When we welcome a dog into our home, it doesn't take long to discover that the bond that forms between a pet and its owner is very strong and special, and we soon understand that our dog has gone from being a pet to become a member of our family.
Then the care of our pet acquires great importance in our day to day life and we must be attentive to any symptom or behavior that indicates a pathology, in order to be able to offer treatment as soon as possible.
In this article we show you all about toxoplasmosis in dogs, what are the symptoms by which we can identify this disease and how we should act to avoid contagion.
What is toxoplasmosis?
Toxoplasmosis is an infectious disease caused by a protozoan parasite called Toxoplasma Gondii.
This is not an exclusive disease of dogs, since it affects a wide variety of warm-blooded animals, and also humans.
When infected through the extraintestinal cycle (which is what affects all animals), toxoplasma passes from the intestinal tract to the bloodstream, from where it reaches the organs and tissues it affects and which consequently suffer an inflammatory and immunological reaction.
Contagion of toxoplasmosis in dogs
The toxoplasmosis in dogs is a disease that our dog acquires through the extraintestinal cycle and to understand this mechanism of action we must differentiate the two cycles of reproduction of this parasite:
- Intestinal cycle: Occurs only in cats. The parasite reproduces in the cat's intestinal tract, eliminating immature eggs through the feces, these eggs mature in the environment after between 1 and 5 days.
- Extraintestinal cycle: Contagion through this cycle is produced by the ingestion of mature eggs, which pass from the intestine to the blood and are capable of infecting organs and tissues.
A dog can become infected with toxoplasmosis through contact with an infected surface, through ingestion of cat feces, or through ingestion of raw meat contaminated with the parasite's eggs.
Young or immunosuppressed dogs are a risk group for toxoplasmosis infection.
Symptoms of toxoplasmosis in dogs
Acute toxoplasmosis manifests itself through a wide variety of symptoms, although our pet does not have to suffer from all of them.
If we observe any of the following symptoms in our dog we should urgently go to the vet:
- Muscular weakness
- Lack of coordination in movements
- Lethargy
- Depression
- Seizures
- Tremors
- Complete or partial paralysis
- Respiratory problems
- Loss of appetite
- Weightloss
- Jaundice (yellow discoloration of the mucous membranes)
- Vomiting and diarrhea
- Abdominal pain
- Inflammation of the eyeball
Treatment of canine toxoplasmosis
First of all, the veterinarian must verify the diagnosis of canine toxoplasmosis, so he will generally perform a blood test to measure different parameters, such as serology and antibodies, defense cell counts, and some liver markers.
If the diagnosis is confirmed, the treatment will vary depending on each specific case and the basic he alth status of the animal.
Intravenous fluids will be used in case of severe dehydration and antibiotics may also be prescribed to control the infection in the affected areas, the main objective of the treatment should also be restoration the dog's immune system, especially when it was already weakened before the toxoplasma infection.
In some serious cases our pet may require a period of hospitalization.
How to prevent the spread of toxoplasmosis
To avoid the spread of toxoplasmosis in dogs we simply have to be careful and take into account the following hygiene guidelines:
- We must prevent our dog from eating raw meat as well as spoiled food
- We must control all those areas where our dog can come into contact with cat feces
- If we have also welcomed a cat into our home, we must exercise extreme caution, regularly clean the litter box and prevent our dog from coming into contact with it
Regarding contagion in humans, we must clarify that it is not possible to transmit toxoplasmosis from a dog to a human.
40-60% of humans have suffered from toxoplasmosis, but if the immune system works properly, symptoms do not manifest, being only a dangerous disease during early pregnancy in those women who they do not have antibodies.
Human infection is caused by the ingestion of contaminated food and, in the case of children, by possible contact with infected cat feces.
