disease mistakenly diagnosed as parvo (long)
I'm relating this from a dog list I belong to:
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Reproduced with permission of Vetmed. You may post this anywhere & everywhere. [email protected]
Following is information on a disease that is often mistakenly diagnosed as Parvo, but must NOT be treated as such. I am *not* a vet, but have had far too much experience with this. The treatment was found by trial & error.
DOG SHOW CRUD
Non-specific diarrheal syndrome
Progressive diarrhea
It's a BACTERIAL imbalance in the digestive tract. This is NOT a new form of Parvo. Parvo tests will show a LOW positive & subsequent tests will continue to show low positives, will be inconclusive, or will give erratic results. This disease is so similar to Parvo, that some dogs have tested in the low positive for Parvo. But they do not have Parvo, and it has been recommended
that three parvo tests are needed to exclude Parvo.
Mode of infection: widely varied, but mostly from contact with urine, feces, something brought in on shoes, etc. Symptoms usually start 12-48hrs after initial contact & spread to susceptible dogs rapidly (young or weaker dogs).
It's everywhere! It's on your shoes, in the places where dogs sniff, urine on posts or ground, or trees, or feces, etc. Pups have a difficult time surviving, but if caught quick enough (before anorexia), no one dies. Death occurs because of dehydration. Some dogs get better without treatment.
This disease seems to move from the West to the East through the dog shows. It is medically known as Campylobacteriosis, name of the organism causing this is ampylobacter Jejuni. This disease can be tested for specifically, so if you have an affected dog that appears to have Parvo, but in your mind
know that, that could not be possible, have them tested for "Camby". It is important to note that this disease can be transferred between humans, dogs, cats and other livestock.
Dogs are alert, hungry, energetic, with normal feces. It starts with fecal mucus sheath & continues to get progressively softer until it is watery & contains blood. It then becomes explosive.
Vomiting may accompany & may or may not also contain blood. Feces have a sweet/flowery aroma along with a "slaughterhouse on a summer day" smell (similar to parvo diarrhea but with a floral hint). Feces are *usually*
mustard colored. Dogs dehydrate at an astounding rate. Dogs are also at risk of intusseption (sp?).
Do NOT automatically assume Parvo when you see this. Parvo treatments have killed the majority of Crud dogs. If you suspect Parvo, try the Cephalexin 1st, if it doesn't work, THEN assume parvo. Do NOT use Amoxycillin. Keflex has worked in the past, but slowly & speed is the important thing here. Dogs
should show improvement within hours of treatment.
What is happening is that there is a bacterial growth in the digestive tract
which throws it off balance. The body is trying to counteract this by removing the extra (or offending) bacteria. It seems to do this by trying to remove ALL body fluids as quickly as possible. Death is caused by massive dehydration. From the 1st signs of symptoms, death can be as short as 12 hrs, or as long as 7 days.
The younger the dog, the worse it is. The key is to treat this as fast as possible before the dogs go anorexic AND to treat ALL dogs on the premises (non-afflicted dogs should get ONE capsule). Treatment is 250mg Cephalexin per 25lbs of body weight. This MUST be given orally NOT IV - it MUST go
thru the digestive tract (I don't know WHY it works this way, but it does).
If the dog vomits the pill up, just give it again until it stays down. Give another dose approx 12hrs later. If the dog returns to normal DO NOT medicate again. It's important NOT to run a full 10 day course of this drug
as it has (in the past) caused the bacterial balance to go the other way. If needed, give medication for 2 more days, or whenever symptoms re-occur.
Pups may get Ceph-drops. If your pups are anywhere near 20lbs, even around 15lbs, go ahead & give then the regular Ceph. But just not as many times as you would an adult. And YES, treat EVERY DOG whether they have symptoms or not, just give them less.
If the dogs are massively dehydrated, DO NOT use a force IV drip. Lactated Ringers Solution SUB-Q is suggested & forcing electrolytes orally. IV rehydration HAS thrown animals into deep shock. Slow rehydration. Slow slow slow. Just enough to keep them alive until the *bug* is nipped in the bud. You can also give Pedialyte (electrolytes). Once the drug has had time to take effect & the dogs are a bit more together, you can rehydrate IV, but NOT on a continuous drip.
After the diarrhea has stopped, you can cram the dog as full of fluids as you want, just not when it is at its most fragile point. You don't want to shock an already shocked system. Also, DO NOT flea-dip/worm/vaccinate at this time, PLEASE!!!!!
Anorexic dogs have to be tempted to eat again. Rare, bloody, slightly garlicky & slightly salty beef has worked the best in the past for getting the appetites working. Start small. You may have to give anorexic dogs Nutri-Cal to get them going again. But after they are cured they *will* begin to eat again.
