How to treat canine babesiosis

Canine babesiosis is a parasitic disease that affects the red blood cells of the blood, that parasite is transmitted by the bite of a tick. It is a serious health problem that your pet can suffer because your dog may suffer symptoms such as apathy, loss of considerable appetite, hemolytic anemia, shock and even death. If you notice any of these symptoms go to your veterinarian to do the relevant tests and put it in treatment right away, before the condition is irremediable. In .com we tell you how to treat canine babesiosis .

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Canine babesiosis is caused by a protozoan that infects red blood cells . There are two types of organisms that cause this disease: Babesia gibsoni and Babesia canis. The infection is caused by the bite of a tick, or in some cases by transfusion with blood from an infected animal. There are three clinical pictures according to the severity of the symptoms. In this article we discover other diseases that ticks transmit to dogs.

Hyperacute state presents shock with hypothermia, tissue hypoxia (when tissues do not receive enough oxygen) and other lesions in vessels and tissues. In this state few animals recover. It is usually the case of puppies with very few defenses or dogs with a serious tick infestation.

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The acute state is the most common and is characterized by a hemolytic anemia (destruction of red blood cells). The sequelae are anemia, fever, enlarged lymph nodes, and the size of the spleen. If it is Babesia canis, jaundice (yellow discoloration of the mucous membranes) and the presence of urine in the urine can be found.

Another clinical state of canine babesiosis is chronic. It is not very common and is characterized by anemia, weight loss and intermittent fever. There are other symptoms that are somewhat less frequent but that may occur in acute cases. There may be vomiting, diarrhea, ascites (accumulation of fluid in the abdomen), or even neurological problems such as incoordination or seizures. There are healthy dogs that are carriers of this parasite without presenting any symptoms, but it can be the source of the infection.

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If your pet has any of the symptoms listed, go to the veterinarian to have tests done to get a diagnosis. Canine babesiosis is characterized by anemia and by a low number of platelets (thrombocytopenia) so in a urine analytical can see alterations but the best way to know if you have this disease is visualizing the presence of the parasite in the blood. If nothing is seen, serology (antibody detection) will be the basis for an accurate diagnosis. Although in this test you can not differentiate between the two types of babesia.

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The treatment of babesia is based on the use of drugs to kill the parasite. If your dog is in a severe phase of anemia, you will need a transfusion. The most effective product to combat this parasite is imidocarb dipropionate, which is administered subcutaneously or intramuscularly, and whose injection will be repeated in 2 weeks after the first dose.

It is a powerful medication that can cause tremors, diarrhea and vomiting. There is another way to combat canine babesiosis with antibiotics such as metronidazole but they are less effective. And it is important that you know that Babesia Gibsoni is more complex to deal with.

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In the end, the best treatment for babesia is prevention . You should always have ticks under control, for this purpose give a dog antiparasitic baths, clean the environment with insecticides, use collars to scare off ticks (or other methods such as pipettes, sprayers).

The preventive measures will be your best ally so that your dog is not a victim of ticks. And finally, we must not forget that one of the ways to contract the disease is by blood transfusions, so it must always be analyzed before.

In we discover other home remedies to eliminate ticks in dogs.