Infection in Dogs
There are many different kinds of infections that can affect a dog's health. Some require little or no treatment, others require medicine to keep the infection from becoming life-threatening, and some require immediate hospitalization and powerful drugs just to give the dog a chance to survive. Many of these infections are the same or similar to the infections people can suffer from as well as other animals and can be transmitted between species. What the infections all have in common is they are caused by some form of tiny life form that invades the body of the dog. There are four main types of infection: bacterial, viral, fungal and parasitic.
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Bacterial Infection
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Bacterial infections are caused by bacteria, which are tiny one-celled organisms. They can reproduce quickly and spread throughout the body through the dog's blood stream. They can enter the body through an open wound or by being ingested. A bacterial infection can begin as a local infection in a wound or it can act by system wide as in many diseases. Not all bacteria cause disease. Some are always present in the digestive system of people and animals and help with digestion. Also, bacteria help in the process of making yogurt and sourdough bread.
Viral Infections
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Viral infections are caused by viruses, which are the smallest organisms that cause infection. The viruses attach themselves to the cells of their host and inject nucleic acid into it. This turns the cell into a virus-making factory. The individual virus particles either work their way out of the cell or the cell eventually explodes, sending out the virus in every direction. How the virus gets into the body varies on how long the virus can survive outside the host body. Often, viruses can only be transmitted by direct contact, such as licking an infected dog. Licking or ingesting feces from an infected dog can also spread a virus. There are even some forms of virus that will lay dormant on outside surfaces during the cold winter months only to be ready to infect a passing dog when the spring rolls around.
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Fungal Infections
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A fungal infection is caused by fungus, which is a kind of plant that usually grows well in warm, moist areas, such as a dog's body. Fungus can infect the skin, which causes lesions, such as ringworm. There are also fungal infections of toe nails. A more serious condition is a systemic fungal infection that happens when spores of a fungus are inhaled or possibly ingested and cause an infection throughout the body. There are many different kinds of fungi that are common in the environment, but they usually do not cause a fungal infection. The dog usually has a lower resistance to the fungus because of its age, poor health or unsanitary conditions.
Parasitic Infections
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Parasitic infections are caused by parasites, which are small organisms that invade a dog's body so they can feed off of it and reproduce in it. Interior parasites are usually ingested, often by the dog eating infected animals, such as birds or rodents. They can also be injected into the dog by the bite of an insect. For example, heartworms are passed on to dogs by mosquitoes that have previously bitten an infected dog. Interior parasites can be one-celled organisms or worms that can be several inches long. Exterior parasites are small insect-like organisms that live in the fur and bite the skin or suck the blood, or they will attach themselves to the dog to suck the blood. Exterior parasites include fleas, ticks, mites and lice.
Treatment
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The treatment for different types of infections vary widely, even though different types of infections can have similar symptoms. It is important to have the infection properly diagnosed by a veterinarian. Antibiotics are designed only for bacterial infections, and, if they are given for another type of infection, they won't help the symptoms and they might make them worse. It is also important to know what you are dealing with because many of these infections can be passed on to people or other animals.
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