Babesiosis?

[cowpantslady]

does anyone have experience?

one of our greys tested positive but has no signs

thanks in advance for any info

[Guest boondog]

Were the positive results from a titer? If so, what was the titer value? Depending on that, you may want to do the PCR test that NC State offers. Titers only indicate exposure, PCR will tell you if the microorganism is actually present.

[Jester]

We have had a few dogs come through that have tested positive and my Maisy is also positive. The protocol is not to treat unless the dog exhibits symptoms. However, since one of the main symptoms is fatigue, how do you know? One of the dogs we had was 2 yrs old and just kind of "hung around." We went ahead and treated him and he became a happy, goofy, silly dog. Maisy was very stiff and just wasn't "right." I treated her and she back to her normal, goofy self again. I will say that the dogs we have tested for TBDs we have tested because they just weren't "right." It was just a feeling; the look in their eyes and their general attitude.

[cowpantslady]

the blood was sent to protek

our vet just got the results about an hour ago

we are going in early next week to discuss with him

we had our other tested but he came back negative

now our other guy will go in for testing

thanks for quick replies

another thing to worry about lol

[Guest boondog]

the blood was sent to protek

our vet just got the results about an hour ago

we are going in early next week to discuss with him

we had our other tested but he came back negative

now our other guy will go in for testing

thanks for quick replies

another thing to worry about lol

 

 

Protatek only does titers. I'd wait and see how high the titer is before I'd worry, especially without symptoms. Easy for me to say, huh?!

 

ETA: If you pup really does have active babesia, it's definitely treatable.

Edited June 27, 2008 by boondog

[Guest mandm]

My 3 yr old greyhound had a low positive babesia titer, but had symptoms, so we treated him. The obvious symptoms were vague lameness, lethargy (which is hard to determine in a greyhound), heat intolerance (also hard to determine, especially since we live in the frozen North), diarrhea & weight loss. All symptoms cleared after treatment, except the GI problems, which improved but did not fully resolved until we found a good diet for him. The lameness, lethargy & heat intolerance were definitely due to the babesia, because they disappeared after treatment. He went from being a super laid back male greyhound to a spunky young male greyhound acting his age. Things that he never did before treatment like getting out of bed to see who was at the door, running laps in the backyard, and naughty behavior like jumping up on favorite people and sneaking naps on forbidden furniture. I was, of course, happy to retrain him. A symptom which I never attributed to the disease, but which cleared up after treatment, was mild incontinence. My greyhound would sometimes leak small amounts of urine onto his bed. I thought it was behavioral, that he was holding out for a walk. He has free access to the backyard, but much prefers walks. The leaks stopped after treatment.

 

So, I guess what I am saying is that there may be symptoms present, but you're not seeing them as symptoms. What was the titer number? Did you get a platelet count? My grehound's platelets were not terribly low for a greyhound, 75-80 thousand, if I remember correctly, but there had been a definite drop since the previous platlet count a few month before. All of these things pointed us in the direction of treatment. I did not do a PCR because I did not want to wait for the result. It can take 2-4 weeks. And if the PCR is negative, I would need to run one or two more, just to be sure.

 

Good luck.

[turbotaina]

I'd re-run the serology (babesia only) through NC State. Protatek isn't always right with that one.

[Guest myjazzy]

I'd re-run the serology (babesia only) through NC State. Protatek isn't always right with that one.

 

I second this. I tested my whole pack and two came back positive for babesia. I had the titers rerun by NC State ready to do a PCR if they were positive again. I just got the results back from NC State and they are both negative. If it had been anything else, I would have probably just put them on a round of doxycycline, but since the treatment for babesia, Imizol, can be hard on the system, I wanted to be double-sure before treating them. I also had a CBC run on them and the values were normal.

[inugrey]

I'd re-run the serology (babesia only) through NC State. Protatek isn't always right with that one.

 

I second this. I tested my whole pack and two came back positive for babesia. I had the titers rerun by NC State ready to do a PCR if they were positive again. I just got the results back from NC State and they are both negative. If it had been anything else, I would have probably just put them on a round of doxycycline, but since the treatment for babesia, Imizol, can be hard on the system, I wanted to be double-sure before treating them. I also had a CBC run on them and the values were normal.

 

third. Since it seems your dog is asymptomatic you've got time to do it right through NC State.

[cowpantslady]

thanks for all the advice

the vet wants to do some more blood work

he said not the panic but of i am lol

i will keep everyone updated

[GreyTzu]

I'd re-run the serology (babesia only) through NC State. Protatek isn't always right with that one.

 

:nod Yup, they have a lot of false results. :nod