Does anyone have any experience with aspergillosis? - Page 1

I have a friend whose 2 year old GSD was just diagnosed with aspergillois.  The dog has had it's left eye removed as it was inflamed, swollen then went blind.  The other eye is also going blind.  They vet has told my friends that the lungs of this dog are more like a senior dog than a 2 year old healthy dog.  The vet is not providing a lot of information and since this is a rare disease treating the dog like a test subject.  The vet was initially unable to diagnose the dog and sent the diseased eye to California for diagnosis which is where the aspergillosis conclusion came from.  My friends really love this dog and have spent about $5, 000 already.  This is not about the money but the dog is still very ill and doesn't seem to be getting better.  The vet keeps pushing a big guilt trip on my friends when they ask for a prognosis and if the dog should be put down. 

My friends are looking for advice on a possible cure and others experience with this disease.  They realize it is from a fungal infection, but will it spread to other organs?  Can the dog recover from this? 

I'm looking for advice from those that have some experience with this and can offer some helpful suggestions.

Pre-emptively, I do not want this to turn into a vet bashing thread, so please lets stay on the disease.

Thank you in advance,

Jim

Is this the same thing you are talking about? http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1557&aid=233  Cause if it is it says that there is a treatment.
Sorry that your friend is going through such a bad thing.
~L~

Nia,
Thanks I appreciate it.

lavk-9,
Yes, that's it; only it started in this dogs eye and progressed rapidly.   They are concerned that it is spreading and do not have a prognosis.

Jim 

 Jim,

This is a disease also seen in humans. Based on your statement that the eyes are affected and the lungs look bad (whatever that actually means, but presumably on x-ray), it is probably safe to assume that this is a systemic infection, and not simply an infection of the nose and sinuses. There are several varieties of the aspergillosis fungi and the identification of the causative agent is important to identify. By the time most dogs are diagnosed with systemic disease, the fungi is well disseminated and the dog terminally ill. Based on what you say, the chances are high that this has already spread to multiple sites in the body. German Shepherds are a breed often affected by aspergillus infections.  Females seem to be more affected than males by a wide margin. Aspergillosis terreus, and Aspergillosis deflectus most commonly are the organisms seen in systemic infection. A. terreus has been transmitted by a pregnant female to a pup. The fact that GSDs seem to be predisposed is presumed to be an immune system IgA deficiency. It is important for your friend to find out what the actual organism is. If the infection is localized I think the chance of successful treatment is somewhat higher, but, if it is systemic infection that has been diagnosed, the prognosis is not good.

In nasal cases, there is some success with treatment, but in systemic disease, it not common to see successful treatment. In fact, a quick review of the literature suggests it is unlikely the dog can be saved. I have seen several dogs with this and both did not fare well, even with expensive and extensive treatment. The drugs used (itraconazole and fluconizole) are expensive, must be given long term (1000 days for example) and can be toxic at doses that are required to kill the fungi. Some studies have demonstrated that even if the dog seems to be improving with drug treatment, the causative organism continues to grow and it is a matter of time before the dog has to be put down.

Below are some links of interest. The last one is a partial listing and abstracts for journal articles about infection with this organism. A brief read will show that nasal infection can be treated with more success that systemic infections.

I wish your friend well. It does not look promising. I think this is an infection that is often missed as the organism is so ubiquitous in the environment.

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/aspergillus.html

http://merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/51102.htm

http://www.aspergillus.org.uk/secure/veterinary/listings.php?family=Canidae

"Aspergillus terreus, normally a soil or plant saprophyte, causes disseminated systemic infection, involving primarily the skeletal and the cardiopulmonary system in humans and dogs.(1, 2) We describe two cases of German shepherd dogs that were referred to Koret School of Veterinary Medicine Teaching Hospital with a history of anorexia and weakness. Case 1 suffered from neurological deficits, paraparesis and lumbar pain whereas case 2 suffered from unilateral uveitis and exophthalmus. Both dogs were treated symptomatically, but deteriorated progressively despite therapy and were therefore euthanised. Necropsy revealed disseminated aspergillosis, and numerous organs had multiple, miliary, white-yellow foci. Microscopically, these were identified as granulomas, containing fungal hyphae. Affected tissue included brain, heart, kidneys, spleen, lymph nodes and bones (case 2). Aspergillus terreus was isolated from different organs and from urine culture. We suggest that disseminated aspergillosis should be considered as a differential diagnosis in German shepherd dogs presenting with ocular disease, neurological deficits, spinal column pain, urinary system disorders, and radiographic evidence of skeletal and/or respiratory pathology."

Hodie,
Thank you so much.  That was an excellent post!  Yes, the lungs were  x rayed and had the appearence of belonging to a much older dog.  This is the infromation that I have gotten from our friends and I know it is not very clear.  The dog was on a high dose of prednisone for 3 weeks and they are starting to wean the dog off. 

Hodie, I was hoping that you would reply and I really appreciate it. 

Jim

Jim,

My very good friend lost a young dog to aspergillosis. It was systemic and difficult to diagnose.

I wanted to throttle her vet,  My friend Pat is so careful with her dogs.  She has had Shepherds all her life and she particularly loved this one.

By the time the diagnosis was made it was really too late.  I know that Pat wanted to give her any chance she had but even Pat knew that it wasn't going to happen.  She couldn't bear the suffering her dog was going through.  Every time she was ready, he would say things to her like oh, look at her eyes, she doesn't want to die.

I was shocked that Pat put her foot down one day and said, no more.

I never asked her what she spent, but I am sure it was huge.  They have the money but that wasn't the point.  It was the suffering with no end in sight.

I am very sorry for your friend.

Michele

Michele,
Thanks and I'm sorry for your friends loss of their dog.  My firends dog is a really nice sweet Female GSD, who goes everywhere with his wife.  She wants to give the dog every chance she can but I'm not sure there is hope.  I don't want to get started on what the vet is saying to them, I will at a later date. 

Jim

Jim,  I am sending good thoughts their way.  What a difficult time.......

Animules,
Thanks, I appreciate it and will pass it on.

Jim