KNOWLEDGE BASE
Here, you can find information about import regulations, important forms and the most frequent diseases affecting dogs in southern lands.
Import regulations, forms, etc.
Website of the European Union containing all important forms
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Diseases
The most frequent infectious diseases in the south
Many thanks to Arche Noah-Kreta for allowing us to publish the following text.
Leishmaniasis
Canine parvovirus
Ehrlichiosis
Canine distemper
Leishmaniasis
Leishmaniasis in dogs is one of the most feared diseases in animal protection abroad, in particular within countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea where the infection rate is particularly high. Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by microparasites that are transmitted by the bite of certain species of an insect called sand fly.
Leishmaniasis attacks the immune defence of the body and reproduces in cells which normally serve to stop infections. Therefore, animals infected with leishmaniasis frequently suffer from other bacterial infections as well. This is the reason why veterinarians often prescribe antibiotics to combat the other infections, but those antibiotics are not effective against leishmaniasis. Thus leishmaniasis might remain undetected for a long period of time.
How do I recognize the disease leishmaniasis in a dog?
There are numerous symptoms of leishmaniasis, but they all appear with different frequency and they might not always appear all at the same time. Thus it might happen that several dogs infected with leishmaniasis show quite different clinical pictures. Depending on the pathogen type and the land of origin of the infection the main disease symptoms can be quite different.
At first, non-specific disease signs, which could also have other causes, appear: diarrhoea, limping, refusal of feed, weight loss, fatigue. a much more distinct symptom for leishmaniasis are fringed ear edges. Simultaneously, a considerable formation of dandruff in the fur of the animal can sometimes also be observed. Skin symptoms are most frequent and most typical for the advanced stage of leishmaniasis. Perfectly circular small wounds in hidden parts of the body (e.g., on the inside of ears) are among the first signs. They can only heal very badly. In Greece one can observe dogs suffering from leishmaniasis walking with dry crusts on their heads, while in other lands the wounds appear more frequently in the area of the legs or the nose.
Next is loss of hair on individual body parts or on the entire body. Sometimes only hair around the eyes falls off. Numerous inflammatory diseases of the eyes are also a frequent corollary.
How do I protect my dog against infection?
The sand fly - like all living creatures - adapts itself to changing environmental conditions in the course of time. So it happened that the fly’s range has expanded from the Mediterranean countries more and more to the north. There are supposedly isolated cases of sand flies appearing in Switzerland, in South Germany and in Belgium. However, there is still no unequivocal research to prove that.
The active period of the stinging females is at night, but only in the case of an air temperature of 20°C or more during several successive nights. If there is a strong wind, sand flies prefer not to fly, but if it’s calm they can cover substantial distances in a short time. If you are walking with your dog in threatened areas - especially at such times - protect the dog (and yourself!) from possible sand-fly bites. Don’t let your dog sleep outside, and also don’t let it sleep in the car. The sand fly can only reach a few meters high from the ground. So if you spend the night on the 2-nd floor of a house, then it is quite certain that you and your dog cannot be reached by sand flies. Any light from normal light bulbs though (unlike light from neon or energy-saving lamps) will attract the sand fly so that it tends to climb some meters higher than usual. The sand fly only stings sleeping victims.
At the moment, the only successfully tested dog collar against sand flies is sold on the Internet under the name of Scalibor ® Protectorband for dogs. This Protectorband must be put on the dog one to two weeks before the beginning of the vacation and it is also quite effective against ticks. You can get such a dog collar at your veterinarian’s office, so just ask!
Leishmaniasis and other infectious diseases become more and more of a problem in animal protection. It is especially troublesome that German veterinarians have relatively little education and knowledge to treat these diseases. There are even veterinarians who suggest putting down the animal if only titers of leishmaniasis are discovered in its blood, even if the animal doesn’t shows any symptoms. This should not happen, of course.
With many dogs it remains unclear for a long time or even for good whether they really suffer from leishmaniasis. The most obvious signs are the typical skin afflictions. All the other symptoms can be indicative of numerous other illnesses rather than leishmaniasis.
In the context of animals’ rights protection it must be guaranteed that each animal is examined for relevant infectious diseases before it is sent to a permanent home. Should after with this check a suspicion come up that the dog suffers from leishmaniasis, the dog should be given only to holders who have experience with leishmaniasis-infected animals and who consciously decide on accepting such an animal.
In Germany there are many leishmaniasis-positive dogs that live a happy life free of worries. The theory that dogs in Germany, suffering from leishmaniasis, would contribute to the spread of this disease among other dogs and people can therefore not be substantiated. Compared to an infected dog, it’s several times more likely to contribute to the spread of the disease yourself as a tourist by importing an unnoticed infected sand fly to Germany in your car. In our extremely mobile world in which borders become more and more open, the propagation of formerly location-specific diseases is bound to occur. The blame for this propagation must not be cast on an animal kind alone.
Canine parvovirus
Canine parvovirus (CPV) is a disease caused by a virus. The disease is highly infectious and is spread from dog to dog by direct or indirect contact with feces. The canine parvovirus is a very severe problem in the South. Still, in the last few months and years, there were also increased parvovirus outbreaks at breeders and animal shelters in Germany, and those seemed inexplicable at first. One possible reason for the mounting number of parvovirus cases in Germany might be the capability of viruses to mutate. Various virus strains could have formed in other countries, and those could be brought to Germany by practically any tourist. This was especially noticeable when the Eastern borders opened. Nonetheless, viruses can also spontaneously mutate in Germany, and thus circumvent the immunity which animals have acquired either through inoculation or by having already gone through the disease in the past.
The canine parvovirus is extremely contagious and it’s a very big problem on Crete too. Over the course of two weeks, millions of viruses get excreted with the infected animal’s feces. Furthermore, the parvovirus is very long-lived and can cause infections over many months. It is resistant against temperature variations and ordinary disinfectants. A spot where an infected dog left parvovirus with its excrement can prove deadly for a sniffing puppy even after a time of several weeks. If you step on such a spot with your shoe (even if there is no visible excrement sticking to it afterwards), you’ll carry the virus with you and you might infect any dog you meet. The parvovirus is not that dangerous for adult dogs in good health. Although the dog might get sick, the outcome is only rarely death. In the case of puppies, about 80% of them – depending on their physical constitution – die as a consequence of getting infected with the parvovirus.
The behavior of parvovirus makes the following clear to us: buildings and gardens/pens of family/foster home/animal shelters which had dogs suffering from Parvo in them are contagious if the sick animals weren’t held in such a quarantine that can be completely disinfected.
Sick animals show a reduced general condition, including to some extent fever, strong vomiting and diarrhoea which is excreted explosively and which often contains blood. Parvovirose has a very distinct metallic smell. Anyone who has ever treated dogs suffering from Parvo can recognize the parvovirus literally by the smell of it.
The deficiency of water and electrolytes caused by diarrhoea and vomiting, usually leads to a decrease in body weight of up to 15%. Thus one of the biggest problems with dogs suffering from parvovirus is dehydration. One of the most important life-saving measures in such a case is the artificial supply of water to the body through infusion. When a suspicion of parvovirus comes up, one should not wait to see if the disease takes care of itself. The disease progresses so quickly that is a matter of just a few days until irreversible damage of the intestinal wall sets in, which usually causes the death of the animal. If the dog manages to survive the virus infection after the first 4-5 days, it stands a chance of surviving the disease.
The difficult vaccination against canine parvovirus
Immediately after having been born, a dog puppy absorbs a large amount of maternal antibodies against parvovirus (antibodies coming from the mother) through the mother's milk. These antibodies of the mother protect the puppy against parvovirus during its first weeks. During this period it is not possible to successfully inoculate a puppy against parvo, because the antibodies of the mother do not differentiate between a real infection and a vaccination: they fight against the virus on their own, without the defensive system of the puppy coming into play.
As the puppy grows up, it loses more and more of those antibodies of the mother. At some point it does not have enough of them to protect it against an infection. Unfortunately however, at that time there are still too many antibodies to prevent a successful vaccination: the inoculating agent is neutralized too fast for the immune system of the puppy to react. This critical time is called "immunological gap". Therefore, in order to protect a puppy against parvovirus, one must inoculate it neither too early, nor too late.
Ehrlichiosis
Ehrlichiosis is a tick-borne disease of dogs, which is wide spread in Mediterranean countries, in tropical and semitropical areas. Still, ticks carrying the disease have also been found in Central Europe as well as in some Scandinavian countries. Those same ticks often transmit babesiosis as well. The causes for the disease are micro organisms.
The disease breaks out one to three weeks after infection by an ehrlichiosis agent. Depending on the state of the immune system and the severity of the disease the outcome may be spontaneous healing or chronic illness. The disease is sometimes more severe with animals that are weakened by harsh life conditions.
The disease is characterized by three phases: acute, subclinical and chronic. During the acute phase the dog is feeble and refuses feed. In some cases nose bleeding and point-shaped bleeding on the mucous membranes may occur. During the subclinical phase one does not see any further symptoms in the affected dogs. The subclinical phase can continue for several months or even years. A spontaneous healing may then take place or, alternatively, the disease may progress to the chronic phase if the organism is not able to deal with the ehrlichiosis virus. This can be caused by a weak immune system resulting from poor living conditions or from other parallel diseases weakening the organism and not leaving it enough strength to resist. Marrow damage and chronic anemia can occur afterwards. The cerebral membranes may be afflicted and in this case additional symptoms will appear, ranging from muscle convulsions to cramp attacks and limited mobility of the hind legs.
Typical signs of chronic ehrlichiosis are a heightened bleeding tendency with nosebleed and point-shaped bleeding on the mucous membranes. Blood admixtures in the excrement and urine are also possible. Additional symptoms like fever and loss of weight can also appear.
Diagnosing ehrlichiosis requires a blood test. Unfortunately, it is very rare to find direct proof (agent proof) for the disease. An indirect proof can be inferred from the presence of antibodies’ titers. Such presence of antibodies’ titers can only be detected at least 20 days after infection.
The 3-phase course of the disease gives us the possibility to handle it in a sensible manner since there is no acute life-threatening situation at hand. Even if the blood test of a dog, not showing any symptoms, proves that there are antibodies against ehrlichiosis, there is no reason to start medicamentous treatment just yet. On the one hand it is possible that the dog owns those antibodies because it survived a previous infection successfully and on the other hand, it can mean that it is in the latent second phase of the disease and accordingly still has good chances – provided positive living conditions – to perfectly heal on its own.
Since the ehrlichiosis agents live within the body cells of the infected animal, there are only few antibiotic groups which can deal with the germ. A standard drug in the therapy of ehrlichiosis is Doxycyclin (active substance group of the Tetracycline). Penicillins and Cephalosporins are generally not effective.
A grave danger for infected puppies comes from veterinarians in Germany who ascertain the presence of ehrlichiosis titers after a "south check". Since Doxycyclin is recommended in all specialised literature as the tried and tested means against ehrlichiosis, very often even puppies get treated with high doses of these antibiotics. It is apparently not known to many veterinarians that puppies can’t handle Tetracycline. The manufacturers of these antibiotics expressly warn against dispensing them to young animals.
Unfortunately, we had to experience several cases where healthy puppies (about 3-5 months old) were treated - on account of detected titers in their blood - so massively with Doxycyclin that, because of this treatment, they died a several days’ long and painful death with constant vomiting and very violent cramp attacks.
Considering the agent carriers, namely ticks, and their life-style, it becomes quite clear that ehrlichiosis is not a "disease introduced by imported animals” either. Only the probability of a dog getting an infection in Mediterranean countries or tropical areas is higher. The transmittance from a sick dog to another dog seems very unlikely in Germany, because the tick has different development stages in its life cycle where in each case it attacks different animal kinds. The infection of big mammals occurs in the last development stage of the tick, just before egg-laying and death. An effective measure for the protection of animals against ticks when travelling is the Scalibor protective collar which also keeps away the leishmaniosis-transmitting sand fly.
Canine distemper
Canine distemper is one of the best known and most feared infectious diseases in dogs. The clinical picture has been known for more than 2 centuries. The distemper virus can be found in all countries where dogs exist, and it still seems to be quite widespread in Germany. It is a fact for distemper that new agent types originate locally, against which the current vaccines are ineffective. Increasing travel activities and the opening of the borders have brought new distemper outbreaks with them. Distemper can be transmitted not only between dogs, but also through wild animals like martens, ferrets, foxes and other carnivores. Nonetheless, infection can only occur by direct body contact.
An infected dog expels the virus with all its secretions and excretions. Another animal may get infected through respiration or touch of that (droplet infection).
The first disease symptoms appear about 1 week after infection (=incubation period). They start with high fever, loss of appetite and general weakness. These symptoms are accompanied by at first watery-clear eye and nasal discharge which later becomes viscous. This discharge is highly infectious. Other disease symptoms can appear either immediately afterwards, or after a feverless phase of seeming recovery. An apparent course of the infection is predominantly to be expected in the age of 3 to 6 months with weak dogs or occasionally with old animals. Puppies contracting the disease before or during the growth of their second teeth often get so-called “distemper teeth”. Various developmental disorders result in discolorations and deformations of the teeth.
The gastrointestinal condition (the condition of the stomach and bowels) shows the following symptoms: Vomiting, catarrhal diarrhoea, dehydration and quick loss of weight. Diarrhoea before or simultaneously with symptoms affecting respiration is always a clear signal for a potential distemper infection. Towards the end of all disease forms of distemper, a so-called distemper-induced exanthem, a rash in the lower abdomen can develop, indicating the beginning of recovery.
A more rare complication is the so-called nervous form of distemper. In this case the distemper virus causes damage to the brain. This results in psychic changes, shivering, disturbance of equilibrium, paralyses and cramp attacks. The degree of severity of the different forms may vary.