A Common Reason For Travel Clinic Visits: Beaver Fever or Giardia Infection

May 15, 2011

A Common Reason For Travel Clinic Visits: Beaver Fever or Giardia Infection

Filed under: MEDICINE — angekk @ 6:37 am

Remaining healthy on long journeys can be very difficult. Hidden in lush foliage there are viruses borne by insect, and emerging from a hotel’s faucet is bacteria that can lay you up for weeks. One of most common illnesses that traveler’s come down with while on vacation is called giardia. To help you once infected by this debilitating sickness-or to help you remain illness free while overseas-contact a travel clinic.
What is Giardia & How is it Spread?
Giardia is a microscopic parasite that is common in both animals (including cats and dogs) and humans. Giardia causes giardiasis, which is sometimes referred to as Beaver Fever. It is a diarrheal disease and is common overseas and in the United States.
Once the parasite is ingested it lives in the intestines and is passed to the next person (or animal) through feces. When outside the body the disease can last for months, making it difficult to eradicate. It is easily passed on from one host to another.
By visiting a travel clinic you can learn all the ways in which giardia is spread. These include:
• Ingesting under cooked food that contains the organism
• Touching things like bathroom door handles
• A visit to a farm or anywhere animals reside
• Swallowing drinking water or using ice cubes made from infected water
• Swallowing miniscule amounts of infected lake water or pool water.
• Social contact with someone who is infected
• Traveling to countries where giardia is common. These countries/geographical areas include Mexico, Central America, South America, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere on the globe including all of Europe and North America. It would seem the spindly hand of giardia infection creeps across the entire world.
Symptoms typically begin one to three weeks after infection occurs and can last for longer than six weeks. Receiving treatment from a certified travel clinic can shorten this cycle. It is time to visit a travel clinic if you begin suffering from any of the following symptoms:
• Diarrhea
• Stomach and/or abdominal cramps
• Nausea
• Dehydration
• Excessive gas
• Greasy-type stool that tends to float
A stool sample is typically collected for analysis. There are several very effective prescription drugs that can be used for giardia treatment. The fact is that tons of people who travel acquire this parasite. Diarrhea is awful when it lasts a day or two-six weeks or more is downright torturous.
If preparing a journey overseas, it is highly recommended that you visit a travel clinic. Depending on where you are traveling to vaccinations may be required for entry. This is certainly true of the yellow fever vaccination. Many countries will only grant entry with a certificate proving a recent yellow fever inoculation.
For those residing in the New York City area requiring a travel clinic, there is a certified facility located just two blocks from Grand Central Station. Simply log on to NYC travel clinic or call             1-212-696-5900      . Whether preparing for a trip or in need of a prescription for a post-trip poop party-you will certainly find the help you need at Travel vaccinations NYC.

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A Common and Unpleasant Problem - or - Jumpin Giardia, Batman!

A Common and Unpleasant Problem – or – Jumpin Giardia, Batman!

February 10, 2009

When you work in dog daycare, you live in constant fear of three things: Dog fights, high-maintenance customers, and the dreaded Giardia.

Giardia is not a life-threatening disease, but it sure is messy and there’s a chance you could become infected, too. Not pleasant. The symptoms are diarrhea and vomiting, but symptoms are only shown once the condition is advanced and most likely has already spread to other dogs (or your co-workers!).

Dogs become infected with Giardia when they ingest the cysts of the parasite found in feces or in contaminated water. That dog can then lick another dog’s or person’s face and spread the cysts to the recipients of their kisses. The cysts open in the intestine, reproduce, form more cysts, and are passed on through the feces. Once there is an over-abundance of the parasite, that’s when the symptoms begin. Hooray!

Treatment is simple. A few days on Fenbendazole or Metronidazol, and they (or you)  should be ok. Diagnosing the condition is another story, though. Cysts may not occur in every sample of feces your dog makes, so the vet might need multiple samples to confirm the presence of Giardia before treatment, and the absence of the parasites after treatment.

If your dog is diagnosed with Giardia, or if you even suspect he has it, don’t expose him to other dogs, and clean up after him thoroughly. The cysts can live in cold, wet environments for weeks or even months. Avoid boarding him or taking him to daycare. If you must, notify the staff of his condition so they can keep him separate from the playgroup. Understand that your dog will likely spend most of the day in a crate, isolated, to prevent the condition spreading to other dogs.

“So, how do I prevent my dog from getting into this mess in the first place,” you say? If your dog socializes with other dogs, in fact, as long as your dog is a dog, there’s a very good chance he will get Giardia at some point. He can pick it up at the park, the dog beach, kennels, on a walk around the block, pretty much anywhere he might encounter feces. Definitely discourage him from eating, or even sniffing poo. If he steps in some, clean it off of him before he cleans himself.

And I know it seems cruel and heartbreaking and awful to say this, but, don’t kiss your dog! and do your best not to let dogs lick your face. Sure Giardia has helped some of my co-workers lose some weight, but it ain’t pretty. Every time we suspect a case of Giardia in the dogs, each one of us flutters around the daycare weilding a spray bottle of bleach in one hand and Lysol in the other, hoping to exorcise the place of the evil cysts. Whether our obsessive disinfecting has any effect on the spread of the bugs in the daycare, there’s no way to know. But at least we feel like we’re doing something to fight back against the dreaded Giardia.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged city life, dog boarding, dog daycare, doggie daycare, doggy daycare, dogs, giardia, icky, life, pet boarding, pet care, pet sitting, petcare, pets | Leave a Comment »

Some Thoughts on Common Puppy Illnesses...

Socializing your pup is extremely important during the early weeks and months of ownership, yet many owners and even some veterinarians are nervous about the spread of illness during this time period. What to do? Proceed with caution and be proactive, I say.

Be careful where and with whom you choose to socialize your puppy. Stay clear of dog parks and crowded beaches and parks where adult dogs congregate in large numbers until your pup is better able to handle these situations. Ask if your vet’s office offers any puppy social hours. Some vets invite new pups and their owners into the clinic after hours for a bit of social play (for the pups) and education (for the owners). Check with your local dog supply stores to see if they offer puppy play groups. For my local group, which meets weekly on Sundays, I ask that new pups have their first round of shots and preferably the Kennel Cough (Bordatella) vaccine as well before coming to play.

It’s important for owners to realize, however, that their pup may still get an illness despite careful selection of play experiences. Think of it this way: if your child attends nursery school, they may catch a cold or the flu if it’s going around. The same is true with puppies. Feeding your pup a healthy diet, offering plenty of fresh water and ample opportunities to rest will help build a strong, hearty pup – i.e. a pup with a healthy immune system who may be able to fight off or prevent passage of certain viruses.

The Kennel Cough vaccine works like the flu vaccine for humans. It protects against the major strains of the Bordatella virus, but not all strains. Your pup may still contract the illness despite having had the vaccine, but the vaccine provides some level of protection and is worth having if you plan to board or socialize your pup.

Anther common puppy (and adult dog) illness is giardia. Giardia is commonly known as Beaver Fever in the human world. Giardia is a bacteria found in the feces of many wild animals and in dogs as well. Giardia can get into the water source and spread to other dogs through contact with contaminated water in puddles, ponds, streams, etc. Giardia can also be passed from pup to pup through contact with feces or even through mouth play or drinking from a community water bowl. Thus, it’s a good idea to always bring water and a bowl for your pup to play groups and social occasions. Even if your own pup does not eat feces of other dogs, if s/he is sharing the water bowl with others who have, there is a chance that other dogs have introduced the bacteria into the water bowl via their mouths. Avoid community water bowls at dog parks and at dog supply stores, since you don’t know who else has been drinking from those sources.

Here at DWD, the community water bowl is switched out several times per day. All bowls are sanitized with a kennel-strength cleaner before being reused. Dogs who eat poop habitually are dismissed from school for the safety and health of the pack.

Both Kennel Cough and Giardia are treatable with meds. For lists of common symptoms and course of treatment, consult your vet or do a Google search. These illnesses are not life-threatening, but they do take your pup out of the social scene for a while.

Intestinal Parasites Seen in Animals - Common Types

If you have an animal, chances are good you have had a run in with intestinal parasites. Most pet owners have had to deal with the common parasites, like roundworms and hookworms, when monitoring their pet’s health, but there are other lesser known parasites which pet owners should know about.

While whipworms are frequent in the southern United States, they are less common, even rare, throughout the country. This parasite causes the most deaths among adult animals that veterinarians see. Whipworms are spread by contact with fecal matter and can live dormant for over five years. This parasite fastens to the intestinal lining and sucks blood, effectively draining the life out of your pet’s health. Most animals will have uncontainable diarrhea and are very anemic. If the infection is not controlled, lasting scarring can occur in the intestinal lining causing permanent diarrhea. Whipworms are a canine only disease.

Tapeworms are also familiar for animals too and are one of the most annoying parasites in pet health care to date. This parasite can cause vomiting and diarrhea but is not terminal for animals. Many people have had contact with this parasite. It looks like pieces of rice around dog’s and cat’s rectums. Tapeworms are spread by infected fleas and rodents to our pets. Tapeworms need two hosts to stay alive. The egg packets are what causes the chief infestation in fleas and rodents. Using flea products that kill or repel fleas from our pets effortlessly controls tapeworms.

Coccidia is a parasite that can be difficult to correctly diagnose in pet health. This parasitic disease tends to only involve young animals and can be hard to find even on a microscopic level. It can be incorrectly diagnosised as parvo because it can also cause vomiting and bloody diarrhea. Animals bought from a pet store or from breeders with lots of litters tend to have the highest incidences of coccidia.

Giardia is a parasite that is found in inactive water. It affects both cats and dogs and even can also affect humans, affecting both pet health and their owners. Giardia causes watery diarrhea in pets and in humans. If you have heard the adage, don’t drink the water, it is this parasite which has garnered this honor.

These parasites are very different in size and shape and cause different problems, but there are a few things you can do to keep your pet’s health parasite free. Parasites such as roundworms, hookworms and whipworms are easily controlled by oral medications. Probably the best long-term option for these parasites is heartworm preventatives because they are wormed monthly. Parasites tend to be in high concentrations in areas where animals are kept in large numbers and close quarters. Fenced-in pets and animals on chains should have their feces removed daily to keep the parasite levels low. And finally, keeping your animal clean and out of dirty environments can decrease the risk for both coccidia and giardia. Most veterinarians recommend yearly fecals, and after that test is complete your veterinarian can recommend any number of preventatives.

10 MOST COMMON DOG CONDITIONS

Ever since David Letterman popularized his “Top Ten” lists, just about everybody with any kind of a forum of interest has jumped into the fray.  Some of these lists are merely derived from someone’s personal impressions of what should be on their list, while many others are based on some sort of factual database.  This week’s issue of Questions On Dogs and Cats is adapted from an e-mail I received from “Dr. Jon,” a small animal practitioner who writes a regular publication which I will reference a bit later.  Dr. Jon presents data that were accumulated by Trupanion, one of numerous pet health insurance companies.

As you read through this list, many of you will recognize these conditions as ones you have had experience with through the course of your dog ownership.  As any dog owner is well aware, dogs can get themselves into all sorts of trouble, depending on the nature of the dog, the amount and quality of supervision by the owner, and whether or not the dog has just been plain unlucky enough to be exposed to an infectious disease beyond the owner’s control.

This issue won’t be as long as a normal one since Helpful Buckeye is taking Sunday off (my normal publishing day) so that I can drive down to Phoenix to pick up Desperado at the airport.  We will then spend a few days in the Phoenix area…I’ve planned these days to include several surprise venues for Desperado’s enjoyment.

One bit of house-keeping left over from last week’s issue on “What NOT to feed your dog”:  A long-time reader in Florida (my Aunt Cathy, Sam’s lovable “mother”) e-mailed me a question about the bread dough problem for dogs.  She wondered if the problem was with raw or already baked bread dough.  Well, that was a good question because the article I referenced didn’t say which it was.  The article should have specified that the concern is with raw bread dough.  Good question!

How to IDENTIFY the Most Common Dog

 Conditions

From: Dr. Jon’s Dog Crazy Newsletter

When your pet is sick, it’s hard not to think the worst. Not every condition that affects dogs is a rare and unusual disease though. In reality most of them are very common and we vets see them nearly every day. They’re the first things we look for and ones that we get a lot of practice treating. Today I’d like to talk to you about some of these common conditions and how to recognize them.While I was researching for this article I wanted to ensure my data was the most accurate so I talked to my friends over at Trupanion. As a pet insurance company they see and pay a lot of claims so they get an idea of trends and common problems. They filled me in on the most common canine conditions from their list of claims submitted over the last year.

The following is their list of the 10 most frequently diagnosed health problems in dogs (along with any related information on that health problem as it was discussed by Helpful Buckeye in previous issues). Read it for some really helpful information and pay special attention to the tips on recognizing these conditions.

1.     Otitis Externa – Commonly referred to as an “ear infection”, otitis externa is a condition characterized by inflammation of the external ear canal. It is particularly prevalent in dogs with long, floppy ears such as beagles. Ear infections represent one of the top 10 reasons dogs are brought to veterinarians and these infections may affect up to 20 percent of dogs. Common signs of an ear infection are scratching at the ears or shaking the head, as well as odor, inflammation and discharge in the ear.
http://questionsondogsandcats.blogspot.com/search/label/Ear%20Problems

2.      Skin Allergies/Dermatitis – Flea allergy dermatitis is the most common allergy in dogs and is caused by flea bites, specifically the saliva of the flea. The disease typically results in excessive itching and it predisposes dogs to the development of secondary skin infections in the irritated areas. Another common skin allergy is caused by “atopy,” an allergy to environmental substances. Signs of skin allergies are itching, redness, and hair loss.

3.     Diarrhea – Acute diarrhea is a common clinical problem in veterinary practice. It is characterized by a sudden onset and short duration (three weeks or less) of watery or mucus-filled diarrhea. Occasionally the fecal material is also obviously bloody.

4.      Vomiting – At one time or another your dog may have a bout of vomiting. Usually he’ll have eaten something disagreeable, eaten too much or too fast, exercised too soon after eating or is affected by any number of noncritical conditions. Vomiting may be a sign of a very minor problem, or it may be a sign of something very serious.

5.      Pyoderma – This refers to a bacterial infection of the skin. Superficial infections (those within the top layer of skin and the hair follicles) can cause intense itching resulting in discomfort.
http://questionsondogsandcats.blogspot.com/search/label/Pyoderma
 

6.      Urinary Tract Infection – Inflammation of the urinary bladder, sometimes called a urinary tract infection, is usually caused by a bacterial infection. Most cases of bacterial cystitis are “ascending,” meaning that the offending bacteria arise from the dog’s own intestinal tract and “ascend” to the bladder, beginning at the perineum (the skin around the anus), proceeding to the urethra and ultimately the bladder. Common signs are increased urinary frequency, straining to urinate, accidents in the house and/or blood in the urine.
http://questionsondogsandcats.blogspot.com/search/label/Urinary%20Disorders

7.      Conjunctivitis – Another common condition is an inflammation of the conjunctiva, which is the tissue coating the eye and lining the eyelids. Conjunctivitis is a common eye problem in dogs. It may be the only eye disease present, or may be associated with other diseases or eye problems. Common signs are redness of the conjunctiva, squinting, eye discharge or scratching at the eyes.

8.      Skin Masses – These lumps of tissue are within the skin or can be felt under the skin. The characteristic lumps and bumps are fairly common occurrences, especially in the older dog. A skin growth or mass may be a malignant or benign tumor, an abscess, a cyst, a hematoma (blood-filled mass) or a reaction by the skin to an allergen (hives).

9.      Giardia – A highly contagious condition, Giardia is a protozoan parasite found all over the world. Giardia lives in the canine intestinal tract and infection may result in gastrointestinal symptoms or present no symptoms at all. Common signs are stomach upset and diarrhea.
http://questionsondogsandcats.blogspot.com/search/label/Giardia

10.   Foreign Body Ingestion (Stomach) – The ingestion of a foreign object can cause serious health problems including laceration and trauma of the esophagus, stomach, and intestines. This condition is preventable with the correct precautions. Keep all items that your dog might ingest out of his reach. Observe his behavior when playing with toys to ensure he doesn’t try to “eat” them.

Adapted from: http://view.ed4.net/v/8M7W90Q/QIT0/P3LHEF6/9LV71/FORMAT=H

Web site home page for Trupanion: http://trupanion.com/dog-insurance?pc=PP001-DOGFULLHT-20120821

Helpful Buckeye has addressed the topic of pet health insurance in several previous issues and those can be found at:
http://questionsondogsandcats.blogspot.com/search/label/Pet%20Health%20Insurance  This reference includes 10 different issues in which the topic of pet health insurance was discussed, so…you should be able to find whatever you’re looking for in the way of pet health insurance.

SPORTS NEWS

     The LA DODGERS pulled off one of the biggest trades in the history of baseball last night with the Boston Red Sox.  Whether or not this will help us overtake the SF Giants remains to be seen.  However, it does serve as a message to the rest of the National League that the Dodgers are again going to be a major player.

PERSONAL STUFF
Helpful Buckeye was treated to a very nice dinner last night, while Desperado was out of town, by the coconut cream pie lady and her husband…thanks for that!

A couple of positive and forward-looking quotes for this week…how can you lose if you follow these thoughts?:

“Set your life on fire; seek those who fan your flames.“  Rumi

 

and 

“Dwell on the beauty of life.  Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.”  Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor and philosopher

~~The goal of this blog is to provide general information and advice to help you be a better pet owner and to have a more rewarding relationship with your pet. This blog does not intend to replace the professional one-on-one care your pet receives from a practicing veterinarian. When in doubt about your pet’s health, always visit a veterinarian.~~