How to prevent your dog from getting Valley fever?
There are three common medications used to treat Valley Fever in dogs: Fluconazole (Diflucan) Itraconazole (Sporanox) Ketoconazole (Nizoral)
Can you cure Valley fever in dogs, if so how?
· Once your dog no longer has a high titer of valley fever antibodies, your vet will inform you of when you can stop their treatment. In addition to any supportive care that your dog requires in their state of crisis, some dogs will require additional medication to ease their symptoms as their condition resolves.
How long does Valley fever medicine take to work dogs?
"At the present time, dogs that develop valley fever require lengthy treatment with antifungal medications." There are a number of antifungal medications that are effective against the disease. The most commonly prescribed medications are ketoconazole (brand name Nizoral®), itraconazole (brand names Itrafungol® and Sporanox®), and fluconazole (brand name …
How do you treat Valley fever in dogs?
· Treating Valley Fever in Dogs Dogs that have been diagnosed with Valley Fever will be given anti-fungal medications which inhibit the growth of Coccidiodes organisms and allows the dog’s immune system to control and hopefully eliminate the infection. Commonly used medications include fluconazole, itraconazole, and ketoconazole.
How long can a dog live with valley fever?
Dogs with disseminated infection As with lung infections, the majority of dogs with disseminated disease respond well to medication and lead normal lives, though they often require prolonged drug treatment (12-18 months).
Is valley fever curable in dogs?
Can valley fever in dogs be cured? When diagnosed and treated early, many dogs recover well from valley fever. Dogs diagnosed with valley fever after the disease has spread to other parts of the body are more challenging to treat, and in some cases the disease becomes life-threatening.
Can dogs recover from valley fever without medication?
In most cases, a dog ill enough from Valley Fever to be seen by a veterinarian will require treatment with antifungal medication. Courses of medication are usually extensive, averaging 6-12 months. Dogs with disseminated disease in bones, skin, or internal organs usually require longer courses of medication.
How much does it cost to treat valley fever in dogs?
Canine influenza cases popping up here The valley fever medication fluconazole has become costly, rising recently from $20 a month to as much as $200.
Is Valley Fever painful in dogs?
Disseminated valley fever is much worse. This is the result of the disease spreading throughout your dog's body, typically to bones and joints. When Valley Fever spreads, it causes severe pain. In extreme cases, dogs can lose the use of their legs altogether.
What are early signs of valley fever in dogs?
Signs of primary valley fever include a harsh dry cough, a fever, a lack of appetite, and lethargy or depression. These signs usually occur about three weeks after infection although sometimes, the organism can lay dormant in the body for up to three years before signs occur.
What is the best treatment for valley fever?
Antifungal medication is typically given to people who are at higher risk for developing severe Valley fever. The treatment is usually 3 to 6 months of fluconazole or another type of antifungal medication. There are no over-the-counter medications to treat Valley fever.
How long should my dog be on fluconazole?
Fluconazole for dogs is generally given in tablet or liquid form once a day by mouth, with or without food, for the duration of time prescribed by your veterinarian. This medication is often prescribed for several weeks or months.
Which drug is commonly used to treat valley fever?
The antifungal drugs fluconazole (Diflucan) or itraconazole (Sporanox, Onmel, Tolsura) are generally used for all but the most serious forms of coccidioidomycosis disease. All antifungals can have serious side effects.
Is there a vaccine for dogs for Valley Fever?
It's not just Valley fever: No approved vaccine exists for any fungal disease. Because Valley fever is contracted by inhaling microscopic spores into the lungs, there are few available interventions that can prevent someone from contracting the disease.
Is Valley Fever contagious from dogs to humans?
Is Valley Fever contagious from animal to animal or animal to human? Valley Fever is considered a noncontagious disease. Even if multiple animals or humans are affected in a household, each infection was acquired by inhaling spores from the soil. Coughing cannot spread it between animals or people.
Can Valley Fever cause limping in dogs?
In dogs, the bones of the legs are most commonly affected, but it can affect any organ. Some signs of disseminated Valley Fever include: Limping or swellings in the legs.
Can Valley fever be cured?
Most people who have Valley fever will make a full recovery. A small percent of people develop long-term lung infections that can take several years to get better. In very severe cases of Valley fever, the nervous system can be affected and there may be long-term damage, but this is very rare.
Is there a vaccine for Valley fever for dogs?
It's not just Valley fever: No approved vaccine exists for any fungal disease. Because Valley fever is contracted by inhaling microscopic spores into the lungs, there are few available interventions that can prevent someone from contracting the disease.
Can a dog get Valley fever more than once?
Can Valley Fever relapse and can dogs be reinfected? Valley Fever is well known to relapse in both humans and dogs. In particular, cases of disseminated infection have a 30-50% rate of relapse in humans, no matter how well the initial infection was treated.
What are the side effects of fluconazole in dogs?
The following side effects have been reported with fluconazole use:Nausea.Vomiting.Diarrhea.Soft stools.Loss of appetite.Fatigue.Skin rash.Anemia.More items...
Supportive Treatments For Sick Dogs
Other treatments for Valley Fever are mainly directed at supportive care: making your dog feel better while the antifungal medication starts to hea...
What Is The Best Treatment For Valley Fever?
Treatment choices vary by the individual veterinarian and patient. Reasons for choice of medication include practitioner's experience with the drug...
What Is The Proper Dose of Valley Fever medications?
Your veterinarian is skilled in the diagnosis and treatment of your pet's illness. Should you feel that your dog is not responding or may have side...
What Are The Side Effects of Oral Valley Fever Drugs (Ketoconazole, Itraconazole, and Fluconazole) in Dogs?
All Valley Fever medications have the potential to cause side effects in dogs. 1. Loss of appetite is the most common and may be severe in some dog...
What Happened to The Price of Generic Fluconazole & What Can I Do About It?
In 2013, most of the manufacturers of generic fluconazole stopped making it. There are only a few manufacturers left, which has driven the price up...
What to do if my dog has Valley Fever?
In most cases, a dog ill enough from Valley Fever to be seen by a veterinarian will require treatment with antifungal medication.
How to treat Valley Fever?
Central nervous system (brain or spinal cord) involvement frequently requires lifetime treatment with medication to keep symptoms from recurring. Oral antifungal medication in the form of twice daily pills or capsules is the usual treatment for Valley Fever.
How to help a dog when he is ill?
The more ill your dog, the more important it is to discuss this issue with your vet. Meet the nutritional needs of your dog with high quality, palatable food.
What is the best treatment for a dog that is too sick to eat and drink?
Dogs that are too sick to eat and drink and are becoming dehydrated or are in severe respiratory distress may need 24-hour care, intravenous fluids, oxygen, or other medication that can only be given in the hospital environment.
What is the name of the drug that is used to treat Valley Fever?
More recently introduced to the market for treatment of fungal disease in humans: Voriconazole (Vfend) Posaconazole (Noxafil) The role of these drugs in treating human Valley Fever is not yet clear. Voriconazole has absorption and treatment characteristics similar to fluconazole, but is more potent in laboratory studies.
What to do if my dog is not responding to a med?
Should you feel that your dog is not responding or may have side effects to the medicine, you should first discuss your concerns with your veterinarian. If the results are not satisfactory, you can seek a second opinion.
Does dandruff affect dogs?
Drawbacks: This drug is cleared by the kidney and dose may need to be reduced in animals with compromised kidneys. May cause thinning or dryness of the coat with dandruff, which seems most noticeable or most common in black dogs; these effects are reversed when drug is withdrawn.
What is valley fever?
Valley fever is a disease caused by a fungus known as Coccidiodes immitis. Although the proper name for this disease is coccidioidomycosis, it is most often called valley fever, California disease, desert rheumatism, or San Joaquin valley fever.
Where is valley fever found?
This soil-dwelling fungus has adapted to survive in desert climates and is prevalent in certain parts of Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, northwestern Mexico, and parts of Central and South America. It has been also reported in south-central Washington State.
What species can be infected with valley fever?
This disease is common in humans, and has been isolated in dogs, cattle, horses, deer, elk, mules, llamas, apes, monkeys, kangaroos, wallabies, tigers, bears, badgers, otters, fish, and marine mammals.
How is valley fever spread?
Like many fungi, C. immitis has a complex life cycle. It has two completely different forms, depending on whether it is in the environment or has entered a host animal. When it is in the environment, it exists as a mold. During dry spells, the mold goes dormant in the soil, and can remain dormant for prolonged periods of time.
What are the symptoms of valley fever in dogs?
Once the spores are breathed into the lungs, they develop into larger structures called spherules. In a healthy adult dog, the dog's immune system will wall off the organisms in the spherules and there will be no further problems. In these cases, the signs of disease are usually very mild, and often the dog does not even become visibly ill.
How is valley fever diagnosed?
If you live in an area where this disease is prevalent and your dog is showing signs that are consistent with valley fever, your veterinarian will recommend diagnostic testing to determine whether your dog has this infection.
What is the treatment for valley fever?
At the present time, dogs that develop valley fever require lengthy treatment with antifungal medications. The duration of treatment will depend on the severity of infection. In many cases treatment will be required for 6-12 months. If the fungus has invaded the nervous system, the dog may require antifungal medication for life.
What Is Valley Fever?
Valley Fever is a disease caused by infection with a type of fungus called Coccidiodes immitis. The condition may also be called coccidioidomycosis, California disease, desert rheumatism, or San Joaquin Valley Fever.
How Do Dogs Get Valley Fever?
Coccidiodes organisms live in desert soils and produce long filaments that contain infectious spores. When the soil is disturbed, for example by a dog digging, by construction, or during a windstorm, the spores become airborne and can be inhaled.
Symptoms of Valley Fever in Dogs
Many dogs who are exposed to Coccidiodes immitis do not develop symptoms of illness. In these cases, the dog’s immune system is able to contain and destroy the organisms before they can reproduce and cause disease. But when a dog is exposed to a large number of spores or has a weakened immune system, Valley Fever can take hold.
Diagnosing Valley Fever in Dogs
Veterinarians who practice where Valley Fever is widespread are very familiar with the disease and will commonly test for it in dogs with typical symptoms.
Treating Valley Fever in Dogs
Dogs that have been diagnosed with Valley Fever will be given anti-fungal medications which inhibit the growth of Coccidiodes organisms and allows the dog’s immune system to control and hopefully eliminate the infection. Commonly used medications include fluconazole, itraconazole, and ketoconazole.
Prognosis and Prevention
More than 90 percent of dogs that are treated for Valley Fever will survive, according to The University of Arizona. Dogs with symptoms involving several parts of the body (particularly the brain) or that do not respond well to anti-fungal medication have a worse prognosis.
Why does my dog cough when he has Valley fever?
Your dog will develop a respiratory infection because of the fungal spores in its lungs, making the dog cough. You may also notice that the dog isn't breathing well or is wheezing.
What are the symptoms of Valley Fever?
Symptoms like coughing, lethargy, fever, and loss of appetite can all be signs of Valley Fever. If you notice any of these symptoms in your dog, bring them to the vet right away.
How to help a dog with a virus?
Give your dog a canine multivitamin to boost its immune system. Nutritional support , especially a vitamin that contains vitamin C, will help your dog fight off the infection naturally. Choose a multivitamin formulated for dogs, and follow the directions for administering it to your pet. It won't cure the infection, but it can help your dog's immune system fight it off.
Why do vets X-ray dogs?
The vet may X-ray your dog's chest to help determine the severity of the infection. They'll look for cloudiness in your dog's lungs, which may indicate an infection in the lungs. Since Valley Fever starts in the lungs, the X-ray will help the vet make a diagnosis.
How to keep a dog from getting spores?
Keep your dog inside as much as you can so that it won't encounter the spores.
How to get rid of a dog's poop infection?
2. Add garlic to your dog's food to help fight the infection. Garlic has antiseptic and antiparasitic properties, so raw or slightly cooked garlic can help your dog's immune system fight the infection. Simply add the garlic to your dog's food and watch to make sure they eat it.
What is the temperature of a dog?
A dog's temperature is naturally higher than a human's. A dog is considered to have a fever when its temperature reaches 103 °F (39 °C) or more.
How much does Valley Fever cost in Arizona?
It is estimated that valley fever costs all Arizona dog owners at least $60 million per year. How Dogs Get Valley Fever. Symptoms. Diagnosis.
Why do veterinarians choose to treat patients?
Reasons for choice of medication include practitioner's experience with the drugs, costs, side effects, efficacy, severity of illness, and convenience to the owner. If one medication is unsuccessful, another will often be tried.
Is Valley fever a disease?
Valley Fever is considered a noncontagious disease. Even if multiple animals or humans are affected in a household, each infection was acquired by inhaling spores from the soil. Coughing cannot spread it between animals or people. More FAQs.
What Is Valley Fever in Dogs: How To Treat It
Valley Fever is a common name for coccidioidomycosis, which is an infection caused by the fungus Coccidiodes Coccidioides. Valley fever in dogs is a disease caused by a fungus that lives in the soil. This syndrome, also known as coccidioidomycosis, has been found to be severe in dogs and can cause severe bone loss and inflammation.
Where Is Valley Fever Found
The article will provide information about the common signs and symptoms of Valley Fever in dogs. Valley fever is contracted through the inhalation of airborne fungal spores. It was formerly known as coccidiosis or valley fever; it can be contacted at any time of year, but most often appears between July and September.
Signs and Symptoms Of Valley Fever
Dogs can get valley fever by walking on or sniffing dust from infected soil. Symptoms of this disease may start out as a cold and progress to pneumonia. Symptoms may be mild or severe depending on how the dog’s immune system responds to the infection. The most common signs are:
Treatment Of Valley Fever In Dogs
A common dog disease is valley fever. It infects the lungs of people and animals but has no known cure. One of the most common hosts for valley fever in dogs. Dogs can be infected with valley fever after inhaling spores from the soil or through contact with another animal that has it. As of now, there is no known cure for valley fever in dogs.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is unknown whether dogs can suffer from the fungal infection, valley fever. This cannot be confirmed as a canine disease, but a human one. However, a dog’s immune system is less potent than that of a human. If the dog has been infected with valley fever, symptoms may not show up right away or very quickly due to this immunity difference.
Conclusion
Many people may not know what valley fever is, but it is a type of fungus that can be contracted by people and dogs. The fungus is transmitted through cactus spores and can cause life-threatening pneumonia in both, along with other symptoms.
Can Dogs Get Valley Fever?
Well, dogs can get Valley Fever too, so I wanted you to know the areas where it’s common.
What Is Valley Fever In Dogs?
Valley Fever, also called coccidioidmycosis, is caused by Coccidia fungi called Coccidioides immitis and C. posadasi. The spores are especially fond of warm soils. That’s why it’s so prevalent in Arizona, California, and Mexico.
How To Prevent Valley Fever In Your Dog
If you live in areas where Valley Fever is common, you may want to take some steps to stop your dog picking up the spores. The spores live 12 inches deep in the ground. So treating the soil isn’t practical … and the chemicals could harm your dog.
What Are Symptoms Of Valley Fever In Dogs?
Your dog’s symptoms will depend on which organ systems become infected. The major areas where it accumulates are the lungs, bones, brain, eyes, and skin .
Conventional Treatment Of Valley Fever In Dogs
If you have a conventional veterinarian, she’ll prescribe antifungal drugs such as …
How To Find A Holistic Vet
If your pet gets a fungal disease like Valley Fever, be sure to seek out a holistic veterinarian who’s familiar with these fungal infections. That’ll be the best person to help you with natural remedies.
