Canine Valley Fever

[brandimom]

You might recall a topic I started earlier this month and it was "Gout". A gal in our greyhound group thought her grey might have gout. Further testing came up with Canine Valley Fever and the dog is on meds now but don't know the name of the meds. I have lived in Nevada (a desert area) since 1966 and have not heard of CVF in this area. I thought it was more common in the AZ and Southern CA. areas. Has anyone out there had a grey with CVF? Any information you could share would be wonderful. I have googled it but still would like to hear from GT folks. Thanks.

[Guest tricolorhounds]

Did the dog spend any time in Arizona prior to adoption?

[Guest azlorenz]

Our Lexie was diagnosed in Sept. of 2006. She has been on Fluconozale since that time. Her titer has come down from 1:32 to 1:8. We lost our greyhound Jeffrey to CVF in August 2003. His titer was 1:64 and we got it down to 1:32 but he had a terrible intollerance to the medication and the VF had spread to his liver. I think a lot of the difference between Lexie's case and Jeffrey's case is that Lexie has a wonderful personality and loves FOOD. Jeffrey was always a picky eater (as well as VERY stubborn) and completely stopped eating. Keeping the food in them is so very important. Here is a link to probably the best CVF guide there is written by Dr. Stack.

 

http://greythealth.com/coccidio.htm

Edited September 19, 2009 by azlorenz

[brandimom]

Thank you. I just sent that link to my friend. Unfortunately she is not able to join GT because she has a yahoo.com account. As far as she knows the grey came from the Mexico track and GAC was the group she got the grey from in Southern CA but she has been in Nevada three years with this grey and they have not traveled back to Southern CA. (well I think that sentence was long enough). I have also given her the information on the Greyhound Health and Wellness program, phone number and email addresses so she can contact them with questions.

 

Fortunately the grey still has a good appetit.

Edited September 19, 2009 by brandimom

[seeh2o]

Thank you. I just sent that link to my friend. Unfortunately she is not able to join GT because she has a yahoo.com account. As far as she knows the grey came from the Mexico track and GAC was the group she got the grey from in Southern CA but she has been in Nevada three years with this grey and they have not traveled back to Southern CA. (well I think that sentence was long enough). I have also given her the information on the Greyhound Health and Wellness program, phone number and email addresses so she can contact them with questions.

 

Fortunately the grey still has a good appetit.

 

My understanding is that most of the dogs who test positive for Valley Fever ran in either AZ or Mexico. I've not heard of dogs contracting it here in So Cal, but after the Northridge earthquake a lot of the VF spors were shaken up into the atmosphere and a lot of people came down with VF, I'd guess animals, too. That means it's here as well. Maybe it's just not as easy to get in SoCal unless there is an "event" that causes it? Good luck to your friend. You may want to contact Mary Jo, Blackandbrindle, for more information. Her Sadie has been treated for VF the last year and just posted her success with bringing Sadie's titers down.

Edited September 19, 2009 by ckruzan

[CaliforniaGreys]

I think Shanti is dealing with valley fever as well and she's here in So Ca

[seeh2o]

I think Shanti is dealing with valley fever as well and she's here in So Ca

 

That's right, I don't know how I forgot that sweet little girl! I believe Shanti raced in Caliente, Mexico.

[Guest tricolorhounds]

I'd hazard a guess that these dogs spent time in Arizona and contracted VF there prior to going to Caliente. I'm not aware of VF being present the area where the GAC kennels are, plus the dogs have little to no contact with soil.

[Guest Ashley]

I have never even heard of this, thanks for the info!

[brandimom]

Thanks again everyone. Who on GT has Shanti? If you could let me know her GT username I will send a PM to her.

[Guest tricolorhounds]

ShantisMom

 

She's also a GAC dog but came from Arizona

[Guest GentleHugs]

Dogs who contract VF do not necessarily come from the states in which VF is prevailant. They could have traveled through a VF area during a monsoon or was near a construction site where the soil was disturbed sending the VF fungal spores into the air. VF is contracted by breathing the spores in either by nose or mouth and of course, they are odorless, tasteless and you can't see them either. All it takes is one fungal spore to enter the body and take hold.

 

The states in which VF has been detected are Arizona, some parts of New Mexico, some parts of Southern California and some parts of the far western part of Texas. Mexico also has Valley Fever spores as well. I've heard of some dogs as far away as Washington State and Maine being diagnosed with VF all because the dog once traveled through a VF area when on vacation or had raced in a VF area and the adoptive parent not know the past history on their hound. There was some talk about the spores reaching the southern parts of Nevada during the heavy monsoon season in Arizona being carried by wind. Just because the dog was adopted in a state where VF is not normally at - doesn't mean the dog was never in a VF region before they came to the adoption group. This is where I feel knowing your dog's entire history of where they have been at is important to know if you can find out the history on the dog.

 

AZLorenz - what was the name of the vet who was doing a lot of research on VF dogs in southern Arizona a few years ago when Eric (Teri's boy) was diagnosed with VF? I can't recall her name anymore because it's been so long.

 

VF can be rather nasty to deal with IF you are not familiar with it. It can mimic bone cancer and it causes severe anorexia in dogs. You have to force feed the dog if he/she goes anorexic to get them over that hump. They will drop weight fast during this time so anything you can get down them is about all you can do other than getting them on the right medication asap. Fluconozale and ketaconozale (sp?) are anti fungal meds used to treat VF cases.

 

Some have had success in giving vitamin and herbal supplements in conjunction with the anti fungal meds. Having regular titers done to see if the VF titer has gone up or down is important, too. One must keep an upper hand on VF at all times. It's a challenge and it's frustrating.

Edited September 20, 2009 by GentleHugs

[brandimom]

Thank you. I just sent that link to my friend. Unfortunately she is not able to join GT because she has a yahoo.com account. As far as she knows the grey came from the Mexico track and GAC was the group she got the grey from in Southern CA but she has been in Nevada three years with this grey and they have not traveled back to Southern CA. (well I think that sentence was long enough). I have also given her the information on the Greyhound Health and Wellness program, phone number and email addresses so she can contact them with questions.

 

Fortunately the grey still has a good appetit.

 

My understanding is that most of the dogs who test positive for Valley Fever ran in either AZ or Mexico. I've not heard of dogs contracting it here in So Cal, but after the Northridge earthquake a lot of the VF spors were shaken up into the atmosphere and a lot of people came down with VF, I'd guess animals, too. That means it's here as well. Maybe it's just not as easy to get in SoCal unless there is an "event" that causes it? Good luck to your friend. You may want to contact Mary Jo, Blackandbrindle, for more information. Her Sadie has been treated for VF the last year and just posted her success with bringing Sadie's titers down.

 

Thanks. I just sent her Mary Jo a PM.

 

 

ShantisMom

 

She's also a GAC dog but came from Arizona

Thanks. I will send her a PM.

[ShantisMom]

I just got to this from your PM. I will send you all I have. We have been battling it knowingly for 13 months. She had it longer than that. Her titer is 1:32, VERY symptomatic. We have not been successful in lowering her titer yet, but I keep my fingers crossed. We will retest in a couple weeks. I can say in the last couple months I have seen HUGE changes in Shanti. She is actually using her leg that has it the worst about 60-70% of the time. She did not use it at all for years. She came out of Arizona to Mexico to GAC then me. She found all the hot beds for VF.

 

With VF the medicine makes them feel like crap. Eating is crucial! They need the fat to make the medicine work right so you get food down them anyway you can.

 

Feel free to email me anytime.

[ShantisMom]

I just sent you a ton of info. Hopefully that will help you understand it all a little better.

[brandimom]

Thank you everyone. All of this information is so helpful and I am cutting and pasting to my grey friend.

[GreyAcresMom]

Cosmo also has VF. He has been on his meds for a little over 2 years. He had a very high count at first...1:64. He has come down each year. The next test was 1:32 and then 1:25 and I think she said that he is at 1:16 now. He will probably never be "cured" and will be on pills for the rest of his life. But it is not the death sentence that it was a just few years ago.

 

Theresa is right on the money when she said listed the states that you can find VF. Just driving thru during a little dust storm and you can get the spore.

 

DR Susan Stack in Yuma, AZ has done a lot of research about VF and has a great little web site. Greyt health

look under Coccidiodomycosis

 

Cosmo gets his meds from Road Runner Pharmacy (Phoenix). He gets 90 pills (fluconazole 200 mg 2x a day) for about $46.00 and he gets a new toy in each box.

 

The only thing with Cosmo was that he got SO THIN. My big 80ish pound boy got all the way down to 65#. With in a week of the meds and the satin balls he put on 5#.

 

He is a normal active goofy boy. Love him to pieces.

 

Good Luck. Remember that it is not a death sentence anymore.

Edited September 20, 2009 by GreyAcresMom

[greypuppyluv]

From what I remember of the disease, it can lay dormant for awhile before detection. So, the dog could have been in AZ at one time and contracted it then, but not have symptons until now. Stress can trigger a flare-up.

 

I'd hazard a guess that these dogs spent time in Arizona and contracted VF there prior to going to Caliente. I'm not aware of VF being present the area where the GAC kennels are, plus the dogs have little to no contact with soil.

This would be my feeling as well.

[ShantisMom]

My guess is Arizona too, but Mexico is a hot spot. Those pups came into GAC with it. They did not get it there.

[seeh2o]

 

Here's an even better map from USGS:

Edited September 20, 2009 by ckruzan

[Guest GentleHugs]

 

Here's an even better map from USGS:

 

Wow....that's a bigger area than what I stated....but then again, when I learned about Valley Fever was a few years ago, too, and there were no maps to show where it was found. They only named parts of states. Looks like it covers most of California, all of Arizona, parts of Nevada and it's creeped over to the central part of Texas, too. - wow....