What is BABESIOS?

Babesiosis, or tick fever, is caused by a parasite that settles in the red blood cells of dogs and destroys them.

How does babesiosis develop

This parasite is transmitted by infected ticks. These must have been attached to the dog for at least 20 hours. Due to the mild winters, this tick has recently also been found in the Netherlands.

Symptoms Babesiosis

The following symptoms may indicate babesiosis:

• Fever
• Poor appetite and sometimes vomiting
• Pale and sometimes yellow mucous membranes are pale
• High heart rate strong red/brown discolored urine. This is because the blood dye, which is normally contained in red blood cells, enters the blood through the breakdown of those cells.

Diagnosis Babesiosis

If babesiosis is suspected, the vet will do blood tests on the dog. This allows him to make the parasite visible in the red blood cells.

Treatment Babesiosis

In the first place, it is important that treatment is started quickly. The sooner you start doing this, the greater the chance of recovery. Therefore, contact your vet immediately if you suspect that your dog may be infected with babesiosis. The treatment consists of 2 injections of Imidocarb® with an interval of about 10 days.

Risks animals from abroad – Babesiosis

The risk of dogs getting the infection around the Mediterranean is a lot higher than in the Netherlands. That means you should be on the lookout for contamination if you take your dog on vacation to these areas or adopt one that comes from these countries. Babesiosis is not contagious in dogs to humans and in dogs between themselves or blood to blood contact must take place.

Well curable, if discovered in time – Babesios to

If babesiosis is detected in time, it can be cured well. If Babesiosis is discovered at a late stage, the prognosis is less good, the dog can then have chronic symptoms and in a few cases die. Here too, therefore, prevention is of great importance.

Prevention Babesiosis

Check your dog regularly for ticks, remove the ticks with a tick pen. Use good tick control especially if you walk your dog a lot in wooded areas. A Scalibor tire is recommended.

What is GIARDIA?

Gastrointestinal parasite – Giardia

One cause that is often overlooked is diarrhea due to Giardia. Giardia is a flagellate (= a protozoan parasite) and consists of a unicellular organism, which occurs in various stages of development. Giardia is the most common gastrointestinal parasite in dogs, 10-20% of diarrhea in dogs is caused by giardia, in animal shelters and kennels this can be up to 100%.

Giardia is a zoonosis, so it is also contagious for humans!

Transmission takes place via the faecal-oral route. This means that the animal expels the cysts and that another animal or human infects itself with it through ingestion. Only 10 cysts are needed for an infection to take hold in a new host. In an infection, up to 100.000 cysts are excreted per gram of defecate! Often Giardia infections, in healthy animals, are without symptoms, but they do periodically excrete the infectious cysts. However, in dogs with less resistance, it does show symptoms. Especially dogs that stay in shelters or boarding houses can easily become infected with Giardia. Young dogs and dogs with a reduced resistance, eg due to illness or stress, can contract diarrhea from giardia.

What does Giardia diarrhea look like

Giardia gives loose defecate or pulpy foul-smelling diarrhea. There may be mucus and blood. You also often see that the dogs are nauseous and vomit easily, but they often retain their appetite.

Treatment for diarrhea due to Giardia

As therapy, metronidazole (Metrazol) or Panacur (Panacur) can be given. There are Giardia strains that are not sensitive to metronidazole and are sensitive to fenbendazole and vice versa.

Watch out for reinfection! – Giardia

The dog can reinfect itself with oocysts from the giardia that have entered the Fur. This can happen if the diarrhea (containing the oocysts) sticks to the fur. The dog licks itself and in this way the dog reinfects itself! We recommend that you wash your entire dog on the 3rd and 5th day after the start of the treatment to avoid this. If you see poop on the hair, remove it immediately.

Good hygiene – Giardia

Good hygiene is also very important. As an owner, wash your hands after contact with your dog. Clean and disinfect the environment where your animal lives, this is important to prevent reinfection. In case of persistent diarrhea and/or suspicion of Giardia, always visit your vet, he can make a diagnosis and tailor the right treatment accordingly.

What is LEISHMANIA?

Parasite- Leishmania

Leishmania in dogs is caused by the unicellular parasite (protozoa) Leishmania Donovani.

What does the parasite – Leishmania

This parasite is transmitted by the sand fly, which occurs in countries around the Mediterranean Sea. The parasite settles in the red blood cells of the dog and destroys them. The sandfly containing the Leishmania protozoan hides during the day, but emerges around sunset. The dog is bitten and the Leishmania gets into the dog's blood. The sand fly does not yet occur in the Netherlands. However; given the increase in former (sub)tropical diseases such as heartworm and Babesiosis, it is very likely that this will not take too long. The problem with the condition is that the clinical picture and the course can differ greatly from dog to dog.

Visibility symptoms Leishmania

Some dogs get the disease very shortly after the infection, in others it is present throughout their lives, without ever having symptoms. The parasite can encapsulate in the spleen liver, but also in bone marrow and/or lymph nodes. At such a moment, the disease cannot be demonstrated by a test. Months to years later, the disease can "wake up" and the dog will only show symptoms. Whether and when the disease becomes active depends on the individual defenses of the dog. The disease can then manifest itself after a few weeks to years (seven years or longer). It mainly affects dogs that experience a lot of stress and with a very low immune system. Even if the dog has been tested and found to be negative, this does not mean that the dog cannot still get the disease years later – up to 7 years.

What Are the Symptoms of Leishmania?

Overall condition of the dog:

• Weight loss despite eating well or even getting a lot more food
• Movement problems-joint complaints
• Fever
• Lethargy
• Anemia (pale mucous membranes)
• Lymph nodes enlarged, especially in the neck and knees
• Dry nose/nosebleeds
• Chronic eye infections
• Diarrhea, sometimes constant and sometimes variable
• Nail abnormalities, fast growing or very thick/hard

Skin complaints:

• Dry flaky skin and wounds that do not heal well
• Bald spots: ears, the nose/around the eyes + symmetrical baldness on body and/or head
• Pink eyelid rims and/or around the nose and bald spots on the back of the ears
• Crusts and fissures on the nose and soles of the feet and ulcers on the skin and in the mucous membranes
• Red irritated skin/bruises

Remaining:

• Kidney insufficiency (leading cause of death from Leishmaniosis)
• Liver damage
• A blood test is required to make a diagnosis.

Blood:

• Total proteins: almost always increased
• Albumin level: often reduced
• Hematocrit value: often decreased
• Leukocytes: usually normal

What is the treatment for Leishmania

In principle, the dog can be treated well, if discovered in time. After the dog has tested positive, the Allopurinol® tablet cure is started, which reduces the symptoms. Dogs retested after treatment may be negative. Some continue to take the tablet cure throughout their lives with no ill effects. However, they remain carriers of the disease. It is also wise to have the blood checked every 3 – 6 months

Prevention Leishmania

If you take your dog, even if it does not come from abroad, to a country where the sand fly occurs, then put a scalibor band on your dog as a preventive measure.    

What is HEARTWORM?

Heartworm is transmitted from dog to dog through a blood-sucking mosquito. When an infected dog is stung by a mosquito, it sucks blood with microscopic worms, microfilarien. These microfilars continue to grow in the stomach of the mosquito. The mosquito bites another dog and transfers the microfilarie to the body of this dog via the sting. They allow themselves to be carried through the blood to the heart where they attach themselves, grow into adults and produce microfilars.

Heartworm sporadically in the Netherlands

Initially, it was believed that heartworms could only be developed in the Mediterranean areas. However, the infection has been occurring for longer and more and more in neighboring countries such as Switzerland, Denmark, England and France. For a number of years now also sporadically in the Netherlands.

What Causes Heartworm?

Worldwide there are about 60 mosquitoes that can cause heartworm infection. Since this variant of the disease can only be transmitted via mosquitoes, you do not have to worry that your dog can transmit the disease to your other pets. Also with regard to the contamination by snails there is no danger of a so-called communicable disease. Dogs can also become infected with heartworms by eating snails or frogs or by eating snail droppings. The latter can be done, for example, by eating grass. This contains the larvae of the longworms that penetrate through the intestinal wall after being eaten by the dog. They are then carried along with the bloodstream until they reach the right hemisphere of the heart and the pulmonary artery.

The adult worms are in the bloodstream and lay their eggs in it. If there are many worms in the heart, it no longer functions properly and the dog develops complaints. The development into an adult worm takes 6 to 7 months. The adult heartworms (12 to 30 cm) prefer to settle in the pulmonary arteries and the heart and cause damage there. Unfortunately, the dog will only show symptoms if 50 or more heartworms are present. Due to the long development time of the heartworm, a negative blood test will unfortunately not guarantee that the dog is not infected. It is therefore recommended to repeat this test after a few months. 

Symptoms Heartworm

Complaints occur because the worms cause damage to the wall of the heart and the large pulmonary arteries. In the first stage of the disease, the dog has almost no symptoms. The stamina decreases and there is a cough once. Later, more serious complaints occur, such as weight loss, liver enlargement, fluid in the abdominal cavity and breathing problems. Anemia can result from red blood cell damage and kidney damage. If the heart is seriously damaged, the dog can eventually die. 

Diagnosis Heartworm

In case of complaints you will of course go to the vet. The disease symptoms indicate heart disease and a chest cavity picture often shows the dilated pulmonary arteries along with fluid in the longs and an enlarged heart. The diagnosis of heartworm can be established by means of blood tests and/or faeces tests. In addition, the diagnosis can be made more accurately with the help of an ultrasound, making an EKG (Electro Cardiogram) and blood tests. Small larvae can sometimes be seen in blood smears and blood tests have been available for several years now that can show the presence of larvae. 

Heartworm Treatment

With Stronghold pipettes. Initially, you give the dog a pipette every month, which causes the larvae to die. The adult worms can live up to 7 years and will die on their own. The dead worms die slowly and 1 by 1 so there is not much danger of getting a blockage in the artery. Annual testing can shorten treatment time. Your vet will discuss with you which treatment will be necessary for your dog.

Heartworm prevention 

Unlike treatment, heartworm prevention is safe, convenient and effective. Before starting any preventive treatment, dogs should be tested for heartworm infestation; infected dogs should be treated for adult worms and microfilariae before starting a prevention program.

Adverse Reactions to Medication – Heartworm

Therefore, always consult your vet first if you are going to deworm your dog or start a prevention program against heartworms and tell them that you have adopted a dog from abroad. There are wormers on the market that can cause a negative reaction similar to anaphylactic shock in the presence of heartworms.  

What is EHRLICHIA?

Ehrlichiosis is a disease spread by ticks. The tick bite infects the dog with Erhlichia, a bacterial-like organism. After infection, the Ehrlichia multiplies and affects the white blood cells. Ticks infected with this bacterium are mainly found around the Mediterranean area. However, as with other tick diseases, there are reports of infected dogs that have never been abroad. The first symptoms can appear 5 to 21 days after infection.

Symptoms Ehrlichia

• Fever
• Lethargy
• Chills
• Lack of appetite
• Anemia

Less common are;

• Swollen lymph nodes
• Sore muscles and joints
• Nose bleeding
• Blood in the urine
• Back and neck pain
• Eye infections
• Seizures
• Breathing problems
• Heart problems

The disease can have many similarities with Babesiosis and Leishmaniosis and can also be seen in combination with these diseases.

Diagnostics of Ehrlichia

A story of a stay abroad (but nowadays it also occasionally occurs in the Netherlands), the lack of results from other treatment, and the vague complaints makes an attentive vet suspect that we may be dealing with Ehrlichia here. The diagnosis is eventually confirmed by blood tests. Increased liver activity, low white blood cell count, and low platelet count are clues. If antibodies are present, the dog has in any case been in contact with the pathogen. In addition, if he exhibits some of the symptoms mentioned, one can be reasonably sure that he is suffering from Ehrlichiosis.

Treatment of Ehrlichiosis

If detected early, Ehrlichiosis can be treated well with antibiotics. Doxycyline is the drug of first choice and must be given for at least 3 weeks, but sometimes also for several months.

Can I prevent Ehrlichia infection

Like all other tick diseases, prevention is based on fighting ticks, this applies to the Netherlands, but even more so if you take your dog abroad.

• Using the Scalibor tick collar or Prac-Tic pipettes
• Checking for ticks after a walk
• Immediately remove ticks with tick tweezers