Nesopora Caninium / Neosporosis

[bommy]

Hi Guys,

This is the silent killer & sometimes is misdiagnosed especially with a lot of vets here not actually testing for it unless YOU specifically asking them to. I was UNAWARE of this until recently here we seem to have had a few cases of it being reported in Aust & NZ in the last 2-3mths. It is very rare & can come from feeding fresh raw beef (even HUMAN GRADE) to our beloved BABIES. I am NOT bagging BARF I am a BARF feeder & still am a BARF feeder & will continue to be I will just be making sure my beef if deepfrozen for atleast a few weeks prior to feeding & in one case one of the breeders doesnt feed raw beef to her dogs anyway... so as little is known of this disease we really need to combine reources & encourage out uni's etc to study it in order to help those of us that do come across it.

People here are now starting to query if this could also be related to fading puppy syndrome, cardio problems & other neurological debilitating dseases.

Following is a copy of information i got from Pets Place & is a study undertaken from Liverpool Uni in the UK. SORRY I HAVE POSTED ALL THE INFO &ITS a BIT LONG BUT i thought it was best topost it all.

"EducationalEducational Events
Report on November 1997 Seminar
NEOSPOROSIS IN DOGS.

SUMMARY
1. Usually neuromuscular disease (ascending paralysis), but wide range of signs
possible.
2. Most commonly reported in puppies and young dogs, but may occur at any age.
3. Worldwide occurrence. No breed or sex predilections.
4. Serology (a type of blood test) is most useful diagnostic test. Examination
of biopsy or post-mortem tissues confirms.
5. Treatment results in functional recovery in many cases.
6. Control/prevention is difficult since the lifecycle and modes of transmission
of Neospora caninum are incompletely understood.
INTRODUCTION
Neosporosis is a relatively recently recognised disease complex, which has most
commonly been reported as an ascending paralysis of young dogs, but which can
cause a wide variety of clinical signs in dogs of all ages.
NEOSPORA CANINUM - THE CAUSATIVE ORGANISM
· A microscopic, Toxoplasma gondii-like parasite, causing muscle weakness, was
described in three litters of Boxer puppies in Norway in 1984. In 1988
researchers in the United States named the causative organism Neospora caninum.
· The parasite was isolated in 1988, grown in tissue culture and tests were
developed. There followed many reports of neosporosis, particularly as the
neuromuscular form of the disease in litters of young pups, from all over the
world. Examination of stored tissue samples revealed that neosporosis was not a
new disease, but occurred in dogs at least as early as the 1950s.
· N.caninum occurs naturally in cattle (where it is an important cause of
abortion), sheep, goats, deer and horses. Experimental infections have been
reported in many species, including rats, mice and monkeys but no natural cases
have yet been reported in cats or man.
· The lifecycle of N.caninum is not yet fully understood.
WHICH DOGS ARE AT RISK FROM NEOSPOROSIS?
Age
Dogs of any age may develop neosporosis. Most reported cases have involved
several littermates, with clinical signs developing at between two and twenty
weeks of age, but confirmed cases have occurred in dogs as young as 2 days old
and as old as 15 years, and many involve isolated individuals, as well as groups
of cases in related dogs. It is also possible that neosporosis may result in
stillbirths and abortions/resorptions, but neosporosis has not been confirmed in
such cases as yet
Breed
Any breed or type of dog may be affected. Neosporosis has been confirmed in more
than 30 breeds, ranging from Yorkshire Terrier, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
and West Highland White Terrier through Border Collie, Springer Spaniel and
Husky to Great Dane, Bernese Mountain Dog and Irish Wolfhound. Labradors and
Boxers have been well represented, but these are very popular breeds.
Cases have been reported from owners with a single pet through to large breeders
with many animals on the premises, and in dogs from both rural and urban areas.
No sex predilections have been found.
Other concurrent disease, such as canine distemper, is not commonly found in
cases of neosporosis, but immunosuppression may make the disease worse.
CLINICAL SIGNS
Most commonly - a hindlimb weakness, which progresses to paralysis, forelimb
weakness and difficulty in chewing, swallowing and then breathing, resulting in
death or euthanasia. The course of the disease is variable, with peracute cases
dying within a week of the first signs being noticed, to a much more chronic
course in which signs gradually progress over several weeks. Owners often
initially notice a bunny-hopping type of gait, reluctance to jump up or a
splaying out of legs when squatting. One or both hindlimbs may be affected. In
about half of cases a rigid extension of stifle and/or hock develops.
Incontinence is rare initially but may develop as the disease progresses. Fever
and inappetance are rare, with most dogs remaining bright and alert until the
later stages.
Dogs may also present with one or more of the following signs:-
· Weakness/paralysis of forelimb(s) only
· Drunken-type or high stepping gait
· Altered behaviour
· Blindness
· Head tilt
· Head nodding / tremors
· Seizures (fits)
· Sudden death due to inflammation of the heart
· Pneumonia (cough, breathlessness)
· Skin abnormalities
Many other conditions may result in similar clinical signs, including :-
· Trauma e.g. bitch must have stood on pup, 'dog fell, etc.
· Intervertebral disc disease including 'slipped discs", wobblers
· Toxoplasmosis
· Other infectious diseases e.g. canine distemper, rabies
· Congenital/inherited defects e.g. progressive axonopathy of Boxers, spina
bifida
· Thrombo-embolic diseases (bloodclots)
· Neoplasia (growths/cancer)
· Poisoning e.g. botulism
etc., etc.
DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
X-rays are often used to rule out differential diagnoses, as are routine blood
tests (haematology and clinical biochemistry). There are no specific changes in
these tests in cases of neosporosis.
Serology (blood tests to measure antibody levels) - the indirect fluorescent
antibody test (IFAT) is usually used to measure antibodies to N. caninum. A
result (titre) of 1:50 or more (this is the dilution of blood used in the test)
is considered positive evidence of exposure to N. caninum, but not necessarily
of disease. Virtually all confirmed cases of neosporosis have had high titres
(1:800 or more). Although a few clinically normal dogs have had titres up to
1:12800, a titre of 1:800 or more in a dog with clinical signs is good
supportive evidence of neosporosis. Most titres fall over a period of weeks
following treatment However, antibodies remain detectable for many months or
even years. Test titre results depend on many factors and the above information
relates mainly to the IFAT used at Liverpool University, and not necessarily to
tests carried out by other labs.
Collection of the fluid around the spinal cord (CSF analysis) usually reveals
non-specific changes, but parasites may be detected
Electromyography/nerve conduction studies may reveal nerve or muscle damage.
CT/MRI scans are not yet widely available enough to have been used in many cases
of neosporosis, but these techniques may be able to detect some CNS changes,
such as large cysts and areas of inflammation, as occurs in toxoplasmosis in
humans.
CONFIRMATION OF NEOSPOROSIS
Pre-death biopsies (e.g. of muscle, or skin in dermatological cases), utilising
special staining techniques (immunohistochemistry), may confirm the diagnosis.
Post-mortem findings may confirm the disease in fatal cases. Parasites are most
likely to be found in sections of brain, spinal cord and affected muscle, but
may also be seen in heart lungs, liver and/or kidney.
DNA tests, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques are likely to be
more widely available in the near future to identity parasite nucleic add, in
CSF samples, biopsy material or tissue sections.
TREATMENT
· Clindamycin (Antirobe) [11-22mg/kg twice daily
· Potentiated sulphonamides (e.g. Tribissen Co-Trimoxazole) [15mg/kg twice
daily]
· Pyrimethamine (Daraprim ,anti-malarial drug) [1mg.kg once daily]
Treatment should be instituted as soon as possible when neosporosis is
suspected. Since the drugs have few side effects and are relatively cheap, this
might even be before serological test results are available. If the dog is going
to respond, there should be some improvement within a few days of commencing
treatment Treatment should continue until the dog has fully recovered or no
further clinical improvement is seen (2-9 weeks). Supportive treatment, e.g.
aspirin like drugs, low doses of corticosteroids, plus good nursing care e.g.
bladder expression and physiotherapy are also beneficial.
About half of appropriately treated dogs might be expected to make a full or
functional recovery, although many are left with an odd gait, muscle wastage or
roached back. Rigid hyperextension is the sign least likely to be reversed. If
this hyperextension is unilateral, amputation of the affected limb may improve
the dogs mobility. Peracute and very chronic cases are the least likely to
respond.
There is anecdotal evidence that relapses may occur, but these generally respond
well to a further short course of treatment
There is also evidence that some, generally more mildly affected, dogs make a
spontaneous recovery.
CONTROL AND PREVENTION
Transmission of the parasite from an infected, but clinically normal bitch to
her puppies was for a long time the only confirmed route of infection in dogs.
However, the number of puppies infected in each litter varies from none to all
of the litter, with overall only about 20% pups seropositive. Fewer than half of
these infected pups are ever likely to develop clinical signs of neosporosis.
Transmission can occur repeatedly over several consecutive litters. Bitches with
an IFAT titre of 1:50 have produced affected puppies, but infections and disease
are more likely in pups born to bitches with high titres. Care should be taken
in interpreting low IFAT results - the sensitivity and specificity of the tests
used are not known exactly, and the risks of producing an affected puppy is
actually quite low. Similarly, there may be legal implications if a positive
bitch is bred from, regarding whether or not resulting puppies should be tested
before sale and whether any results should be disclosed to purchasers when
puppies are apparently healthy at the time of the sale. Such matters need
careful discussion!
There is only limited data available on the preventative treatment of bitches
during pregnancy to prevent prenatal infection of pups, or of seropositive
littermates, but such treatments have generally been unsuccessful.
Since congenital infection is far less than 100% efficient and experimentally,
cats and mice have been infected by mouth), infection after birth is also
suspected to occur, and studies of infection rates in many dogs of all ages have
provided evidence that this is so. The route of infection is thought to be
through the ingestion of raw meat (especially beef), so it is sensible to advise
cooking meat thoroughly before feeding (including scraped beef used for weaning
puppies). It is also likely that freezing would destroy the parasite. It is also
possible that infection could result from the ingestion of the parasite from the
environment after it has been shed by other infected animals, although the
identity of such animals is presently unknown.
Finally, although there is evidence that post-natal infection does occur, it is
still not known whether disease in adult dogs is due to a relapse of congenital
infection or follows from a recent infection in the adult dog.
HOW COMMON IS NEOSPOROSIS?
Neosporosis occurs worldwide. Cases have been reported from Europe, USA, Canada,
Australia, South Africa, Japan and Costa Rica. There is also evidence of
infection in equatorial Africa and South America.
Prevalence (of infection, not disease) varies from 0.5% to 17% of dogs tested.
Studies in the UK have shown a decline in prevalence over the past 10 years.
Whether or not such a decline is also happening in other countries is not known.
CONCLUSION
Neosporosis is not a common disease, but it may result in a wide variety of
clinical signs. It should be suspected in all neuromuscular disorders where
another cause has not been confirmed. Indeed, since treatment is relatively sate
and not too expensive, early treatment of suspected cases, even before test
results are available, is worthwhile. Neosporosis should also be considered in
cases of sudden death in pups and young dogs, in ulcerative dermatitis and in
cases of pneumonia where serology and/or histopathology will aid in diagnosis.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank Petsavers for supporting the studies on canine neosporosis
carried out at Liverpool University, and Prof A.J.Trees and all the members of
the Veterinary Parasitology group there. Also all the vets and dog owners who
helped in my research.
Dr Jackie Barber, BVetMed, PhD, MRCVS formerly at :-
Veterinary Parasitology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place,
Liverpool L3 5QA Phone 01517089393.
Now in private practice in North West England.
Other Seminar Topics
A member of ACPAT gave a very imformative talk on Animal Physiotherapy including
the use of laser treatment, although we do not have a paper on this we do have a
list of Members of the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Animal
Therapy practising in England."

If anyone else has anything else to add to this topic I would appreciate it.

Molly after being sick on & off with a few of these symptoms has had bloodwork done yesterday for Neospora... I hope its not this but we felt it best to check.

Thanks

Jacqui