Blasto

[J Hitchcock]

anyone losing dogs to blasto I have a dog that has it right now and had a dog have it about 4 years ago The vets here said they have seen more cases this year than ever before just wondering Thanks James

[BrewerMo]

Sorry to hear you are dealing with that again. I still have half a bottle of the Sporanex if you can use it. The only place we could find it was at BJC Childern's Hospital.

[chuck r]

As old as I am I`ve never heard of it.What is it and what does it do to your dog.Symptum, ect,ect.
Thanks

[PBJ]

That is one of the nastiest things a dog can get in my opinion. I lost 5 dogs in total to it. I have never had one survive it. The only dogs that I had that got it were line bred sock it to me dogs. I don't know if they were bred too close and the immune system was weak, but I lost all but one of my sock it to me dogs. I have never had another bloodline of beagle get it. I really liked my sock it to me dogs, but most died from Blasto before they even reached 2 years old. It is nasty stuff. One dogs lungs filled up with spores, another's skin ruptured all over, another one went blind and very weak and stumbled all around due to it effecting the brain. All very hard to watch as I tried to save them through medicine. I really wanted to save them, but in hindsight, I wish I would have put them down.
Blasto grows in damp soil. It usually needs to be disturbed soil. when conditions are right it puts off spores that the animals can breathe and absorb through open wounds. Once this fungus gets in the body it can grow and affect almost all areas of the body. According to my vet, a lot of dogs immune system just fight it off, no big deal, but if the immune sytem doesn't fight it off it can wreak havoc in the body. I feel for you and your dog. Good Luck. I still have some medication left over from my vet if you need it. It was 2.00 a pill I don't recall the name of it, but I know I still have it. Let me know if I can help. And keep me posted. Is any of these dogs linebred?

[J Hitchcock]

Blasto is an inhaled fungal infection that can cause your dog to go downhill within hours. If not treated in time, it can be deadly. Symptoms can be different in each dog. Our experience with it has been draining lesions that pop up anywhere on the body (back of neck, and between the toes). A lot of dogs owners may think that these are just sores that will go away but in reality they may be the start of a very nasty illness that can be very hard to treat. The dog becomes depressed, loss of appetite, lethargic, and if the blasto goes into the lungs, it can be hard for them to breathe. Some dogs will get it in their eyes and in the central nervous system. If it sets in the eyes, the retinas can become detatched. Once that happens it is near impossible to treat. Blasto is a fungus so you can not see it in order to keep your dogs away from it. There is not a vaccine to protect against either. It is around wet marshy ground,and fresh turned soil so hunting dogs pick it up a lot quicker than a house dog. The way the vet describes it is to think of how dandelions blow in a yard when you walk through them---the blasto spores are like the dandelions--when the first dog runs through, the blasto spores are knocked loose causing them to blow through the air making the second, third,fourth, etc. dog inhale the spores therefore causing the blasto to set in. Knock on wood, so far we have had luck in treating the two dogs that have come down with it. It takes time and a lot of patience. Vet bills are not the cheapest and neither is the medicine to treat it. Itraconazole(sporonax) is the name of the medicine used and you usually have to treat it 3-6 months to take care of it. Usually by the time the blood test comes back from the vet it is too late. This is one reason when we see any kind of oozing lesion or lameness with the symptoms listed above we automatically suspect blasto. So if anyone has lost a dog suddenly and noticed any of these symptoms it could have very well been blasto. (kinda like a silent deadly disease). My wife used to work for a vet so she freaks out on any little spot on a dog just because of what we have dealt with in the past.

[Mark H]

I know ofv several hounds that have had it here in southern ind. some pulled thru and some didnt im grateful that none of mine have had it..seems like some started with a lump somewhere on their body and it advanced from there

[J Hitchcock]

PBJ Thanks for the imput neither of my 2 are linebred

Brewer Thanks for the offer but we got some already better hang on to it if you have luck like mine Thanks James

[foxxy]

is there any preventive maintance for it

[dk steve]

There is no preventive medicine for it. My vet told me that you could not see it on the ground wuth the nacked eye. I herd escavated areas was bad for it and river valleys. I lost a dog to it after spending lots of money for treatment. My vet told me the only prevention was to move out of the area.