Coccidia - Isospora in a puppy

RE: Coccidia - Isospora in a puppy

Alistair Graham-Evans — Mon, 16 Apr 2018 01:56:04 GMT

We regularly see puppies with diarrhoea and coccidia on faecal float.

Sometimes with other parasites and sometimes only the coccidia.

They seem to respond quickly to Baycox ( Toltrazuril at 20mg/kg) for 3 days

RE: Coccidia - Isospora in a puppy

Liz Barton — Sat, 14 Apr 2018 22:25:36 GMT

[quote user="Jo Dyer"]I think puppies these days are suffering from Panacur deficiency. [/quote]

And bitches peri-parturient. Working at a large rehoming shelter we get through bucket loads of panacur sachets. Everything from overseas gets a course at book-in, and we've had much less infectious diarrhoea on site since. Also first line for anything with D+. Love them and would miss them hugely if I worked in a practice without.

RE: Coccidia - Isospora in a puppy

Jo Dyer — Sat, 14 Apr 2018 13:56:30 GMT

[quote user="Neil Wheadon"]The microbiology is forthcoming next week[/quote]

Oops sorry, missed that bit!

[quote user="Kate Richardson"]Totally agree re panacur deficiency in pups. seen a few pups with roundworm despite advocate[/quote]

Yes, this puppy yesterday had been on Advocate. I have now seen it fail for ear mites, sarcoptes and toxocara. I avoid it and its generic equivalents wherever possible but it's difficult when it is part of the practice protocol. I wonder how much the health plans which include it monthly have contributed to what appears to be a reduction in efficacy.

[quote user="Richard Carter"]Very common to have a coughing WHWT or CKCS at 10 weeks if comes from the dreaded 'oh it looked so cute and lonely' place[/quote]

Richard, do you think these are filaroides (or whatever it's called these days), or angiostrongylus?

RE: Coccidia - Isospora in a puppy

Richard Carter — Sat, 14 Apr 2018 12:24:17 GMT

there is puppy farm in the vicinity of Lincoln that gets its stock from Ireland among other places - we stock and use panacur on all initial presentation pups from there at lungworm dosages - ie 7 days. Very common to have a coughing WHWT or CKCS at 10 weeks if comes from the dreaded 'oh it looked so cute and lonely' place

RE: Coccidia - Isospora in a puppy

Kate Richardson — Sat, 14 Apr 2018 11:26:06 GMT

Totally agree re panacur deficiency in pups. seen a few pups with roundworm despite advocate, another reason for my loss of faith in it nowadays

RE: Coccidia - Isospora in a puppy

Neil Wheadon — Sat, 14 Apr 2018 09:41:11 GMT

Hi Jo

The microbiology is forthcoming next week, the coccidiosis was on the initial flotation, so you could still be right

Panacur granules are pretty rare in lots of places, you often have to order them in but I do agree with you, they are underused, but with so many puppy packs these days that include Advocate/Stronghold, they usually get something. (Though it's rarer to get a good breeder who worms correctly from a very young age) I read a few months ago that 99% of puppies have them. I also worked with a very good vet who has handled a lot of referral work and he worms everything that is vaguely sick (if no specific signs) even when an adult and reckons it sorts many of them out (though what was wrong in the first place

Useful comments, as this is my last morning here.

Neil

RE: Coccidia - Isospora in a puppy

Jo Dyer — Sat, 14 Apr 2018 08:55:07 GMT

We used to see isospora a lot in charity puppies which were riddled with everything else. I don't think we ever treated it specifically, although you can do. Odd to see it on its own but you wonder if the giardia/campylobacter/toxocara were just missed in that 3 day sample or had been and gone.

I think puppies these days are suffering from Panacur deficiency. Saw a 14 wk old pup yesterday which had vomited the most enormous roundworm despite being on the practice's worming regime. Are those Panacur sachets available any more? Not that it helps me as a locum, if the practices don't stock them. The syringes are expensive for a big pup and the liquid is messy, and anyway they don't seem to be practice policy.

RE: Coccidia - Isospora in a puppy

Iain Richards — Fri, 13 Apr 2018 17:38:33 GMT

Cocci in most animals is usually self limiting. It can be treated in ruminants, but they reinfect regularly and a degree of cocci is a normal finding. Most species are non pathogenic. Intermittent soft poo on a 6mth old is something I'd leave well alone if growth and bounciness are normal.

RE: Coccidia - Isospora in a puppy

Neil Wheadon — Fri, 13 Apr 2018 13:53:12 GMT

True

Waiting for the culture, but this is my second to last day here.

IDEXX

Neil

RE: Coccidia - Isospora in a puppy

Richard Carter — Fri, 13 Apr 2018 12:09:47 GMT

problem is trying to decide if it is a cause or a result. Certainly when I was studying these parasites post grad, it was felt to be an incidental non-pathogenic organism that will increase in numbers in a disturbed GIT (i.e. when local GI immunity has been compromised)

Who is your lab? They may have better advice?