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[SKYRAKER]

A few weeks past I had a disheartening conversation with a friend I had hunted with the first week of October in Lake of the Woods Ont.  He said his dog Jake was not well and had been recently diagnosed with blastomycosis.  Jake had originally been treated for kennel cough since he had a poor appetite, fever, malaise, and cough.  The treatment was not effective; a subseqent follow up visit revealed a lung mass which was dignosed as cancer.  Jake was not given long with this new prognosis.  Since the symptoms did not add up, Jake's owner sought out a second opinion.  A needle aspirate revealed blastomyces.  Weeks had passed and Jake was now in poor physical condition.  Nevertheless he had a diagnosis and treatment.  Iterconazole was the drug of choice.  Two days after treatment was initiated, Jake bleed out and suffered a horrible death.  As this unfolded, I watched my dog closely for any signs of infection (the five of us that went to canada waterfowl hunting are all dog trainers and each took a dog along-Jake and my dog Hana hunted side by side most of the trip).  Sadly enough, the day after Jake passed my dog Hana began to cough when first let out in the morning and when running.  As the weekend passed, the cough went away, but was replaced with a weezing type sound almost as if she was having a difficult time breathing.  I went to the vet, x-rays were inconclusive, but did have areas of concern, temperature normal.  I ran a cbc - the wbc ct was at the upper end of normal but the differential revealed 20% bands.  A blasto antibody titer was ordered and came back negative.  Her condition did not improve.  I took her back to the vet the following Monday.  Her temp was 103.6, she had lost 6 lbs (although appetite still good), left lung sounded congsted.  The vet put her on sulfa drugs to treat an upper respiratory condition.  The antibiotics have not improved her condition.  She is beginning to loose her appetite and continues to have increased difficulty breathing when running and appears gimpy at times.

I started out thinking blasto...and  while hoping not blasto still think blasto a strong possibility.  Where do I go next?  Is there an early diagnostic test that will confirm blasto?  I would assume early detection and treatment would greatly increase her chances of making a full recovery.  My vet is baffled but is willing to work with me.

[gunner]

Hi Skyraker,

I am sorry to find yet another new face on this forum, but we are all more than willing to help and answer what ever questions we can.

As I read your post, alarm bells were ringing in my head.  Don't give up on it being blasto quite so quickly.  It is the master of disguise.  The most common misdignosis is cancer.  Just because the test came back negative doesn't mean he doesn't have it.  I had Gunner tested for it nearly a dozen times before it finally came back positive.  I had every lesion, lump and bump tested, even her eye after it was removed, even though it was full of the stuff tested negative.  Hanna has too many Blasto symptoms to stop looking at it just because one test came back negative. 

The NUMBER ONE rule in vetrinary medicine (I have read) is when a fungal infection is even SUSPECTED they should treat it FIRST and then look for confirmation.  While you are waiting for confirmation you are loosing precious time.  Fungal infections can become lethal incredibly quickly.  Some of us on this forum have insisted that our dogs be treated for a fungal infection while the vets still fumble around trying to find an answer and our dogs started to get better while on anti-fungals.  Even IF Hana doesn't have blasto or any other fungal condition, it won't hurt her one bit to be on anti-fungals while you are still searching for answers.  It could very well save her life if indeed that is her problem. 

MiraVista labs, does a really fast blasto test.  You can get their test requisition form on line.  Take it to your vet.  Catch an early morning urine sample and send it off you will hear back from them in just a few days.  It is the most accurate test we know.  You can even monitor your dog's progress in fighting the disease through them.  They can also test the dog's blood to make sure that the medicine is at the correct levels and how well it is working. 

Please read "Blastomycosis Newsletter"  on this forum.  It is a compilation of all the best information we have gathered.  I bet your vet would even apreciate a copy. 

Today is Saturday and I know it is kind of a pickle, but if *I* were you, *I* would get my dog to an emergency clinic if your vet isn't available, and get Hana started on anti-fungals right away.  (I actually did it myself.)  Treatment doesn't even have to be itraconazole to start with.  Gunner was started on Ketoconazole and started to get better in the week while we waited for answers to her latest rounds of Blasto tests.  When Blasto was FINALLY confirmed, she was switched to Itraconazole. 

I wish you both the very best!  We are all here to answer any questions you might have. 
Joyce

[Harleys Mom]

Hi,
So sorry to hear about your hunting buddy's dog. With the breathing & gimpiness, sounds like your Hana could have developed Blasto too. There is a urine test your vet could do. The sample is sent to MiraVista labs in Indianapolis, IN. In the meantime, it might be a good idea to ask your vet about prescribing an anti-fungal medication. If it is Blasto, the quicker Hana gets the meds started the better. If it is not Blasto, a few days of medication shouldn't make her worse than she already is.

There's a bunch of posts on here refering to the MiraVista test but it may have been a while since they've had activity so I'll bump one up for you.

Good luck & keep us posted on how Hana's doing

[gunner]

Oh yes,

thanks Harleys Mom,
Please keep us posted on how you and Hana are doing. 
J

[Ella]

Hi Skyraker;
I agree with Gunner in that a urine sample should be sent to Mirovista right away.  It's true...it can only take a couple of days, and then you can be sure.
Ella had a very slight cough, loss of appetite, lethargic and was limping on her front foot (which then mysteriously changed to her rear foot).
Eventually she was having trouble breathing after climbing a set of stairs.  Lung x-rays showed a real problem, and subsequently we had a lung biopsy and a tracheal wash done which confirmed blasto.
In my opinion, putting your dog on an anti-fungal medication and having your vet send in a urine sample to MiraVista would be extremely helpful if in fact she does have blasto.

[Wilson3]

i agree but i did also bump up the info on blue green alge that was really bad in the lakes and rivers everywhere not just wis. and signs are simialar
keep pushing for answer it pays of 
please keep us posted
wilson3

[SKYRAKER]

Thanks all!

From past experience, should the urine test be positive at this stage of infection?  If not, when should we be able to detect it?  Based on the negative antibody titer, my vet has all but ruled out blasto.  I feel all but certain that we will initiate anti-fungal treatment Monday. 

Thanks again for all the first hand advise.  Case studies, clinical trials, and veterinary journals leave much to be desired when making such gut-wrenching decisions.

 



 

 

[Jen]

http://www.miravistalabs.com/Files/pdf/BlastomycosisinDogs2007.pdf.

this is a link to one of MiraVista's articles, which covers some of the test accuracy stats.
The MV urine test so far appears to be by far the most accurate and sensitive. 

Cytology71-94% (from lesions/wounds/sputum, etc)
Antigen detection Urine -94%
Serum -87%
Culture 12% [3
Serology-ID 41-83% [3,12]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[gunner]

IF Hana has Blastomycosis, the urine test will come back with a number.  Anything over 10 is considered a high positive.  With Hana's symptoms, if it IS blasto, I imagine the numbers will be well over 10. 

Either way, hang in there.  It ain't over till it's over! 

[SKYRAKER]

The information was just what I was looking for.  The collection of first morning clean catch mid stream urine went much better than expected.  Actually it was really rather easy.  I will send it out first thing tomorrow morning.  Hopefully the New Year's holiday will not slow turn-around time.  I could not find a price structure on the MiraVista site.  How much does the urine ag thest cost?  Is it best to list yourself as the ordering facility or directly through the veterinarian? 

[gunner]

Hi Skyraker,

I am glad your pee catch went well.  It can be pretty tricky when you are dealing with girls   

Are you located in Canada or the US?

I think the cost of the test is $46.00 (really reasonable for the priceless information you will be getting), I can't recall off hand, but you can give them a call in the morning before you send it to be sure.  They are very helpful and friendly.  Be sure when you send it that you send it in a manner that can be tracked.  More than one sample has been lost in transit and you sure don't want that! 

As far as payment goes, you can send them a personal check or a money order.  You cannot list yourself as the ordering facillity you must list your vetrinarian.  Because they also to the test for human physicians, their paperwork is strictly regulated.  They can only release the results to your vetrinarian.  They will fax back the results to your vet in a couple of days.  They will also keep a sample of Hana's urine on hand to compare with any future tests you may want to conduct.

Fair warning though:  MiraVista is the most accurate test available that we know of, however, they do say that though it is rare, they occasionally will get false positives and false negatives.   So if this test comes back negative as well, you might want to send one more sample off to be really sure.  Blastomycosis is so insidious.  Gunner was tested over and over for a 10 month period before FINALLY one sample came back positive.  She was totally loaded with it and they couldn't find it over and over again.  That was before I discovered MiraVista.  By the time we discovered the MiraVista test, she had beaten the blasto, but sadly not before it killed her kidneys. 

I will keep my fingers crossed!  Please let us know what you find out.  And if you have any more questions, please don't hessitate to ask.
Joyce 

[luvmyjacks]

I'm in Canada too and have sent urine to MiraVista twice  and consider the price low compared to all the other tests and meds that turned out to be useless.  I would also strongly suggest starting treatment with anti fungals immediately, especially with the timing of the \new \year's holiday.  Time is indeed very precious in the battle with blasto and a few days could mean the difference between life and death. I wasted a week and my Roxy died.  Good luck and keep us all up to date

[WallysMom]

You and Hana are in our prayers!
Please let us know how the Miravista test goes.

[SKYRAKER]

We started treatment with Sporonox Monday.  Should have the Intraconazole from Pet Health Pharmacy tomorrow.  Hopefully the urine ag test will be back from Mira Vista any time now.  The first four days of treatment have been uneventful.  No worse, maybe a little better.   

[jiggasmom]

Goodluck on the treatment! Keep us posted. I will keep my fingers crossed for you guys!