Shoofly Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 I have a question. Over the last few months i've heard of several dogs having a mysterious illness. Usually a very high fever that's pretty resistant to coming down, but nothing else especially remarkable. Blood work comes back okay, tick titers unremarkable, usually no diarrhea or vomiting, usually lethargy and lack of appetite but that would go along with the fever. My own dog was one that had this and it took a couple days of IV fluids and a couple of different antibiotics to get it under control. The vets seem stumped. I know i've heard of this happening with several dogs over the last few months and i just heard of another one. So my question - who else out there has had this happen or has a friend whose dog was sick like this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pipedream Farm Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 Sounds like a virus. The canine flu is supposed to cause fever as high as 106, but typically there's coughing too. All ours have been fine so far. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoofly Posted October 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 I think it sounds viral too but it doesn't seem to spread easily at least. None of my other dogs got it. This latest case i'm hearing about, a couple of her other dogs got mildly sick. The vet i used actually wondered if it could have been an ehrlichia strain not picked up on the titers but i don't know about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 Robin, Did your vet do the tick titers? Lately I've been reading about E. equi in addition to E. canis, so if the tick test is checking only for the latter, then E. equi could be a possibility, though I think there'd be other symptoms.... J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoofly Posted October 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 She did send off the tick titers but i believe it only tests for E. canis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 What antibiotic finally worked? J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rave Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 Robin, I just found out yesteday there's another test besides the titer for Erlichia at least (maybe the others, I'm not sure). I forget the name, something like "PCV" test... this test is a yes/no for Erlichia, not a titer where the number may not tell you much. -Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoofly Posted October 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 Laura - is that the Snap test (i think that's what it's called) that can be done in the vet's office, combines heartworm test with the erhlichia test? Julie - Baytril is what finally knocked it out, first IV then oral. It may have been coincidental of course, but it seemed to do the trick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rave Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 No, this was a blood draw test, sent out to a lab. My vet friend told me about it - she was testing her own dog. I'll find out the name of it. -L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 I'm stumped! J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pipedream Farm Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 It's probably PCR. It's an amplification technique to allow the measurement of very low levels of analytes (down to 1 particle); below what titers could measure. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rave Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 Here ya go... it's PCR (I was half-asleep when I was talking to her!) There are two titer tests: IFA (immunofluorescent antibody) or by ELISA (Enzyme-linked Immunosorbant assay). The IFA test is the traditional test. The ELISA test is included in a new in-house test kit from IDEXX labs (the ?snap 3DX? test) that also includes a Lyme Disease test and a Heartworm test. The 3DX test is geared specifically to detect antibodies against Ehrlichia canis. It is not entirely clear if antibodies against other types of Ehrlichia will be similar enough to be detected by either the IFA or ELISA tests reliably. It takes 6-9 months after infection for titers to begin to drop. Recently PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) testing for the actual presence of Ehrlichia organisms has become available. The disadvantage of this test is that it gives either a positive or negative results rather than an actual quantitative number that can be tracked. A combination of PCR testing as well as antibody titers are currently recommended by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. PCR testing remains positive for several weeks after infection as PCR testing does not distinguish between live and dead organisms. It takes time to clear dead organisms from the body. link to where I got this from: http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_ehrli...on_in_dogs.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rave Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 FYI, NC State does the PCR test. Takes about 4-6 weeks. I don't know the cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueborders Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 My Boston terrorist mix had very similar symptoms..high fever and lethargic mainly. A quick CBC didn't show up anything except for her liver functioning being slightly off (that's been a problem in the past). She was placed on Prednisone, Baytril and Doxycycline and did a remarkable turnaround in just a couple of days. Her tick titers just came back with a very low reading for Erlichia. We're going to do more blood work when her meds run out to check her liver function again and to see if the medication worked on the Erlichia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted October 13, 2005 Report Share Posted October 13, 2005 Katrena, It can take months for Ehrlichia titers to return to normal, so retesting right away may not give you an accurate result. At any rate, if you were treating for Ehrlichia, you would want to continue the doxy for at least a month, and the vets on Tick-L actually advocate 8 weeks for the best result (least likely chance of recurrence of symptoms). J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueborders Posted October 14, 2005 Report Share Posted October 14, 2005 Thanks. She is on the doxy for a month. And for an 8lb dog, she's a brat to hold down and give it to. In fact, we had it compounded into a yummy liver flavored liquid to help. Her pills were simple to give her but get out the bottle of doxy and she runs for cover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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