Anyone here have any experience with this?

One of my dogs has a non healing wound on his leg. We took him to the vet last week and the vet put him on a course of kelfex and dressing changes with betadine and neomycin 3x a day, just in case it was a bacterial infection. At the time, the vet stated that there is a possiblilty that the wound could be caused by blastomycosis, and that it is seen primarily in hunting dogs, or dogs that run frequently in boggy wet areas (I 'hunt' with my dog, his reward for snappy obedience is to chase critters, it is the only thing that turns him on!)

I only know about fungal infections from people with compromised immue systems ie HIV, cancer patients etc. The infection, and the treatment with amphotericin and diflucan, is involved and expensive.

Anyone been through this? What was the treatment, and how did the infection show itself in the dog?

The wound is getting better, by the way, but very slowly. He will be back at the vet by weeks end if no significant improvement.

Thanks!

Hi Melissa, I had an experience with this in June/July of this year after my dog had searched in a boggy swampy environment - the whole place stunk to high heaven with all the swamp gases. His indication is to lay down on buried decomposition scent/bark and there was a particular mucky area that he kept laying in to indicate interest. We searched in the perimeter area for 10 hours with breaks of course.

He was of course decon'd after the search, but within a week, he didn't seem like his regular self and I noticed he was a little off at a seminar we attended the following weekend and initially just attributed it to working several long cases during the week and alot of tracking training - and he was not in AD physical form/condition due to my work and school schedule either.

I took him to the vet for bloodwork after the seminar and glad I did right away. He had contracted Blasto, and was put on a ridgid anti-biotic regimine. The area we had searched had been an area identified as a breeding ground for Blasto in that county by my vet. He had no open scratches in his thick coat that we could find, but it can be contracted orally through the mouth, and he likes to *taste* water, etc. while checking for scent - that's how we figure he contracted it. He recovered very fast because it was diagnosed right away, and bloodwork after 15 days showed clear. In addition to adding cooked liver to his all natural kibble, I also laced his water with mineral/pottasium supplement powder to prevent dehydration, as he had a slight temp - (this is not passed/spread from dog to dog by the way).

I always have a bloodwork systems check on him at least twice a year to keep a base line of where he's at, because of all the hazardous environments he searches and trains in. I hope your dog has a very speedy and complete recovery -will keep you in our prayers. Please keep us posted.

Thanks for your reply, Wendy.

The vet wanted to do a biopsy and cytology reading from the wound to get a def diagnosis. However, the infection seems to be just local, no systemic signs of infection; eats great, full of energy, etc.

He was always prone to these wierd skin conditions, but they were always responsive to antibiotics, and I made sure that he finished the whole course, so that I would not create resistant strains.

Is it typical that the fungal infection would stay local, or does it usually go systemic? I guess it would depend on the mode of entery; yours inhaled, mine traipsed through <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> .

You say that you decontaminated your dog after the search. How was that done?

Thanks again!

Hi Melissa, it is my understanding that it will go systematic regardless of *entry* for lack of a better term <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

We decon our dogs after trainings or searches where there is a questionable environment. They get scrubbed down with a combination of regular Dawn dishsoap and an anti-bacterial/fungal shampoo, ears are checked and cleaned, eyes washed with a saline solution, nostrils and mouth inspected and cleaned, they are rolled over onto their backs enjoying a well deserved belly rub by their handler, while the toes/paws are spread apart and inspected, vitals taken before and after scenario, and monitored by the handler for any changes for days after.

We had a veternarian (she recently married a *musher* from Alaska she met when working as a Itiorod (sp) race vet, and boy is she missed!), on our team that started this protocol a couple years ago and it's been a very effective preventative measure . . . but still things can happen, I wish there was HAZMAT personal protection devices that could work for K-9's and retain their olfactory ability.