Lumineux Sir Koda Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia - May 2014
Symptoms
best described in his owners words..........
Koda has been wonderful and always has been full of energy as we
expected. Some months ago I noticed some unusual behaviour, with
Koda loosing balance, coming off the pathway, or behaving like
someone drunk. This behaviour was only happening after a hefty
run and plenty of exercise. I initially attributed this to over-oxygenation
due to his heavy breathing, which in turn can make the head spin
or it is how it is for humans.
In early March we lost our Golden Retriever, Pashka, and Koda, not long after, stopped eating after reducing his appetite to nothing. We initially thought to be related to the loss of his companion, but after a while it was affecting him too much and we took him to the vet which didnt take it seriously and sent us back home with advice to provide other types of food to entice him to eat. It slightly worked but not for long and Koda returned into starving again.
Back to the vet which by then took our call seriously and with the loss of weight it was clear that Koda wasnt in a good shape. The vet diagnosis is an Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia and since then we have a blood test done every week and we provide Koda with: 2x a day 25mg Prednisolone
After being
contacted by Koda's owner I looked this up on the internet
and asked about it in a Belgian Shpherd Health group I belomg to.
There are 2
types from the info I have seen, one type can be triggered by
something eg vaccinations.
These websites had the most useful information.
http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pet-health-information/article/animal-health/autoimmune-hemolytic-anemia-in-dogs/2135
http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/Immune-Mediated_Hemolytic_Anemia.htm
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_imha.html
Information from members of BSD Health group
Susan Y
I lost my four year old Belgian last July to this. We did
everything
including a blood transfusion, but nothing worked. I will pray
that Koda
is strong enough to beat this terrible illness.
Kim M
I didn't have a Belgian with it, but our Siberian husky had it.
He
survived, but he went through a life threatening illness every
other year
it seemed after that. He had an underlying disease that it is
only in a
small section of the US (Valley Fever), so I doubt you have it in
Australia, but I believe it contributed to him getting the
disease. Do you
have tick diseases, namely ehrlichiosis there? I believe such
diseases can
trigger it. Also, Chinook got it soon after being vaccinated for
rabies. I
don't know whether that was a factor as well or not.
Dave V
A four-year old bitch that was a daughter from one of my dogs
showed
symptoms of serious illness immediately following a rabies
vaccination at
4 years old (she also showed some symptoms after her puppy shot).
She was
diagnosed with IMHA a couple days later. Unfortunately she did
not
survive. Early diagnosis and treatment is crucial. I don't think
the
typical vet is prepared to handle such complicated cases.
Supervision by
an expert internist/immunologist is essential.
Pamela TS
I was just reading something about this and it was
linking problem to vaccinations. I will see if I can find info
Lilith M
I lost my 9 yr old Terv to IMHA during a sudden acute attack, he
never
showed any clinical signs before this. The vet clinic in Portland
who
treated him were unable to diagnose him in time and in retrospect,
the
given emergency treatment was counterproductive, if not counter
indicated.
Please tell your puppy people to seek help from someone
experienced with
this disease.
Susan Y
Sparkle got her shots in early March, so we know they did not
cause her
AIHA. We also considered that she had been in season at the
beginning of
February and wasn't due in until August. Sparkle had been dosed
with
Advantix in May. I first noticed that Sparkle was acting off at a
dog
show in June. She performed everything I asked but I kept
thinking that
something was wrong. Her breeder could not see anything wrong as
she
went BOS and got 2 RAE legs on Saturday and Sunday, finishing in
the
ribbons for each class.
I agree with Dave that most regular vets do not know how to treat
the
disease. We went to MedVet to an internist. He did everything he
could
think of but we could not reverse her symptoms and I lost her
within two
weeks.
I pray for every dog that comes down with this terrible illness.
Each
case is individual and sadly, many do not survive. I pray also,
that in
the future, better treatments will be developed.
Janet W
vaccines are implicated in this illness.
Edyta E
According to the article I found AIHA may be primary or
idiopathic, or it
may be secondary.
With primary AIHA, the dog's immune system is not working
properly and it
incorrectly makes antibodies that target its own red blood cells.
In dogs,
it is estimated that about three-quarters of cases of AIHA are
primary.
With secondary AIHA, the surface of the red blood cells becomes
altered by
an underlying disease process or a toxin. The dog's immune system
then
recognizes the altered red blood cells as 'foreign' invaders that
must be
destroyed. Secondary AIHA may be triggered by cancer, infection,
blood
parasites such as Babesia (see our handout on Babesiosis), drug
reactions,
snake bites (see handout on Snakebite Envenomization), chemicals,
toxins,
or bee stings. In dogs, neoplasia or cancer appears to be the
most common
cause of secondary AIHA.
Anna D
I know of a few cases in Belgians and also a few in the "general
dog
population". Prognosis is quite variable based on the cases
I am aware of.
It really depends on the individual case and the vets expertise.
As for what caused it I could repeat the old mantra of things
usually
having an environmental, a congenital AND a genetic cause of one
kind
or other. So there is no ONE thing one could do different to
prevent
it.
If at all possible getting the dog into treatment or at least
treatment supervised by adequately licensed vets with an
expertise in
the are aid certainly useful, because they may have ideas that go
beyond the "standard treatment" depending on the
disease process. At
least that is generally the case. It might also be helpful to
rule out
other conditions that might mimic AIHA. There are not many, but
there
are some infectious diseases that at a first glance may also lead
to
symptoms of the disease (e.g. tick transmitted diseases). Also
hormonal conditions can influence the disease process. So ruling
out
some other hormonal issues such and esterus, thyroid, etc may
help.
Jennifer L
If possible, contact Dr. Jean Dodds who knows quite a lot about
autoimmune issues in dogs. Sounds like sooner would be better
than later.
http://www.hemopet.org/education/jean-dodds-veterinarian.html
Susan Y
We did a necropsy on Sparkle to try and find a cause. None was
found, so
we assumed it was Primary AIHA.
Claudette F
We saw this all the time at the hospital where I worked...I can
honestly
say that MOST were dogs that had been vaccinated anywhere from 3
days-3
months later....quick treatment is essential . Some dogs break
with it and
we don't know why, we always send out a tick titer ( its a test
for AIHA )
on them but all came back negative.
Susan GM
We have a bitch that has been living with this for almost eight
years.
Luckily we never had to transfer her. Early treatment was very
high doses
of prednisone, about six months of high doses of tetracycline,
leukaran,
and iron supplements. Her medication for the rest of her life
will be 5mg
prednisone every other day, leukeran every other day and iron
supplements. We will always have to manage her weight and the
side
effects of her medications. Ran a bunch of tests and never found
the
underlying cause.
Susan GM
We have a bitch that has been living with this for almost eight
years. Luckily we never had to transfer her. Early treatment was
very high doses of prednisone, about six months of high doses of
tetracycline, leukaran, and iron supplements. Her medication for
the rest of her life will be 5mg prednisone every other day,
leukeran every other day and iron supplements. We will always
have to manage her weight and the side effects of her medications.
Ran a bunch of tests and never found the underlying cause.
Helene Cremona
Thanks for your info everyone, I'll pass on to owner, my
condolences to those of you who have lost dogs to it, thankyou
for sharing info even though I'm sure it brings back sad memories....
If anyone else has info to share please do and I will pass it on
to the owner as well.
Tracy W
I know of several dogs, both Belgian and not. Three were post
vaccination, two were not. One non Belgian survived with blood
transfusions. Despite this non-Belgian having the event post vx,
the family continued to do annual boosters for travel outside the
country. Kylie had pancytopenia, and was treated similar to
protocols described above, pred and dox for 30 days, but then an
herbal and acupuncture program for 4 years after this. Hers was
not IMHA, but a blood disorder. We did also suspect a form of
cancer in her case. five years later, cancer was ultimately what
killed her. As Lilith says, rapid diagnosis and treatment are
critical. The prednisone can have pretty severe side affects,
however it can also save the dog's life. On pred, kylie was more
lethargic than before the pred, she lost coordination of her rear,
and had to wear a diaper. It can make them ravenous and
excessively thirsty. Her thyroid also crashed while on this, but
as we weaned her off the pred, and did acupuncture, her numbers
came right back up. Yunnan Baiyao was given really immediately,
along with caulis melitaea. Those two were continued a long time.
I wish them success.
Jordan P
I know of several Belgians who had it, all were post vaccination
- mostly rabies.
Tracy W
Kylie's was post rabies vx also
Susan GM
Also since our girl's diagnosis we have not vaccinated her. We do
not want to risk this being a trigger for a relapse.
Samantha D
hi helene i had a belgian with it he had to have a blood
transfusion to try and sort it out and he was put on prednisolone
it worked for about a year then he started to deteriate they
tried him on a new drug that are vets researched but didnt work
so they gave him more prednisolne but i,m sorry to say we lost
him about a week ago he was 3yrs 4 mths and 2 days some times it
works they had another dog with same condtion and its working for
them so i will keep my fingers croosed that it works sending all
my love to the owners of it and if they need any questions
answered i will try to give an honest answer of what we went
through and what are vet said xxx