Canine Chagas


  Hi all... this is not a breed specific thing but something that dog
  owners should be aware of. I just found out that my Beauceron -
  Shaman- has been diagnosed with Canine Chagas. it is normally found
  in central and south america but is moving north. it has been found
  in all southern states from Southern CA to the east coast. it is
  carried by a 'kissing bug' that takes a painless blood meal from the
  dog or the dog eats the bug (or something with the bug feces on it).
  it causes heart damage in varying degrees. the dog can either end up
  wasting away or it can actually just drop dead of a heart attack. I
  am 'lucky' enough to have a friend who does medical research and she
  sent me some information that I passed on to my vet. my vet then
  contacted Texas A&M parasitology department and they are sending a
  FREE bottle of the only medication that appears to be having an
  effect on slowing/stopping the heart deterioration. there is no
  known cure at this time but if we caught it early enough, Shaman has
  a chance at a semi-normal life. it can be passed from an infected
  dog to another if the other dog eats poop. Luckily, he has always
  been separated from my AKK, Rat Terriers and the other small dogs
  here. there is no way to tell where he found this bug but 'they' say
  just to make sure there are no wood piles around and to keep all
  insects under control with regular spraying - same stuff works on
  these bugs as all the rest we generally spray for. there is also
  another vector for transmitting this disease... wild animals can get
  it just as easily as the dogs - so if your dog catches
  raccoons, 'possums, and such - just be as careful as you can. Also,
  if your dog ever needs a blood transfusion make sure the blood comes
  from a dog clear of Chagas! there is no mosquito transmission ever
  recorded... guess the parasite can't live in a mosquito!

  sorry this is so long but felt it necessary especially for southern
  dog owners.

  Ellen