Hector – Page 3 – Second Chance AIHA Dogs

Keymaster

Clara,
If I saw the CBC and chem screens I could tell you for sure exactly what transpired. But yes, the immune system can be triggered by the tick disease and attack its own red blood cells. IMHA. Some of the tick diseases are a common trigger. As I said, Lyme is not one of those but never-the-less has its own serious implications.

The first experience some veterinarians had with the tick disease Ehrlichiosis were with military German Shepherds returning from Viet Nam with a disease they called canine hemorrhagic fever. These dogs were very sick. They had serious autoimmune hemolytic anemia combined with thrombocytopenia, a severe shortage of platelets. This is the most dangerous condition. A dog that does not have enough platelets cannot control internal bleeding via clotting. This is extremely serious and can lead to a condition called DIC disseminated intravascular coagulation. Without intervention a dog can succumb to this condition.

A tick disease can even trigger the immune system to begin attacking the precursor cells in the bone marrow so that the dog stops making red blood cells or platelets or even white blood cells. This is a particularly difficult condition to treat.

So at some point Hector’s immune system was challenged by the Babesiosis and reacted by attempting to destroy the tick disease by destroying the red blood cells. IMHA. The question is were there co-infections with other tick diseases? Did they test for them?

It’s important to think of AIHA and IMHA as complex conditions that can have more than one trigger. For instance a pure bred dog from a good line that has no health issues and is exposed to Babesiosis may be able to throw it off with mild symptoms. An older dog that has been ill for a while and is stressed from constant pain will likely not be successful in fighting it off.

All kinds of things impact how our dog’s immune system functions. The big ticket items for dogs are inherited genetics, general health, age, diet, stress, hormones (sex), viruses, bacteria, thyroid health and vaccinations. Dogs can also be affected by things like bee stings, snake or spider bites. They can also eat inappropriate things that can lead to hemolytic anemia or cause serious allergic reactions. Exposure to several of these at one time can set off an autoimmune attack, not only on RBC but on tissues and organs. We can probably never know all the triggers that led our dog to develop IMHA.

Certain things that might challenge the immune system at this point in Hector may weaken it and that might lead to a relapse of Babesiosis. Sometimes with these dogs you just have to take more care with them.

In humans it is well known that older folks who have a major accident like a fall or other health issue tend to develop painful shingles. The immune system that was protecting them all their life from their childhood chicken pox virus (living in the roots of the spinal cord nerves) let down it’s guard and shingles erupted.
my best
patrice

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