Split: Split: For Hope and Steve

[Patrice]

The IDEXX SNAP 4DX + tests for 5 tick diseases and heart worm. It is simply a yes/no exam and does not measure “amount of infection.” Babesiosis is not on this test.

Some tick diseases are rickettsial (for example ehrlichiosis) while Lyme is bacterial. Babesiosis is a protozoal disease like malaria.

Read this page carefully:
https://sites.google.com/site/tickbornediseaseindogs/tests
A snip:
“PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) is a procedure that detects the presence of specific DNA sequences (depending on the “primers” used) and thus the presence of a specific organism in a sample of blood, tissue or etc. If living (or sometimes, recently dead) individuals of the pathogen in question are present in the sample you should get a positive reaction. It is however possible for pathogens to be present in the animal but absent in the sample, either by “sampling error” or because the pathogen prefers or is sequestered in particular tissues, etc., that were not included in the sample. Pathogens are not necessarily distributed uniformly in an infected animal’s (or person’s) body. Many pathogens prefer or are limited to certain kinds of cells, for example.”

http://www.protatek.com/reflab/greyhnd.html
“Serology provides a highly accurate and reliable method for the detection of all stages of Canine Babesiosis. *The IFA test is the most specific and sensitive method available.*”

“Two drugs have been determined to be effective against Babesia canis infections: Diminazene aceturate and Imidocarb dipropionate. Diminazene aceturate is still not readily available in the US due to lack of FDA approval. In 1997, Imidocarb dipropionate finally received FDA approval for use against Canine Babesiosis in the US. The drug is now readily available to licensed veterinarians through Schering Animal Health.”

http://www.protatek.com/reflab/diag.html
http://www.protatek.com/PDF/ProtaTek%20Diagnostic%20Testing%20Services%203.12.07.pdf
Protozoal
Canine babesiosis (Babesia canis)
Canine babesiosis (B. gibsoni)

[Vally]

Oh that reminds me. I was at church the other week, and a priest that hasn’t been there for a while, who gives very long, but interesting, homilies, was there. In the middle of his homily, you hear this really loud yawn, and he said “Well that’s a hint that I’ve been going for too long”. It was MY DAD that yawned. He has an incredibly loud yawn. I sit up the front – well away from him thank goodness – as I do the singing (la, la, la, laaaaaa). Dad is actually very hard of hearing and even with hearing aids, would not follow the homily at the best of times, so I’m sure he’s half asleep through them most of the time. It’s also in English and dad’s first language is Italian. Everybody laughed, but dad would have had no idea. I didn’t mention it to him either, or he would have been very embarrassed.

Vally

[Tamara]

Patrice, no yawning here. I’m always interested. Gotten me into loads of trouble but there it is. That and I’m told I’m a born scientist. Even as a kid, if I got into trouble, I would often do it again just to test exactly what it was that got me into trouble – not on purpose, looking back I can see that’s what I did :) . Have to replicate those results lol.
Tamara and Ashki

[Hope]

Patrice- thank you for all of the research and information!! Dr Holland emailed me back and said she’s going to send me info on how to send samples to her to test.
Steve’s first platelet lab values at diagnosis were:

Plt: 741k/uL (thought it was 747.. Sorry!)
Mpv: 11.6 fL
Pdw: 20.6%
Pct: 0.86%

Does that tell you anything? Almost all dogs with Babesia-driven IMHA, as far as I understand (which isn’t much), have thrombocytopenia. I assumed bc his Plt was elevated he didn’t but I understand what you mean by it being more than one value.

Vally – my grandfather used to do the same exact thing! EXCEPT he sat in the front pew or church and would start grumbling and cursing and saying “get on with it… This is a joke” etc etc if they went on too long. Lol! Talk about subtle right? He was deaf almost also so Idk if he knew how loud he was. Mom wouldn’t let me tell him anything.

Hugs to all of you!
Hope and steve

[Hope]

Afternoon all!

Quick question (I promise!): does the color of the pup’s stool matter? Sorry for the imagery but Steve’s has been pretty yellow-orange the entire time he’s been sick. I chalked it up to the sweet potatoes and pumpkin I give him. Today, it was solid tan-yellow. It wasn’t diarrhea or even soft serve at all, the color was just a little shocking.

Thanks!
xoxo Hope

[Hope]

Also.. Forgot to add: they drew blood today to send off for Babesiosis testing!! Yay! Thanks Patrice!!
It was a little awkward trying to explain yesterday how I pay such close attention to stool color but forget little things (sarcasm!) like Steve getting bit by a dog a few months back but it’s all good! They also started him on thyroid medicine at the recommendation of Dr. Dodds!

Hugs to everyone!
Hope and the boys

[Patrice]

Hope,
The normal brown coloring for normal stool comes from bilirubin in bile. Bilirubin comes from hemoglobin(the coloring of red due to iron content) in red blood cells that are old and have been normally destroyed and replaced. The liver is responsible for combining the bilirubin (old hemoglobin) with other elements and excreting it into the bile.

Bile is a fluid that helps the small intestine digest fats and is usually stored in the gall bladder. However the liver produces bile and can substitute in digestion if the gall bladder is removed.

If there is a lot of bilirubin to eliminate, the bile can be nearly black. If there is very little then the stool can be almost yellow.

So when a dog is in active hemolysis, destruction of red blood cells, there is a lot of hemoglobin and the owner may see really dark stools.

So what kinds of reasons would there be for light stool? As the bile and bilirubin travel through the intestines, bacteria can alter the chemical makeup of the stool and this can result in a change in the coloring of stool.

Some kind of blockage to the delivery of bile to the small intestine can also cause the stool to be lighter in color. If the stool doesn’t smell good and seems greasy then it means that the bile was not properly delivered and the fat was not digested.

The gall bladder is directly connected to the small intestine by the bile duct. This duct enters the small intestine in the same general area as the pancreas duct that provides digestive enzymes. If there is pancreatic inflammation, that can block the bile duct. Gall bladder stones an also block the release of bile, either permanently or temporarily. This could account for altering days of good fat digestion with days when it is not digested. And finally if there is liver disease, the liver may have a problem producing bile.

The important thing to remember is to evaluate this color along with the general condition of a dog. If a dog seems fine and has a singular day of altered stool color and in every other way seems ok, then it is probably not an issue.

If you see significant changes over several days, for instance tarry black stool, bloody stool, green mucous stool or gray ash colored stool, then the vet needs to see your dog. Dogs are somewhat prone to developing colitis.
my best
patrice

[Hope]

Thank you, Patrice!!! You rock!
I’ll keep watching him over the next few days but he’s acting fine at the moment — he’s actually being (or trying to be. I keep grounding him to the bed) super hyper and I think he’s over his resting and relaxing time.

Thanks! Xoxo hope and Steve