PYTHIOSIS
IN DOGS
MOST VETS DO NOT KNOW that
there is a
simple blood test available to diagnose Pythiosis and an
immunotherapy vaccine that is
effective in treatment of Pythiosis!!
My wonderfully talented 4-year-old
male Labrador Retriever succumbed to Pythiosis in 2006.
My goal is to create awareness of this emerging
tropical disease that is silently killing dogs around
the country. Pythiosis is not an infectious disease
transmitted from dog to dog or dog to human, so there
are no requirements to report cases to the CDC. Canine Pythiosis has risen drastically
in the United States
since Rusti died in 2006.
At the time of Rusti's death there
was very little information available online about this
disease. The information available on this site will
give you more options in the diagnosis and treatment of
your sick pet, and hopefully save your dog from Rusti's
fate !!
- If you know of a dog with Pythiosis,
please help others and fill out this quick form to help us identify
areas of infection.
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Description of Pythiosis
Pythiosis is a devastating and usually fatal cause of
chronic GI or cutaneous disease in dogs, cats, cattle,
equines, captive polar bears and humans. It is
caused by Pythium insidiosum, an aquatic pathogen
belonging to the class Oomycetes. Oomycetes differ from
true fungi so are therefore unresponsive to anti-fungals. Many dogs with pythiosis have a
history of recurrent exposure to warm freshwater
habitats. However, some cases are observed in suburban
house dogs with no history of access to lakes or ponds.
The number of confirmed cases has risen from as little
as 10 cases per year in the 1990's to hundreds of
diagnosed cases per year today. We can only guess
that there are probably several more hundreds of cases
that have been undiagnosed or
misdiagnosed.
Symptoms of gastrointestinal Pythiosis
Canine pythiosis most
commonly presents as gastrointestinal disease.
Affected dogs often will have a history of upper
gastrointestinal tract obstruction and may have a
palpable abdominal mass. Usual clinical signs
include chronic diarrhea, vomiting, anorexia,
depression, and chronic weight loss. The stomach and
duodenum are the most common sights of infection.
Stomach lesions may be accompanied by abdominal pain
and "coffee ground" vomitus due to ulceration and
gastric bleeding. With distal small intestinal
disease, chronic diarrhea is more common. With
colonic involvement and ulceration there may be
bloody diarrhea. Dogs usually will not show signs of
systemic disease unless intestinal obstruction,
infarction, or perforation are present.
- Symptoms of
cutaneous Pythiosis
The cutaneous/subcutaneous
form of pythiosis is less frequent in dogs
than the gastrointestinal form of disease A
predisposing wound usually allows
infiltration of the infective zoospores.
Many animals have a history of swimming or
being in "swampy" areas. The German Shepherd
Dog may be predisposed. Non-healing,
tumor-like nodules with ulceration and
draining tracts may be present. These
lesions usually are non-pruritic to slightly
pruritic and often enlarge rapidly. Some
lesions may have foci of necrosis and a
spongy appearance. Such lesions are usually
on the limbs, thoracic wall, tail head, or
perineal region but can be seen anywhere.
The cutaneous form of pythiosis is rarely
complicated by gastrointestinal involvement.
Eosinophilia is the most common abnormality
on the complete blood cell count; however,
laboratory data are usually within the
reference interval.
- Canine
Lagenidiosis
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The clinical presentation of canine
lagenidiosis is nearly identical to that of
the cutaneous form of pythiosis. The tumor
like masses of lagenidiosis are identical in
appearance to those of pythiosis and
commonly affect the limbs, mammary glands,
trunk, or vulva. The notable difference in
these diseases is that lagenidiosis
disseminates to other organs much more
commonly. Spontaneous dissemination of
disease may involve the lungs, aorta,
cranial mediastinum, and lymph nodes.
Diagnosis
A simple blood test is available to diagnose
Pythiosis and Lagenidiosis.
Contact
Pavlab at 800-856-9655.
Treatment of Pythiosis
Traditional
treatment options for Pythium infected dogs include
surgical resection of infected tissues and
antifungal medications. Overall
success when using these treatment options
is less than 25% for Gastrointestinal
infections but can be much higher for
Cutaneous infections. A recent study in
Brazil compared the synergy of various
antifungals in combination with terbinafine
against p. insidiosum and found that the
combination of fluconazole with terbinafine
was the most active, with a 41% response in
p. insidiosum subtypes. Typical treatment of
cutaneous pythiosis is
surgical
excisions with 5.0 cm margins ( not 3.0 cm
as with cancerous lesions). Iodine soak on
open wound before closure to disable any
spores in wound - P. Insidiosum may respond
to iodine - this is also unproven but causes
no harm. After closure start it is
recommended to begin Immunotherapy as
directed at day 1, 7, 21, and Itraconazole
and Terbinifine x 60 days.
Recently
the USDA has approved an Immunotherapy treatment product
from PavLab which has shown to be an effective treatment option.
This product consists of purified proteins derived from Pythium Insidiosum. These proteins are injected into
the infected patient in an effort to elicit an immune
response which will kill the invading Pythium. In
horses this treatment is successful in >90% of cases,
however, in canine cases the success rate is nearer
50%. Work continues on a new version of this product
which will demonstrate a higher success rate in dogs.
Pythiosis is an emerging tropical disease that was not seen in the U.S. 10-20
years ago when most practicing veterinarians attended vet
school. Unless your vet has personally experienced this
disease, they will probably NOT RECOGNIZE its symptoms
and most DO NOT KNOW about the simple blood test to detect
its antibodies or the immunotherapy treatment.
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Contact
Pavlab at 800-856-9655 for the blood test
to detect antibodies to Pythium and the immunotherapy
vaccine for early treatment. Early intervention is
CRITICAL with this infection.
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PYTHIOSIS ALERTS (States which have had cases of Pythiosis)
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- Alabama,
Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida,
Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Maryland
 , Missouri, Mississippi, New Jersey, North
Carolina, Maryland, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas,
and Virginia. Bermuda.
If you know of a dog with Pythiosis,
please help others and fill out this quick form to help us identify
areas of infection.
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