That is terrible! I'm so sorry Jen and Brad. It's hard to see my cat have them, but in some ways it's easier because she's so old. I guess you expect them to have health problems in their old age, but a puppy. I would be freaking out.
Here's praying that this can all be cleared up soon and with anti-biotics.
Brad and Jen: All my best wishes to you and Nori... Hoping and praying the antibiotics do their magic and that is the end of the seizures, then on to a full and happy life. Poor little babe had been through lots in the past few days getting to her life with you.... Peace...and healing thoughts coming your way...
Well, we did 3 stool samples! They found nothing... Then, just now, we got a call from the vet clinic, one of our vets decided to take a fourth look and found some very small eggs in her stool (so awesome she was proactive like that). She said it looked like hook-worm eggs, but much smaller. So Nori is on a dewormer now... hopefully that is the cause of all the issue.
Just in case that is not the cause of the seizures, we have decided to keep her on the antibiotics. Also tomorrow she goes in for a Bile Acid Profile, and we are waiting blood-work results from Colorado State, they did a test for a specific infection that we don not have here but they do have in Japan.
Finger crossed that at least one of these is triggering the seizure and we can get it cleared up in a week or so!
Thanks for the update Brad. Been really worried about Nori. Hopefully we find out what is causing this and it can get cleared up quickly. Fingers crossed.
We got the results from Nori's Bile Acid Test, the test was inconclusive. So that means she doesn't have a Liver Shunt. I guess this is good news and bad news.
We now wait for the results of the Neospora Caninum screening, we were told it will take a week to get those results. Neospora caninum is a fairly new parasite that's been passed to dogs from cows. At this time there is no cure for Neospora caninum and it is deadly and has been seen to spread dog-to-dog or even cow-to-dog. If her Neospora caninum test result comes back positive she will have to be put to sleep. So, lets all hope that the Neospora caninum test results comes back negative.
If the Neospora caninum come back negative then we don't know what is wrong with Nori, we will be back to square one. She will go on Seizure meds to reduce the seizures and we will continue our search.
Vet Parasitol. 2007 Nov 10;149(3-4):158-66. Epub 2007 Sep 24. Neosporosis in Beagle dogs: clinical signs, diagnosis, treatment, isolation and genetic characterization of Neospora caninum. Dubey JP, Vianna MC, Kwok OC, Hill DE, Miska KB, Tuo W, Velmurugan GV, Conors M, Jenkins MC.
Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Animal and Natural Resources Institute, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agricultural, Building 1001, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA. JITENDER.DUBEY@ARS.USDA.GOV
Clinical neosporosis was diagnosed in a litter of five pups born to a Beagle bitch from Virginia, USA. Four of the pups developed limb weakness starting at 4 weeks of age. The dogs were suspected to have neosporosis based on clinical signs and empirically treated with Clindamycin (75 mg, oral, twice daily, total 150 mg) starting at 9 weeks of age and the dosage was doubled at 13 weeks of age. Antibodies to Neospora caninum were detected in sera of the dam and pups when first tested serologically at the age of 4 months. The owner donated the pup with the worst clinical signs and the dam for research; both dogs were euthanized. Viable N. caninum was isolated in gamma interferon gene knock out (KO) mice and in cell culture from the pup killed at 137 days of age. Tissue cysts, but no tachyzoites, were found in histological sections of brain and muscles. The isolate was also identified as N. caninum by PCR and sequence analysis and designated NC-9. N. caninum was neither isolated by bioassay in KO mice nor found in histological sections of tissues of the bitch. Clinical signs in the remaining three pups improved considerably after a 6-month treatment with Clindamycin; N. caninum antibody titers were still persistent in these pups at 23 months of age. Results indicate that medication with Clindamycin can improve clinical condition but not eliminate N. caninum infection.
--
J Vet Med Sci. 2008 Aug;70(8):869-72. Serological survey of Neospora caninum infection among dogs in Japan through species-specific ELISA. Kubota N, Sakata Y, Miyazaki N, Itamoto K, Bannai H, Nishikawa Y, Xuan X, Inokuma H.
Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Japan.
A seroepidemiological survey of Neospora caninum infection among dogs in Japan was conducted using species-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with recombinant surface antigen (Nc-SAG1t). Among 1,206 dogs examined, 126 dogs (10.4%) from 30 prefectures from Hokkaido to Okinawa were positive to N. caninum infections, which were more frequently detected in females than males. Siberian Huskies showed the highest positive rate compared with the other breeds. Dogs with pyometra and diabetes mellitus showed the higher positive rates than dogs with other diseases or without diseases.
--
J Vet Med Sci. 1998 Jul;60(7):853-4. Serological survey of antibody to Neospora caninum in Japanese dogs. Sawada M, Park CH, Kondo H, Morita T, Shimada A, Yamane I, Umemura T.
Laboratory of Comparative Pathology, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
Prevalence of antibody to Neospora caninum (NC) in Japanese dogs were examined. The antibody was positive in 15 of 48 dogs (31.3%) reared in the dairy farms that had case of the abortions due to NC infection or had the cattle seropositive to NC, whereas the prevalence was 7.1% (14 of 198 dogs) among the dogs kept in urban areas. In one dog breeder, all 17 Shetland sheepdogs older than 7 months were seropositive, and one pup was diagnosed as neosporosis 2 months before the first serological examination. The antibody titers of the dogs kept at this breeder were almost unchanged for 1.5 years. Serological evidence of the dogs in the dairy farms and urban areas indicates the transmission of NC between dogs and cattle. Also serological results of the dogs in one breeder may suggest the potential horizontal transmission among dogs.
Wow, this is sounding like quite the adventure...a very expensive and "unfun" one but an adventure none the less.
Yeah, I'd rather the results come back negative and that you just have to search for another cause to her seizures, something that doesn't involve having to put any dogs "to sleep".
This f*chiking sucks! Sorry about my language but this is just the worst thing to have to wait and find out about. I'm so sorry, and here's praying that this test comes back negative.
Comments
Here's praying that this can all be cleared up soon and with anti-biotics.
You guys are definitely in my thoughts, and I hope that she gets better with the antibiotics.
Just in case that is not the cause of the seizures, we have decided to keep her on the antibiotics. Also tomorrow she goes in for a Bile Acid Profile, and we are waiting blood-work results from Colorado State, they did a test for a specific infection that we don not have here but they do have in Japan.
Finger crossed that at least one of these is triggering the seizure and we can get it cleared up in a week or so!
----
Best wishes all around.
Poor Nori! Good luck little girl, we're all pulling for you!
All the best!
-breathes-
Get better quick little Nori!!! *Super spectacular parasite killing vibes!*
Keeping fingers crossed for little Nori.
Hope that the de-wormer clears things up for her and stops the seizures. (and/or the antibiotics)
Let us know how she is doing!
We now wait for the results of the Neospora Caninum screening, we were told it will take a week to get those results. Neospora caninum is a fairly new parasite that's been passed to dogs from cows. At this time there is no cure for Neospora caninum and it is deadly and has been seen to spread dog-to-dog or even cow-to-dog. If her Neospora caninum test result comes back positive she will have to be put to sleep. So, lets all hope that the Neospora caninum test results comes back negative.
If the Neospora caninum come back negative then we don't know what is wrong with Nori, we will be back to square one. She will go on Seizure meds to reduce the seizures and we will continue our search.
----
Info on Neospora caninum: http://www.petplace.com/dogs/neosporosis/page1.aspx
Additional info...
Vet Parasitol. 2007 Nov 10;149(3-4):158-66. Epub 2007 Sep 24.
Neosporosis in Beagle dogs: clinical signs, diagnosis, treatment, isolation and genetic characterization of Neospora caninum.
Dubey JP, Vianna MC, Kwok OC, Hill DE, Miska KB, Tuo W, Velmurugan GV, Conors M, Jenkins MC.
Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Animal and Natural Resources Institute, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agricultural, Building 1001, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA. JITENDER.DUBEY@ARS.USDA.GOV
Clinical neosporosis was diagnosed in a litter of five pups born to a Beagle bitch from Virginia, USA. Four of the pups developed limb weakness starting at 4 weeks of age. The dogs were suspected to have neosporosis based on clinical signs and empirically treated with Clindamycin (75 mg, oral, twice daily, total 150 mg) starting at 9 weeks of age and the dosage was doubled at 13 weeks of age. Antibodies to Neospora caninum were detected in sera of the dam and pups when first tested serologically at the age of 4 months. The owner donated the pup with the worst clinical signs and the dam for research; both dogs were euthanized. Viable N. caninum was isolated in gamma interferon gene knock out (KO) mice and in cell culture from the pup killed at 137 days of age. Tissue cysts, but no tachyzoites, were found in histological sections of brain and muscles. The isolate was also identified as N. caninum by PCR and sequence analysis and designated NC-9. N. caninum was neither isolated by bioassay in KO mice nor found in histological sections of tissues of the bitch. Clinical signs in the remaining three pups improved considerably after a 6-month treatment with Clindamycin; N. caninum antibody titers were still persistent in these pups at 23 months of age. Results indicate that medication with Clindamycin can improve clinical condition but not eliminate N. caninum infection.
--
J Vet Med Sci. 2008 Aug;70(8):869-72.
Serological survey of Neospora caninum infection among dogs in Japan through species-specific ELISA.
Kubota N, Sakata Y, Miyazaki N, Itamoto K, Bannai H, Nishikawa Y, Xuan X, Inokuma H.
Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Japan.
A seroepidemiological survey of Neospora caninum infection among dogs in Japan was conducted using species-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with recombinant surface antigen (Nc-SAG1t). Among 1,206 dogs examined, 126 dogs (10.4%) from 30 prefectures from Hokkaido to Okinawa were positive to N. caninum infections, which were more frequently detected in females than males. Siberian Huskies showed the highest positive rate compared with the other breeds. Dogs with pyometra and diabetes mellitus showed the higher positive rates than dogs with other diseases or without diseases.
--
J Vet Med Sci. 1998 Jul;60(7):853-4.
Serological survey of antibody to Neospora caninum in Japanese dogs.
Sawada M, Park CH, Kondo H, Morita T, Shimada A, Yamane I, Umemura T.
Laboratory of Comparative Pathology, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
Prevalence of antibody to Neospora caninum (NC) in Japanese dogs were examined. The antibody was positive in 15 of 48 dogs (31.3%) reared in the dairy farms that had case of the abortions due to NC infection or had the cattle seropositive to NC, whereas the prevalence was 7.1% (14 of 198 dogs) among the dogs kept in urban areas. In one dog breeder, all 17 Shetland sheepdogs older than 7 months were seropositive, and one pup was diagnosed as neosporosis 2 months before the first serological examination. The antibody titers of the dogs kept at this breeder were almost unchanged for 1.5 years. Serological evidence of the dogs in the dairy farms and urban areas indicates the transmission of NC between dogs and cattle. Also serological results of the dogs in one breeder may suggest the potential horizontal transmission among dogs.
----
Yeah, I'd rather the results come back negative and that you just have to search for another cause to her seizures, something that doesn't involve having to put any dogs "to sleep".