Can someone tell me about Blastomycosis in a dog?

Question

My Boss's pet has it and she isnt doing well....she has been diagnosed and is textbook, however he is convinced she will make it....the rest of us think he should put her down. Are we wrong?

update: it is common in pets and not contagious to other pets or humans. there can be easy reoccurances and soil will always be an issue and worse now....she is really suffering.

Answer 1

Blastomycosi is an infection yhat occurs by inhalation of the fungus from its natural soil habitat. Once inhaled in the lungs, they multiply and may disseminate through the blood and lymphatics to other organs, including the skin, bone, genitourinary tract, and brain. The incubation period is 30 to 100 days, although infection can be asymptomatic.
but i haver never herd of it in a dog before

put the dog down only if it is in lotts of pain and the vet thinks it is for the best

Answer 2

This illness is from inhaling molds and etc. It can be spread throughout the bloodstream, the eyes, nose, head and etc.


The infective stage of the fungus resides in the soil near waterways. The organism may be
inhaled, initiating a lung infection, or may enter through wounds. As the organism multiplies,
it moves from the lungs or wound to the vascular system or lymph nodes.


http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y59/ILiveforMike/figure1.jpg



I am assuming your biggest concern is pricing? While this may be a
costly procedure you have to consider the dog. Is this dog worth it? I honestly believe that all dogs are worth their weight in life, so I would not encourage putting her down with out a fight.
Infact, Of this illness about 65 percent of dogs diagnosed with blastomycosis survive. In treated dogs, survival rates are approximately 85 percent, with up to 25 percent suffering relapses.

Maybe you should let the owner make the choice. It will be a painful process but to give up on your dog, how can you do that. A dog stands by your side, fights for you, lives for you. Your her life, you give up on her, she might as well die. To your boss, this is very painful (im sure) and I am very sorry he must go through this.

I believe that the owner should try for the treatment, if it seems to be a faluire or the pain (for the dog) is to much, he should then let her go.

Here is a taste of the treatment process:
Many pets are hospitalized several times a week during the first part of treatment but will
eventually be treated as an outpatient due to the long therapy blastomycosis entails. As the
fungus dies, inflammation may occur and your dogﾒs signs may temporarily worsen. Drug
toxicity may also be a problem, so therapy requires veterinary oversight. When your pet
comes home, it is wise to feed a high-quality diet and restrict exercise over the duration of
the disease.



Here are some links that go more in depth:
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/blstomyc.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blastomycosis
http://www.vet.uga.edu/vpp/clerk/mordecai/
http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/petcolumns/showarticle.cfm?id=67

I am sorry for your boss, wish him the best of luck for me!
Tierney

Answer 3

First of all, you should support your boss in whatever treatment decisions he/she makes. It's not your dog. Maybe you would euthanize the dog, but maybe they want to spend the money on treatment. Everyone will go to different lengths for their pets. I don't think anyone on here can responsibly answer yes or no to the question as to if we think your boss is wrong because no one here knows the severity of the illness in your boss's dog.

Second, Blasto is treatable, it just takes time and medications and monitoring of the medications to make sure they are working. Many of the medications are antifungals like itraconazole and ketoconazol and are relatively safe, although not inexpensive.

We see a lot of Blasto in the Anderson, IN area for some reason and have successfully treated many animals. We had a dog that had it in its eye and its lungs. It was treated by us for the lung infection and by an ophthalmologist for the eye infection. He cleared up nicely after a couple months.

Typically if it is a cutaneous infection, they tend to look worse then they really are. I have had a doctor get blasto while obtaining a fine needle aspirate of what turned out to be blasto.

So, it is treatable and the medications need to be given time. It usually isn't painful and only accelerate to the "brain and death" if gone untreated and/or treated inappropriately.

Support your boss in the decision that was made and maybe help him or her by providing them for facts and support rather then judging him/her.

Answer 4

Blastomycosis is a fungal infection caused by the organism Blastomyces dermatitidis.


learn more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blastomycosis

Answer 5

Type This in yahoo search
Blastomycosis in Dogs This will professionly answer your question.

Answer 6

One of my breeder friends had a rottweiller that got this and it died. None of the other dogs got it. I hope the dog makes it.