vet-tech-animal-diseases-ch-1-pansystemic-diseases-part-1

• involve multiple body systems as well as primary target organs
• most often infectious
• multiple causes - bacterial, viral, fungal, parasitic

• fever - > 103; may be 1st symptom you see (before other symptoms appear)
• lethargy - unwilling to participate in normal activities
• anorexia - decrease in or loss of appetite
• depression - mental dullness (not sadness like humans); response to stimuli below normal level; just not acting right
• diabetic/renal failure may have same symptoms, but NO fever

a state of optimal physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Not just the abscence of disease.

• a definite morbid (moving toward death) process having a characteristic train of symptoms
• it may affect all or part of the body

• the study of the various factors and relationships determining the frequency and duration of a disease
• diagnosing like House
• eg in Lymes disease, abnormal # kids diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in one location; commonality was dogs; lead to tick discovery

• the branch of medicine that studies the essential nature of disease
• the structural and functional changes in tissues and organs
• eg cancer has a very distinct signature at the cellular/tissue level

• the study of the factors that cause disease:
• trauma
• metabolic
• immune
• congenital - present at birth
• genetic - inherited
• nutritional
• neoplastic
• infectious

• viral
• rickettsial
• mycoplasm
• ureaplasm
• bacterial
• protozoal
• fungal

• S - subjective
• O - objective
• A - Assessment
• P - Plan
• this is a standard charting practice
• most vets document/think this way even if it's not obviously labelled SOAP
• iterative process
• if animal stays at vet, should be SOAPed once/twice a day
• ALWAYS document everything

• how they appear:
• B/A - bright/alert
• Depressed - concious; respond to stimuli, but not in a normal manner
• Moribund - coucious; inert (usually laterally recumbent); little (?) response to stimuli
• Coma - not concious; no response to stimuli
• Dead
• Excited - don't see as much

• measured quantity, usually has a # associated with it
• TPR - temperature, pulse, respiration
• other info as warranted

evaluation of information collected above

• further diagnostics or treatment
• many times vet tech must implement plan

Rabies

• Core disease vaccines - DHLPP - AVMA recommends every 3 years after puppyhood
• - Distemper
• - Adeno viruses 1 and 2
• - Leptospirosis
• - Parvo
• - Parainfluenza
• Non-core vaccines
• - Lymes - probably in New England, not in Arizona
• - Influenza (H3N8)
• - Corona virus - puppy disease; shelters
• - Bordatella bronchiseptica - kennel cough; show dogs, boarding, groomers, play groups
• - Ehrlicia - tick borne; not very good vaccine

• Core disease vaccine - FVRCP - every 3 years after kittenhood
• - Panleukopenia - feline distemper
• - Feline Herpes Virus - Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis (FVR); upper respiratory infection
• - Calici virus
• Non-core vaccines
• - Feline Leukemia Virus - FeLV
• - Feline Immunodeficiency Virus - FIV
• - Feline Infectious Peritonitis - FIP

• etiology - Lyssa virus
• hosts - all mammals
• prognosis - grave; once symptoms appear, there is no treatment and death will occur
• ZOONOTIC - that's why we are so concerned about it

• saliva to blood via bite or open sore most common
• opne sore in contact with any bodily fluid
• inhalation of guano (bats) - rare but possible, especially for spelunkers
• most bats in New England are insectivores
• any cat w/ abcess of unknown origin is rabies suspect (possibly saliva in it), so you need to wear protection
• any neurologic symptom in any animal is rabies suspect

period of time from initial infection to presence of clinical signs

• 15-50 days; beyond 50 days in ferrets
• can be highly variable
• depends on the location of the bite and the species bitten - bite farther from the brain will take longer than one close to brain
• if vaccinate during incubation, will just slow the progress of the disease
• goes from wound to neurons; takes over nucleus; reproduces until cell bursts; goes into another neuron; eventually reaches the brain

3 stages - prodromal, excitative (furious), paralytic

• changes in behavior
• eg raccoon comes up to people
• eg horses, deer, cattle get lethargic, stuporous

• hyperactivity - sudden emotional shifts, eg calm to suddenly attacking
• stupor (dumb form)
• usually affect carnivores
• centers in limbic center of brain
• abnormal behavior (when reaches brain)
• - passive, then vicious
• - irrational
• - foaming at the mouth - can't swallow
• - die within 10 days (usually less, 3-8) of it getting to brain, however long it took to get there
• infectious once it gets to this stage, hence 10 day bite quarantine
• unvaccinated (including overdue) animal must be quarantined for 180 days as it can take that long to show symptoms and die

ascending paralysis - when it gets to diaphragm, they stop breathing and die

• post-mortem - no antemortem test
• examination of the brain for Negri bodies
• decapitation, then sent to State Diagnostic lab
• if suspect late Fri PM, quarantine until Mon (state testing agency won't be there on weekend & brain won't last until Mon)
• use extreme care - every body fluid can be contagious

• vaccination mandated at both state and federal level
• dogs and cats in MA:
• 1st vax at 3-6 months of age (legally must be by 6 months)
• 2nd booster w/in 9-12 months of the 1st, then next vax in 3 years
• if miss 9-12 month window, then in 1 year
• once a 3 year always a 3 year as long as it is kept current

NONE

• etiology - Canine Distemper Virus (CDV)
• transmission - aerosol droplets (sneezing)
• prognosis - grave; 90% mortality, usually within a year; can move from tissue to tissue

• fever
• cough
• mucopurulent discharges (so contagious)
• pneumonia
• vomiting (upper GI)
• diarrhe (lower GI)
• dehydration (from vomiting and diarrhea)

• any complication of a disease
• any abnormal bodily condition or disease related to or arising from a pre-existing disease
• an aftereffect of disease, condition, or injury

• hyperkeratosis
• clonus seizures
• muscle twitching - St Vitus' Dance
• ataxia - lack of muscle control: the inability to coordinate the movements of muscles
• circling
• blindness
• if the above don't happen, then 8-10 years later:
• old dog encephalitis - circling, pressing head against wall (to relieve headache pain)

• no treatment, just:
• supportive care
• - good nursing - clean, quiet, dark (photophobia), soft
• - fluids - to maintain hydration
• - prevent secndary bacterial infections - damaging to epithelium so prone to bacterial infections - prophylactic antibiotics

• short term - usually 3-6 weeks
• - chorea (St Vitus dance)
• - seizures - not controllable - will get more intense until it kills them
• long term - years later - virus can lay dormant in system for years
• - old dog encephalitis
• -- ataxia - staggering like drunk
• -- head pressing - to relieve headache
• - hypermetria - don't know where feet are (lift them really high)
• - seizures

• prevention
• good hygiene - readily killed with common disinfectants (even soap & water or any disinfecting spray)
• vaccination - modified live vaccine; puppies starting at 8 weeks then monthly until 16 weeks; adults w/o vax get initial dose then 2nd dose a month later

• wild populations that harbor diseases that can affect domestic animals and humans
• important in a number of pansystemic diseases in dogs and cats - eg rabies, dog and cat distemper (sunlight kills them all very well - hot, dry)
• common natural resevoirs include raccoons, skunks, ground hogs, bats, coyotes, feral cats

• evolutionary combo of cats and dogs
• highly adaptive - urban and rural
• usually nocturnal so you may not know they are in your neighborhood
• leave behind sneeze droplets on everything, animate or inanimate; inanimate in the shade tends to hold contagions longer

• rabies
• canine distemper
• feline distemper
• parvo
• leptospirosis
• lymes
• ehrlichia
• also Giardia, although not an infectious disease

caused by a microorganism

• spreads readily from one animal to another
• infectious, but poorly contagious - AIDS, feline leukemia
• infectious & highly contagious - canine distemper, kennel cough

• separate area (for each disease) - leave animals in car until ready to put in a room
• - can be iso ward, heated garage, bathroom - anything away from other animals
• - remember to keep an eye on them; they are very sick, but easy to forget
• separate equipment
• - footbaths - parvo walked around the world in 6 days
• - dedicated caregivers - preferably someone who won't bring it home to their pets
• - protective clothing
• - dedicated to ward
• -- stethoscope
• -- clippers, etc
• - sink
• - drain in floor separate from drainage to rest of hospital
• preferably easy to get in and out without bringing sick animal all the way through the clinic