Diseases

Think your dog may have a bad case of Infectious Tracheobronchitis? You may not be dealing with a run-of-the-mill kennel cough. Canine Influenza 1 virus, or CIV, has become an important emerging infectious disease in dogs. The virus responsible for the condition is H3N8 influenza A virus.

Does your dog have a swelling of the leg that is painful when touched?   Is your dog suddenly lame?  Can’t remember a traumatic incidence your pet has been subjected to recently?   Is your dog over 50 pounds in weight?

The weather is so beautiful that you decide to take a hike along a stream or small river and you come across a deceased white-tailed deer in or around the water.  Unfortunately, it is not an uncommon scenario.  Epizootic hemorrhagic disease or EHD is a viral disease of white-tailed and mule deer that is spread by biting gnats.  Domestic ruminants such as cattle and sheep are typically asymptomatic carriers of the virus but occasionally cattle will exhibit clinical disease.  
 

If your cat has been suffering from chronic large bowel diarrhea and nothing seems to be working, don’t overlook trichomoniasis as a possible cause.  Feline trichomoniasis is an infection caused by the protozoal parasite Tritrichomonas foetus.  The infection is hard to diagnose and even harder to treat. 
 

Is your horse showing clinical signs of weakness?  Does your horse appear to have difficulty controlling movements of its tongue or show any other signs of dysphagia (difficulty eating)?  These may be the early warning signs that you horse is suffering from a toxin produced by a type of bacteria known as Clostridium botulinum. 
 

First reported in the late 1960’s in captive mule deer found in Colorado, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has now been found in cervids (hoofed ruminant mammals whose males of the species have horns) in much of the northwestern United States and several Canadian provinces.  Surveillance studies in hunter-harvested animals from 1996-1999 found that CWD infected approximately 5% of the mule deer, 2% of the white-tailed deer, and <1% of the elk in the Colorado and Wyoming areas of the United States.  The geographical area and number of animals infected continues to grow. 

Have you been feeling under the weather lately? Running a temperature, feeling achy and coughing? You may be suffering from the flu. If it is indeed the flu, you might not want to socialize with your ferret buddies. Ferrets are extremely sensitive to the influenza viruses, both types A and B, as well as the swine flu or H1N1 variety.

Has your dog recently been diagnosed with a mast cell tumor?  Has your veterinarian given you a rather gloomy prognosis?  Take heart:  Pfizer Animal Health™ has a new chemotherapy drug coming out specifically for the treatment of mast cell tumors in the dog.  

Worried about the “New Parvovirus?”  Don’t be!  If your pet is adequately vaccinated for parvovirus, then they will be covered for the newer strain.  If your dog is not vaccinated for parvovirus, they can become infected with any strain of parvovirus, regardless of age.  So if your dog has not been vaccinated in the past year for parvovirus, see your veterinarian today!  Don’t delay!  It could mean the difference between the life and death for your four-legged friends.

Is your pet suddenly lame when you have seen no indication of trauma?  Have you recently removed ticks from your pet or are you late on your tick treatment this month?  Has your dog had any abnormal bleeding or are his joints swollen or painful?  Then you may want to consider the possibility that your dog could be suffering from Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF).