Coccidia
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Dr. Cliff Monaham, DVM PhD
Coccidia - can be a big problem, but is usually just a nuisance and is expected.
Host immune response in older dogs is another problem.
Coccidia are small protozoa's that multiply in the intestinal tracts of dogs and cats
most common in kittens and puppies less than six months of age. A puppy is not
born with coccidian organism in its intestine. However, once born the puppy can be
frequently exposed to it . . . they are swallowed when a pet grooms, licks the dirt off
itself.
Stress plays a role in the development of coccidiosis. It is not uncommon for a
healthy puppy to arrive at its new home and develop diarrhea several days later
leading to the diagnosis of coccidia. This should be told to the new owners.
Coccidia in puppies can be treated with Albon, but do not mistake treatment as a
complete riddance. Drugs knock back host immune response.
Sulfas or ponazuril. Ponazuril is marketed for horses with EPM and is effective
against coccidian of puppies, but it is not licensed for use.
Coccidia
Question: Doctor Mike,
Please give me as much information as possible as to the cause and
treatment of coccidia in puppies.
Also, are littler mates likely to contract this condition? Is this condition contagious to
other animals, such as kittens, birds, rabbits and
others?
Are there any precautions to be taken when the contagious animals have
been in contact with these other animals?
Thanks you so much for your continuing service in answering our
questions as your information has proven to be very useful to us.
Thanks again and have a great day.
Connie
Answer: Constance-
Coccidia are a group of protozoan parasites that are extremely common and which
infect a wide number of animal species, including dogs, cats, horses, cattle, goats,
sheep and chickens --- and many other species of animals, as well. The groups of
coccidians that infect pets include Eimeria, Isospora, Hammondia, Toxoplasma and
Neospora. Of these, the two that are usually referred to as "coccidia" infections are
Eimeria and Isospora infections and the rest are generally identified by name, as
they are more complex parasites and cause specific disease problems. Eimeria
species are more commonly involved in infections in cattle, sheep, horses, etc. and
Isospora species are most commonly involved in infection in dogs and cats. So for
the purpose of the rest of this note, the enteric (gastrointestinal) forms of Isospora
are what will be covered.
The first thing that has to be considered is that coccidosis is very common. It is
likely that 30 to 50% of puppies have coccidia in their stools at some time during
their first few months of life. These may be coccidia from another species that the
puppy or kitten has in the digestive tract due to ingestion of stool, such as rabbit
feces, squirrel feces or cat feces (in the case of puppies). If this is the case it is
unlikely that the puppy or kitten will actually have any clinical disease as a result of
ingesting the coccidia. In other cases, a puppy or kitten becomes infected with
coccidiosis, produces lots of oocysts of coccidia but never has clinical signs of
disease such as diarrhea, loss of appetite, vomiting or failure to thrive. These pets
may never show any clinical signs and without signs it is questionable whether they
should be treated or not, although I think that almost all veterinary practitioners go
ahead and treat for the infection. Isospora species can also be transmitted through
ingestion of intermediate hosts, such as infected mice.
Isospora species that affect dogs include Isospora canis, I. ohioensis, I. neorivolta
and I. burrowsi. The species that affect cats include Isospora felis and Isospora
rivolta. These coccidia tend to be pretty species specific, so infection of a puppy or
kitten is not thought to be a risk to humans and puppies are not a risk to cats or
infected kittens a risk to dogs. It is very likely that if one puppy in a litter has
coccidiosis that all puppies are affected. It is extremely difficult to prevent coccidia
infections, especially in group situations, so puppies coming from a breeder with
coccidia is not an indication of poor sanitation or poor health care practices. It is
simply a very common problem.
Coccidia spread when oocysts are shed in the stool of infected pets and then the
oocysts are consumed later by another susceptible dog or cat. Since incredible
numbers of oocysts are shed from infected pets, the environmental contamination
with coccidia oocysts is severe. Puppies and kittens often show signs of illness,
usually watery diarrhea, before there are oocysts in their stools, so it sometimes
takes several fecal samples to know if a puppy or kitten is infected. In addition, lots
of dogs, cats, puppies and kittens are infected and are shedding oocysts despite
having no clinical signs of infection.
Coccidia are easy to find using standard fecal floatation methods for fecal exams
and are often present in sufficient numbers to show up if a small amount of stool is
smeared on a glass slide, mixed with a small amount of saline and examined.
When Isospora species cause disease the most common form is watery diarrhea
that is very profuse. Many kittens and puppies seem to just leak watery stools as if
they have no control at all over their bowel movements, while others have a more
"normal" diarrhea. Without treatment, the diarrhea might last for several weeks.
With treatment the diarrhea might last several weeks, too --- but it does seem to cut
down some on the duration of the diarrhea to treat affected puppies and kittens.
The most commonly used medications are sulfonamide antiseptics, such as
sulfadimethoxine (Albon Rx, Bactrovet Rx) given at 55mg/kg of body weight initially
and then 27.5mg/kg per day for 4 to 7 days. The medication should be given until
two days after symptoms of illness have disappeared. Lots of vets substitute
trimethoprim/sulfa combination medications (Ditrim Rx, Tribrissen Rx, Bactrim RX)
for this sulfadimethoxine, using a dosage of 15mg/lb of the combined product and
this seems to work, too. While it is probably impossible to kill all the coccidia in a
puppy with clinical disease using medications, it may help reduce the numbers of
organisms that littermates and housemates are subjected to and to shorten the
duration of clinical signs.
In some cases it does seem like there is resistance to the sulfanomides. I am not
sure if this is actually the case, since it is difficult to tell if the medication is working
in the first place. However, if this is suspected, alternative medications include
ampolium (Corid Rx) and furozolidin (Furoxone Rx).
General cleanliness does not ensure that infections will not occur, but removal of
contaminated stool reduces the potential for infection. The oocysts are supposed to
be pretty resistant to most disinfectants and things like steam cleaning or flame
guns may be necessary to actually kill the oocysts, which is impractical for most
situations. Keeping access to mice down (especially for cats) is also a good idea.
So the direct answers to your questions are that most of the time all littermates are
infected. It is not likely that other species will be affected. The organism is spread in
the stool, so keeping non-infected pets away from the stool of infected pets is
helpful but if they share a common environment it is highly likely that infection will
occur. The infection may or may not cause clinical disease and treatment is
generally considered to be necessary only for pets showing clinical signs.
I hope this information is helpful.
Mike Richards, DVM
8/20/2001
Coccidia - can be a big problem, but is usually just a nuisance and is expected.
Host immune response in older dogs is another problem.
Coccidia are small protozoa's that multiply in the intestinal tracts of dogs and cats
most common in kittens and puppies less than six months of age. A puppy is not
born with coccidian organism in its intestine. However, once born the puppy can be
frequently exposed to it . . . they are swallowed when a pet grooms, licks the dirt off
itself.
Stress plays a role in the development of coccidiosis. It is not uncommon for a
healthy puppy to arrive at its new home and develop diarrhea several days later
leading to the diagnosis of coccidia. This should be told to the new owners.
Coccidia in puppies can be treated with Albon, but do not mistake treatment as a
complete riddance. Drugs knock back host immune response.
Sulfas or ponazuril. Ponazuril is marketed for horses with EPM and is effective
against coccidian of puppies, but it is not licensed for use.
Coccidia
Question: Doctor Mike,
Please give me as much information as possible as to the cause and
treatment of coccidia in puppies.
Also, are littler mates likely to contract this condition? Is this condition contagious to
other animals, such as kittens, birds, rabbits and
others?
Are there any precautions to be taken when the contagious animals have
been in contact with these other animals?
Thanks you so much for your continuing service in answering our
questions as your information has proven to be very useful to us.
Thanks again and have a great day.
Connie
Answer: Constance-
Coccidia are a group of protozoan parasites that are extremely common and which
infect a wide number of animal species, including dogs, cats, horses, cattle, goats,
sheep and chickens --- and many other species of animals, as well. The groups of
coccidians that infect pets include Eimeria, Isospora, Hammondia, Toxoplasma and
Neospora. Of these, the two that are usually referred to as "coccidia" infections are
Eimeria and Isospora infections and the rest are generally identified by name, as
they are more complex parasites and cause specific disease problems. Eimeria
species are more commonly involved in infections in cattle, sheep, horses, etc. and
Isospora species are most commonly involved in infection in dogs and cats. So for
the purpose of the rest of this note, the enteric (gastrointestinal) forms of Isospora
are what will be covered.
The first thing that has to be considered is that coccidosis is very common. It is
likely that 30 to 50% of puppies have coccidia in their stools at some time during
their first few months of life. These may be coccidia from another species that the
puppy or kitten has in the digestive tract due to ingestion of stool, such as rabbit
feces, squirrel feces or cat feces (in the case of puppies). If this is the case it is
unlikely that the puppy or kitten will actually have any clinical disease as a result of
ingesting the coccidia. In other cases, a puppy or kitten becomes infected with
coccidiosis, produces lots of oocysts of coccidia but never has clinical signs of
disease such as diarrhea, loss of appetite, vomiting or failure to thrive. These pets
may never show any clinical signs and without signs it is questionable whether they
should be treated or not, although I think that almost all veterinary practitioners go
ahead and treat for the infection. Isospora species can also be transmitted through
ingestion of intermediate hosts, such as infected mice.
Isospora species that affect dogs include Isospora canis, I. ohioensis, I. neorivolta
and I. burrowsi. The species that affect cats include Isospora felis and Isospora
rivolta. These coccidia tend to be pretty species specific, so infection of a puppy or
kitten is not thought to be a risk to humans and puppies are not a risk to cats or
infected kittens a risk to dogs. It is very likely that if one puppy in a litter has
coccidiosis that all puppies are affected. It is extremely difficult to prevent coccidia
infections, especially in group situations, so puppies coming from a breeder with
coccidia is not an indication of poor sanitation or poor health care practices. It is
simply a very common problem.
Coccidia spread when oocysts are shed in the stool of infected pets and then the
oocysts are consumed later by another susceptible dog or cat. Since incredible
numbers of oocysts are shed from infected pets, the environmental contamination
with coccidia oocysts is severe. Puppies and kittens often show signs of illness,
usually watery diarrhea, before there are oocysts in their stools, so it sometimes
takes several fecal samples to know if a puppy or kitten is infected. In addition, lots
of dogs, cats, puppies and kittens are infected and are shedding oocysts despite
having no clinical signs of infection.
Coccidia are easy to find using standard fecal floatation methods for fecal exams
and are often present in sufficient numbers to show up if a small amount of stool is
smeared on a glass slide, mixed with a small amount of saline and examined.
When Isospora species cause disease the most common form is watery diarrhea
that is very profuse. Many kittens and puppies seem to just leak watery stools as if
they have no control at all over their bowel movements, while others have a more
"normal" diarrhea. Without treatment, the diarrhea might last for several weeks.
With treatment the diarrhea might last several weeks, too --- but it does seem to cut
down some on the duration of the diarrhea to treat affected puppies and kittens.
The most commonly used medications are sulfonamide antiseptics, such as
sulfadimethoxine (Albon Rx, Bactrovet Rx) given at 55mg/kg of body weight initially
and then 27.5mg/kg per day for 4 to 7 days. The medication should be given until
two days after symptoms of illness have disappeared. Lots of vets substitute
trimethoprim/sulfa combination medications (Ditrim Rx, Tribrissen Rx, Bactrim RX)
for this sulfadimethoxine, using a dosage of 15mg/lb of the combined product and
this seems to work, too. While it is probably impossible to kill all the coccidia in a
puppy with clinical disease using medications, it may help reduce the numbers of
organisms that littermates and housemates are subjected to and to shorten the
duration of clinical signs.
In some cases it does seem like there is resistance to the sulfanomides. I am not
sure if this is actually the case, since it is difficult to tell if the medication is working
in the first place. However, if this is suspected, alternative medications include
ampolium (Corid Rx) and furozolidin (Furoxone Rx).
General cleanliness does not ensure that infections will not occur, but removal of
contaminated stool reduces the potential for infection. The oocysts are supposed to
be pretty resistant to most disinfectants and things like steam cleaning or flame
guns may be necessary to actually kill the oocysts, which is impractical for most
situations. Keeping access to mice down (especially for cats) is also a good idea.
So the direct answers to your questions are that most of the time all littermates are
infected. It is not likely that other species will be affected. The organism is spread in
the stool, so keeping non-infected pets away from the stool of infected pets is
helpful but if they share a common environment it is highly likely that infection will
occur. The infection may or may not cause clinical disease and treatment is
generally considered to be necessary only for pets showing clinical signs.
I hope this information is helpful.
Mike Richards, DVM
8/20/2001