Canine Wasting Disease
Canine wasting disease has no cure and is a serious threat that dog and kennel owners should prepare for. If a dog begins to lose its appetite, veterinary treatment should be sought immediately. The first signs of this disease are externally subtle, but the internal implications are already brutal.
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History
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Until 2000, canine chronic wasting disease was only associated with dogs imported from southern Europe and South America. In late 1999, an outbreak at a New York foxhound kennel made the disease a domestic issue.
Parasite Problem
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Canine wasting disease is also known as visceral leishmaniasis. In humans, it is known as black fever. The disease is caused by protozoan parasites that attack the liver, spleen and bone marrow after a victim is bitten by an infected sandfly.
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Symptoms
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Loss of appetite followed by weight loss are the most obvious and earliest symptoms dogs show with this disease. Advanced symptoms include, but are not limited to, muscle atrophy, seizures, vomiting, nose bleeds, swollen lymph nodes, increased urination, skin lesions and, eventually, kidney failure.
Treatment/Vaccinations
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Experts with the Centers for Disease Control recommend any infected canine be euthanized. Researchers at Iowa State University's Department of Pathology and North Carolina State University's Veterinary School of Medicine are working with CDC scientists to develop vaccines for the half-dozen strains of canine leishmaniasis currently identified. Some dog owners have opted to take diseased dogs there to participate in studies.
Significance
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For reasons unknown to researchers, the foxhound and the Neapolitan mastiff are more susceptible to this disease than other breeds. Canine wasting disease is the fifth-leading cause of non-accidental death in all dogs.
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References
- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Amazon CARES Amazon Community Animal Rescue, Education and Safety
Comments
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Taytrchip, that was temporomandibular myositis in that case... not leishmania.
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taytrchip
Mar 16, 2010
In 2006 my 7 year old shepherd/collie mix, Murphy, started abruptly losing weight and had muscle wasting, particularly in the head and cranial region. She had trouble opening and closing her jaw muscles due to the atrophy. I had everything tested. Her teeth, changed food, nothing worked. She had no apetite and couldn't eat. We tried hand feeding her to no avail. She was wasting away. My vet didn't know what was wrong. Her liver functions were somewhat high, so he sent us to a diagnostic specialist. We had her blood work sent to CA to a specialized lab and all that came back negative. We ended up, as a last resort, putting her on steriods taken daily and today, at age 11, she is still healthy, playful and happy. She acts like she is about 7 and never got sick! I found out several months after she grew ill that we had a small gas leak, floor level, at the valve where we turn...
