Canine Distemper

[livingwith]

I’ll keep it short and sweet. I am a new pet owner, I adopted Cooper on Sunday 2/3/08 from a Humane Society The poor thing had been at the shelter for 109 days. As they are a no-kill shelter, I couldn’t leave him there to live. He is perfect for our family.
With the adoption, I am awarded a free ‘wellness visit’ to a vet. I take Cooper (Pitbull/AmStaff mix) in for his check-up, he is perfect! No fever, clean ears, clean nose and eyes… oh and what a well behaved boy...Read the full article

[Daveyo]

First your dog survived distemper. The damage on the teeth is caused by distemper which you need to have new enamel put in and also capped to protect the teeth.

Yes your dog will get the OLD DOG seizures later on down the line. When ?? depends on the dog. Some get it as long as 8 years later and some get it within a few weeks, but your definitely guaranteed it will happen. The big question is when will it occur.

The NDV tap to the CSF basically will stop its progression and not cure the dog and it will prevent possible seizures later on. Yes you can look into this option and consider it. Not hard for a Qualified VET to do this procedure. You need only 1 vial of NDV, and have the VET administer only 0.1cc of NDV into the Foramen Magnum (the bottom part at the base of the skull) into the CNS. The Vet will also need to have 0.2cc of saline solution to flush the NDV amount from the needle hub to not leave any behind. I have the procedure for such posted here for the VET to follow up on it, and you are also welcomed to visit [moderator note: website address has been removed] and I have at my site a wealth of information concerning about Canine Distemper Virus with pics as well and the descriptions of what the virus does to the CNS system on the dog. You simply need to register and you are welcome to view any and all the material I have posted in my site. Basically what I have done is made it easier for people instead of looking all over the place in various web sites.

[kem]

I am new to this site. I need help as well, and am hoping "Daveyo" responds. I have a 3-5 year old 28lbs mix that was rescued from an abandoned trailer park in 6/06. We have named him Eddie. I believe that no one cared for him for most of his life. He has scars all over his face/body, old bullet and pellot wounds. He has been treated for toxoplasmosis, babesia and is diagnosed with CHRONIC NEUROLOGICAL DISTEMPER. His blood work is all within normal limits, he has myoclonus tremor, and his CSF tested negative for the distemper virus. A MRI has revealed some multifocal lesions that are consistent with distemper but the the toxoplasmosis was only diagnosed in 11/07. The babesia titer has remained steadily low. He is a "happy maniac" right now, but I'm not satisfied with not pursuing other treatment options. I am very aware that many vets are not fully able to deal with diagnostic and treatment issues, but I am confident that my vet knows what he is doing. However, other than some supplements, a low dose of pregnisilone and Neurontin, diplomates in internal medicine and neurology say he can live 3 days or 10 years. I want to inquire about NDV and any other options. Given his CSF is "clear", will NDV keep this from progressing? I would greatly appreciate a response. He is a happy boy, and except for tremor activity has no other present indications of distemper to my knowledge. It is sad that some vets told me to euthanize him.

[Daveyo]

First when did you do the CSF tap? How was the CSF tested??? Was it tested for specific distemper antibodies. It is very hard to find a lab to do this particular test. Secondly where are you located??? Where was the lesions located??? What kind of dog do you have?? This sounds familiar because I read up on some research not long ago of dogs having clear CSF yet have neurological problems only to find a virus lurking in the brain itself using yellow diff-quick stain which shows up like a sore thumb. This virus is different from the distemper virus.

Now here is a question to you. Does the dog appear to stop and then go backwards and the eyes go glazed like when this happens????? Is it having lock up seizures or what????

Lets start from this point.

Make a post here and tell me the above and also the vaccination history and when did this problem started. Also when did you do the MRI and all the other tests????

[kem]

Daveyo, thank you for responding. Eddie is called a Beagle mix, but I don't see it (basenji/dachshund mix???????). Rescued 6/06 with head and mouth twitch-- vet labelled it myoclonic tremor. I am in Homestead, Fl--south of Miami. Eddie's specialist is nationally renound (central Fl). He was tested for distemper when first rescued (6/06) and it came back neg. (Babesia was diagnosed in 6/06.) Until then, I had not vaccinated until vet gave go-ahead suggesting Rabies first then several weeks later DHLPP. Prior to rescue can't know vaccination history. CSf tested (cisternal level) 11/07 by Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic System or Colorado State University. Per my vet, no antibodies or proteins were found in the CSF. The Texas lab did the titer for the distemper on 11/07 when this time he tested pos (Neospora caninum (IFA) titer (S)--40 suggesting exposure according to the paperwork. On 11/07 the toxoplasmosis was caught, which I'm sure he had when rescued 6/06--unfortunately not tested for this then. Serology neg for fungal infections, West Nile virus. Babesia caught 6/06 with additional titers diminishing. Since treatment for toxoplasmosis, and pos diagnosis Chronic N Distemper 11/07, Eddie is cognitively better. He is more responsive. He never has gone backwards and forwards nor do his eyes glaze over. I have NOT seen any seizures. He does have the top cranial tremor and bottom of muzzle makes his teeth go together.--This can be more or less pronounced. No eye goup, no nasal discharge, no hard pads, great appetite, not losing weight, walks normally, no respitory issues, etc. Slight muscle twitch in abdominal area. Exam on 11/07 revealed pain down spinal area on palpitation. He doesn't behave as if he is in pain. Please keep in mind that in 11/07 the distemper and toxoplasmosis was diagnosed. Radiographs and ultrasound revealed no anomalies except for mild to moderately enlarged spleen which the vet said he could be "normal" for him. MRI (done 11/07) revealed "multifocal sites of barely to non-enhancing focal edema in the subcortical and brainstem area seen. The MRI changes are particularly seen on FLAIR sequences and T2-weighted images". I hope this helps! I have write-ups of the exam on 11/07 and titer results, etc. I'll do whatever to to help my boy! THANK YOU for spending your time to help! KEM

[Daveyo]

To Kem

I just read your report here. Sounds like you have several situations happening all at the same time. Dr. Sears is more familiar of the two labs in USA, and from what I understand this is his primary specialty. I hope they do not ban me from this site since I have been warned but in this situation it is prudent for me to tell you this up front, and risk it because of my desire to help you out and to get you to the right person who knows this very well and it being a VET Doctor and an expert at this profession, but you need to make contact to Dr. Sears which he has set up for his own means for people to contact that have a situation such as yours. Please write to Dr. Sears at antidistemper@aol.com. He has granted me permission to tell others such as your situation that it best you contact him privately. You need to submit everything you just told me and have a private consultation with him at the above e-mail that I gave you. Currently I have no access to the data that you gave me, but Dr. Sears has and I believe he has treated several cases such as yours with good results. There is a few things you have mentioned which requires some different techniques and Dr. Sears is most familiar with it. Due to the situation that you have this is the best I can do for you, because I am not in the USA at the moment and Dr. Sears is in USA. Give him all the facts you have submitted here and any additional information that Dr. Sears might want to make the right Diagnosis for you based on his judgment on the case. Since he is the VET with extreme intelligence he beats me by a mile. I am under him for many more years yet to come and probably will never attain the immense knowledge this VET has and the experience that he has is incredible.

I hope it all works out for you. Just let me know if you got thru to him OK. He might respond right away or it might take a few days. Its all up to him depending on his current activities at the time. Just keep trying and eventually he will get in touch with you. He is the only person that I know that might be able to do something for your dog. I don't think there is anyone else except for the two doctors but they are deceased.

[Daveyo]

Colorado State does not do the Lab tests and I know that for a fact. Texas is iffy, and I have not checked with them.

Most specific tests done today are done at private labs. To do such on the CSF it has to be tested for specific Distemper antibodies. Not easy to do.