Yesterday I noticed my 7yr old female GSP coughing periodically. During the night she was coughing enough to keep me awake. So as soon as a decent time rolled around called my vet and told him of possible suspect of Blasto. As some of you know 2yrs ago I had a female Chessy have Blasto pretty bad. So I rushed Baily in did a X-ray nothing definite showed up. There was a little density in the lung but nothing to say positively Blasto. I had blood drawn to be sent to Indiana for the Blasto Antigen test. Please say a prayer I don't have to go through this again and it is only Bronchitis instead. She is currently on antibiotics until we get test results back on Friday. It's going to be a long week. Thanks all!
BLASTOMYCOSIS:
BLASTOMYCOSIS (Blasto) in the dog is a commonly misdiagnosed systemic fungal disease of dogs and humans and other mammals. It is a great masquerader and can be mistaken for cancer, viral infections, Lyme Disease and other systemic fungal diseases such as Valley Fever. Many dogs have been euthanized or had treatment delayed because of an erroneous diagnosis of cancer being made. Blastomycosis in the dog causes weight loss, swollen lymph nodes, draining sores, coughing, poor appetite, fever, blindness, bone lesions, etc. The reason there are so many areas affected is due to the widespread dissemination of the organisms throughout the dog's body from the original site which is usually the lungs. In the environment Blasto is present mostly in the Mississippi, Wisconsin, and Ohio River systems.
Blasto grows in two ways. One form, called the fungal form, occurs in the environment and the organism creates microscopically tiny spores that, once airborne, are able to pass far into the depths of the lungs. These spores are released from the fungus when the soil is disturbed by the dog digging for gophers or simply by the dog probing the soils following the odor trails that they love so much. Much less common in cats (even though cats do their share of digging in dusty soil when they eliminate stool and urine) than in dogs, Blasto is easily inhaled into the dog's lungs. Infective spores are more likely to be present in organic soils such as are present along streams, lakes, ponds and even within the dried mud mortar of beaver lodges. Landscaping soil and even potting soil can harbor Blastomycosis organisms and any cat or dog digging up these soils may be exposed to Blastomycosis.
When in the soil the fungal phase of Blastomycosis releases vast numbers of extremely tiny spores that are cast away into the dust and dirt stirred up when the soil is disturbed. Especially during dry periods in the environment, where the soil and spores may become more easily airborne, the potential for infection with Blastomycosis is greater. The spores are so tiny that the protective mucous lining of the respiratory tract is unable to attract all of them... and the spores settle deep in the alveolar sacs at the end of the respiratory tree. Finding themselves in a warm, moist and dark environment, rich in nutrients, the spores become infective yeast-like organisms and multiply in huge numbers. While inside the dog, the body's normal defense mechanisms can simply eliminate these spores and no disease results. However, if the load (numbers) of spores inhaled is very great or the dog is immune suppressed or stressed by other diseases or poor diet, the organisms may begin to reproduce rapidly and signs of disease occur. Once the spores have taken hold, they grow as single celled yeast forms rather than the fungal form. This is why the Blasto organism is called a biphasic organism... it can grow in the environment as a fungus and within a mammal as a yeast.
After inhalation of organisms the incubation period for Blasto can be from a few days to many weeks before any signs of disease show up. Fever of 104 to 105 degrees, poor appetite, low grade deep cough, loss of exercise tolerance, and listlessness are cardinal signs of Blastomycosis. Similar to the other systemic fungal infections, Blastomycosis can spread throughout the body from the lungs and invade lymph nodes, joints, eye structures and skin. Often the first evidence a veterinarian has of Blastomycosis is a small draining ulcer that looks like a small abscess. Sudden blindness, lameness, and blood in the urine may be the first signs of disease... sometimes showing up before any coughing is noticed.
Humans can also get Blasto.
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