If there are any questions or doubts about the health of your dog, please contact us on tel. +32 (0)496 56 62 55.
We know that there are many ambiguities or uncertainties about the possible “Mediterranean diseases” so we have tried to make an overview:
The following Mediterranean diseases can affect dogs:
babesiosis
Ehrlichiosis
Hepatozoonosis
Anaplasmosis
Leishmaniasis
Dirofilariosis
The following Mediterranean diseases are transmitted by mosquitoes:
Dirofilariosis (The larvae of the heartworm are transferred to the four-legged friend through the bite site.)
Leishmaniasis (Sand and butterfly gnats are responsible for the transmission of this Mediterranean disease.)
The following Mediterranean diseases are transmitted by ticks:
Ehrlichiosis (Dogs are mainly infected by the bite of the brown tick.)
Hepatozoonosis (An infection caused by ingesting an infected tick).
Anaplasmosis (In Europe, the common charcoal in particular is responsible for the spread of this disease).
Borreliosis (Borreliosis is also mainly transmitted by the common bushbuck)
Babesiosis is the only Mediterranean disease in dogs that can be transmitted by both mosquitoes and ticks.
More info about Leishmania below
What Is Leishmania And Who Causes It?
Leishmania is a disease that is transmitted from an infected animal to another animal by the necessary intermediate host, a sandfly called a phlebotoma.
The parasite is taken in when this sandfly stings an infected animal and sucks its blood. After a stay of several days in the digestive system of the intermediate host, the parasite has undergone a change that allows it to infect another animal.
So when another animal is stung after a few days, the sand fly transmits the parasite.
This sand fly does not yet occur in Belgium, but it does occur in the areas around the Mediterranean Sea. It is expected that if climate change continues, this sand fly will slowly expand its distribution area to increasingly northern parts of Europe and eventually also end up in Belgium.
Red = areas where the sand fly occurs
It is a disease with a very variable picture that differs per individual.
In fact, an animal can be a carrier of the parasite without the disease manifesting itself. The parasite is then in a dormant state but does not multiply. In this condition, the animal can be present for years without the wearer showing anything.
In some dogs, the disease manifests itself very shortly after infection and in others it can be present for a lifetime without the dog ever developing symptoms.
Whether and when the disease becomes active depends on the individual defenses of the dog. The defense is not a constant thing, it can be higher or lower. Illness, weakness, an accident, severe stress, are all things that lower the immune system. At such a moment the parasite can see its chance.
Symptoms
This will differ per dog. You will see one or more of the following symptoms in many dogs, to a greater or lesser extent, but almost never all at the same time.
listlessness.
Weight loss despite eating well or even getting a lot more food.
Joint complaints, such as swollen joints or limping. Not all joints need to be affected, it can be limited to one or more joints.
Skin complaints such as dry skin and flaking, wounds that heal poorly or not at all, bald spots. Typical is symmetrical baldness, so bald spots on both sides of the body or on the head.
Places where the skin complaints are often first observed are the ears, nose and around the eyes. Pale pink colored spots on the edges of the eyelids or around the nose are often the first thing you see, as are bald spots on the back of the ears.
Strong nail growth; despite regular clipping, always very quickly long nails.
Spontaneous nosebleeds.
Diarrhea, sometimes constant and sometimes variable.
Chronic eye infections.
Dry nose.
Anemia, which causes, among other things, pale mucous membranes.
Enlarged lymph nodes, especially the neck glands and those located in the popliteal fossa.
In an advanced stage, liver and kidney function as well as the blood itself will deteriorate.
How Can I Be Sure If My Dog Has Leishmania?
A test called PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) detects DNA chains of the parasite.
A dog that is a carrier but not sick can be detected this way because the PCR test can determine with reasonable certainty whether the dog is positive or negative. No other result is possible. But this test does not indicate whether the disease is active or not. So if you have a dog without noticeable symptoms but about which there is doubt or because you just want to be reassured and want to know whether or not your dog has Leishmania parasites in its body, this is the appropriate test.
The other useful test is called IFI (Inmuno Fluorescence Antibody Test). This test indicates the amount of antibodies against the parasite. This allows us to know to what extent the disease is active. However, if the disease is not active, there are not enough antibodies in the blood to be detected by this test. As a result, a dog that is a carrier but whose disease is in a dormant state will give negative results. In other words, you do not know whether your dog is a carrier or not.
The above means that it is better to do an IFI in a dog with one or more suspicious symptoms and a PCR in a dog without symptoms. If a dog shows positive on the PCR, an IFI must be done to see what stage the disease is in.
The treatment
Usually a combination of 2 types of medication is used.
Alopurinol is an agent that worsens the living conditions for the parasite in the blood. But Alopurinol does not kill the parasites, it prevents them from reproducing easily and significantly reduces their activity. This will make the dog 'better'. Alopurinol is given in tablet form.
However, in Spain, treatment with Alopurinol in combination with Glucantime is almost always chosen. Glucantime is a drug that is injected. Glucantime kills the parasites. It is therefore wise to use Glucantime in the treatment. A combination treatment usually consists of administering Glucantime in combination with Alopurinol for a month, after which the Glucantime is stopped and Alopurinol continues for another 2 to 5 months.
There are many doubts about Glucantime, it would be a very heavy burden on the body. This may be true, but has a lot to do with the dosage and method of administration. When one chooses a high dose which is injected into a muscle or directly into a vein, it can indeed cause problems. But if it is administered in low doses and subcutaneously, it almost never causes any problems. Except in dogs where the liver and kidney function is too poor. As long as the condition of the dog allows it, it is more than advisable to opt for the combination of both means.
The correct dosage of Glucantime depends on the condition of the dog. As well as any additional blood tests. In some dogs it is advisable to do a more extensive blood test to determine certain values. However, this should be considered on a case-by-case basis.
