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[Wilson3]

All very interesting 
I guess what it comes down to is what a person and there vet thinks the meaning of the 2 words are.
I looked them up and they can be interperated differentyl.
relaspe is when treatment was not %100 successful  (6 months to 15 months later get it again)
rexposure treatment was %100 years down the road they get it again


The fine  line  ,yes there is a difference ,treatment is the same to a point.
Why did the 1st treatment not be %100 (if they get it again 6 mon to 15 months time period)
may have to increase meds
change meds
diet is so very improtant
way did the yeast stay
what tests where all done to think why the vet took them off meds (blasto free)
why are in some areas vets trying harder to learn more about the disease then others?
when Wilson got it yes it was a bad year for the state..but not so bad since yes cases are still showing up but not nearly as high
Milwaukee county is a big city vets would never think to look for Blasto a few years back..but a lot do now still working on the few that are not but big improvment here
still to many "ifs" out there more work to be done more phone calls
the interenet has to much old stuff and noting really that is facts based

wis. has had a few thing the past year because of the bad yr. 2006/07
i guess we keep search for answers and keep sharing ideas and thoughts

lisa THANK YOU so much for not getting horriblly mad at me !
I am just trying so hard to understand and it is hard for me to explain in words Ijump before thinking how to explainit better
when it comes right down to it beaus and wilson where sick around the sametime
i worry did I do right buy him?
He is almost 10 and just now really showing his age ..then I wonder is it back where we fooled and he never was cured in the first place (you would never know his age people think he is about 2 or 3 yrs old) I know it is him starting his golden years but I guess the worry never stops completly
wilson3

[Kash-]

The point I was trying to make is, whether it's relapse or reinfection, it doesn't matter because the treatment is the same.  And yes the initial treatment does matter as you mention.  But once it's a blasto infection, then it doesn't really matter treatment wise, how it got there.

What tests are done to confirm that the blasto is gone?  MV antigen is perhaps thought to be the new gold standard, but as I suggested earlier, perhaps it a gold standard for Dx.  But perhaps it can offer a higher degree of false negatives?

I did the blasto fight back in 2002 and there wasn't the MV antigen test.  We did the Fungal titer and blasto culture to confirm what it was.  But honestly, we relied on chest xrays to watch the decrease in fungal penetration as treatment progressed.  After 8.5 months we just took Knight off of Sporonox and crossed our fingers and kept a vigilant eye out.  My vet was still thinking relapse up to 5 years later when Knight's wrist (ankle?) became swollen due to arthritis.  Good for her, despite the remote possibility.

Given that the MV test is so dang new, it all to easy to see why there are many relapses.  Years gone by, how were we supposed to know when the blasto was gone?  This probably lead to many vets and owners stopping Itra "too soon".  "Too soon" being a function of that 20/20 rear-view mirror.   Relapse will probably become much less of an issue now, due to the MV antigen test.  Granted, it's not perfect but at least there's a tool in the tool box now.

The internet is full of "old" stuff, if you want to call 4 or 5 years "old".  Frankly, while blasto is old as the hills, it's really only being noticed and treated now for what it is.  I'll bet ya a donut that twice or three times as many dogs died of blasto 15 or 20 years ago.  Hardly anybody knew what it was.  Maybe a few MD docs.  But I doubt many Vets even thought about it.