large amount of virus must be present and it must be in an easily accessible part of the dog’s body. In addition, the window of opportunity for catching the virus at its peak is very small. Therefore, experts are still suggesting blood tests to look for antibodies to the virus. A sample is taken on initial presentation, and then a “convalescent” titer is drawn 2 to 3 weeks later. X-rays, general bloodwork, urinalyses, tests for how much oxygen is in the blood, and transtracheal washes (TTWs) are all necessary in dogs that may have pneumonia. A TTW requires 12
In most cases, the prognosis for dogs with the flu is very good. Treatment centers on the accompanying bacterial infections that are inevitable with a compromised respiratory tract. Patients who develop pneumonia usually require hospitalization, intravenous fluid and antibiotics, oxygen, and bronchodilators. Patients who are not sick and only have a cough are usually treated with just antibiotics and sent home. While antiviral compounds, such as Tamiflu,® may enhance recovery in human patients with the flu, they are not yet approved for use in pets. This means that we cannot predict the risks or side effects of these medications in the general dog population. n
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pet quarterly
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volume 3, spring
See brief summary on page 12
volume 3, spring
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pet quarterly
13
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID Lebanon Junction, KY Permit No. 266