Salmon Poisoning Disease in Dogs
Introduction
Salmon Poisoning Disease in Dogs Guide: Veterinary reviewed information that explains Salmon Poisoning Disease in dogs. Get started and see what choices you and your vet can make to successfully manage Salmon Poisoning Disease in Dogs.
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Salmon Poisoning Disease – Definition
Salmon poisoning is the common name for an important disease of domestic and wild dogs that is caused by the tiny bacterial microorganism, Neorickettsia helminthoeca. It requires the involvement of a number of other animals, including flukes, snails, fish and mammals. Salmon poisoning occurs almost exclusively in the northwestern United States and along the Pacific coast of Canada. Dogs, foxes and wolves get this disease when they eat fresh raw fish – usually salmon, trout or steelhead – that are contaminated with the infective bacterial parasite and its vector, which is a fluke called Nanophyteus salmincola. This disease can be fatal in a very short period of time, unless the infected animal is treated aggressively.
Neorickettsia helminthoeca are the bacteria that ultimately are responsible for causing salmon poisoning disease in dogs. How dogs actually become infected with these parasites is complicated, but the process is fascinating. Tiny N. helminthoeca bacteria live naturally inside of larger organisms known as Nanophyteus salmincola. These are parasitic worms, or trematodes, more commonly called “flukes.” Flukes are thick, fleshy, flat, leaf-like creatures that take in their nourishment through one or more suckers that they attach
How salmon poisoning affects dogs can vary quite a bit. Most dogs initially get feverish to some degree, but then their fever tends to go away. Their temperature may even drop to below normal. When dogs are severely affected, they usually develop gastrointestinal symptoms, including abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea, within one or two weeks after eating raw infected fish. The signs can be virtually indistinguishable from the signs of distemper or parvoviral infection, especially
Most cases of salmon poisoning disease are presumptively diagnosed based on a history of the dog’s recent consumption of raw fish and/or exposure to lakes, rivers or streams in an area that is known to be a natural habitat for Neorickettsia helminthoeca bacteria, Nanophyetus salmincola flukes and Oxytrema silicula snails. In a nutshell, this is the Pacific northwestern part of North America, up to but not including Alaska. Many veterinarians will treat a dog that
The goals of treating salmon poisoning disease are to stabilize the dog and resolve the shock, symptoms and systemic illness that typically accompany this disease. It is also critical to eliminate the infective parasite from the dog’s system.Dogs that are acutely ill from salmon poisoning probably will be admitted to a veterinary hospital. They often need to be given intravenous fluids, electrolytes and medications to control their nausea, vomiting and diarrhea and to restore them