Giardia - help!

Re: Giardia - help!

Steve Johnson — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 20:56:31 GMT

Thanks people, you are all overall confirming what I thought.

I think I just needed to hear someone else say it!

Re: Giardia - help!

Bob Russell — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 09:21:58 GMT

We see a lot of cases of giardia +ve diarrhoea cases in puppies and kittens. Clinically they usually respond to fenbendazole (we use 10 days). This is repeated monthly until the symptoms resolve and we retest every six weeks or so. We don't send them to the lab but find the in house test works. At least owners can be given a 'reason' for the bouts of diarrhoea rather than get stroppy with the vet for not fixing a recurrent problem.

All clear the infection in time, presumably as a result of the immune system kicking in! Some are frustrating, we had a puppy that had issues for nearly a year but is now 10yrs old and had no problem since.

My advice is to reassure the owner that as long as the dog is otherwise well, giardia is more of a nuisance than a danger!

We have a giardia soft toy which comes out when people ask what it looks like. What a sad person I am!

Re: Giardia - help!

ruths — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 08:56:56 GMT

This resource maybe helpful.

Giardia thrives in moist conditions.....

http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/giardia/giardia-and-pets.html#reduce

Re: Giardia - help!

Martin Atkinson — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 08:51:31 GMT

[quote user="Steve Johnson"]She is currently asymptomatic but several attempts to clear it with fenbendazole, metronidazole and both together have failed [/quote]One swallow doesn't make a summer. If this dog is asymptomatic why are you worrying? It may just be a natural carrier of Giardia and any previous symptoms were due to a different aetiology. Giardia should be self- clearing in a dog of this age. You've given therapeutic doses of drugs that should clear it so I would just concentrate on diet and hygiene and all should be well. Plus have you considered if another member of the household, animal or human especially cats, is a source of re-infestation?

Re: Giardia - help!

Andrew Kent — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 08:51:31 GMT

Hi Steve,

Has the dog always been asymptomatic or was that since the treatment? (otherwise why was the dog screened if asymptomatic?)

And is this being diagnosed microscopically or with the antigen ELISA? There are some other things (e.g. yeast) which can look very similar to Giardia under the microscope and so is sometimes confused. Is the dog on any kind of peculiar (e.g. raw) diet?

My approach would be to stop treating, unless there is an immunosuppressed person or similar in the household, chronic Giardia in asymptomatic dogs seems to be fairly commonly reported and in most cases either goes away with time or stays asymptomatic.

Some people will try dietary change, or consider investigation of underlying GI disease, in case the Giardia is more of a reflection of an underlying issue. In a 6 month old dog, personally I would wait.

Andy

Re: Giardia - help!

Mark Hedberg — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 08:44:12 GMT

The 3 day dose is a joke; always go minimum of 10. Food bowls need to be decontaminated at a minimum; if they're slopping food in the usual bowls with just a quick rinse and a wipe, they need to be washed in hot soapy water and ideally bleached for a bit.

Cheers,

Mark

Re: Giardia - help!

Steve Johnson — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 08:18:40 GMT

Am I stuck with just ordering them a flamethrower..?

Re: Giardia - help!

ruths — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 08:02:32 GMT

Yeah, I would go with re infection too. It's hard to get rid of giardia from the environment

Re: Giardia - help!

serena holmes — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 00:27:38 GMT

Apparently no Giardia med works 100%. Is the dog defecating in the garden and potentially reinfecting himself by contact with own feces?

Re: Giardia - help!

Steve Johnson — Tue, 16 Jun 2015 23:17:09 GMT

Fenbendazole 50mg/kg sid initially as per label for three days, then ten.

Metronidazole 25mg/kg bid for ten days

Then both for ten days...

Dog, bed, floors etc cleaned daily...

Re: Giardia - help!

Kate Richardson — Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:39:46 GMT

What doses of fenbendazole and metronidazole and for how long?