Leishmaniasis
What is it?: a parasitic disease that provokes serious cutaneous and/or visceral illness. The parasite causes various damage depending on the dog's strength and can be fatal. Nevertheless, dogs with a strong immune system can carry the disease without showing any symptoms.
Cause: the parasite - leishmania, a microscopic organism that reproduces in some cells of the organism - is transmitted by the sting of a kind of midge called the phlebotomus, vector of the disease, mainly in the Mediterranean basin.
Symptoms: weight loss, lethargy, hair loss, pustules, dandruffs, sometimes bleeding of the nose, abnormally long claws, limping, anemia, kidney and liver failure, old dog appearance, arthritis, ocular inflammation (uveitis, keratitis).
Diagnosis: the vet will run a blood work, tissue samples from the skin, or fluid aspirates of the lymph nodes or bone marrow. The treatment will then take place, often times involving Glucantime injections (quite painful) together with Allopurinol (pills). Milteforan is said to be less invasive than Glucantime and has been proven to give better results.
Natural treatment: the treatment advised for Leishmaniasis is very weakening, it is close to a chemotherapy, so it is crucial to strengthen the immune system of the dog with phytotherapy and natural supplements like those mentioned below.
Food: good food is of course beneficial for the overall state of the dog (see the Demodectic mange page for food recipes, as well as our homemade food and supplements posts), adding natural supplements to it to reinforce his/her natural defense, in particular trace elements to fight against anemia. Spirulina is very effective in terms of energy booster and improves the state of the hair and skin. Turmeric is a powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant.
On a daily basis: walks in fresh air, comfort and warmth. Shampoos with tea tree for the damaged skin.
The Chichi Factory Rescue case: Blue was very affected by the disease when he arrived, very thin, lacking hairs on most of his body, flaky skin with dandruffs all over, cloudy eyes, the body of an old dog with arthritis when he was only 2, very long claws, damaged ears... He received a treatment consisting of Milteforan, Allopurinol, together with natural supplements to help improve his state and a good diet. Luckily, his organs were not affected and after three months, he looked much better, gained weight, hairs grew back almost everywhere, and most of all, he felt better and came back to life. He was still a little anemic, so we gave him an iron supplement. We continued the Allopurinol treatment and after a year, we stopped the treatment and continued to boost his natural defenses. He was cured, which proves how effective a healthy diet is, because most dogs never recover completely. It took some time to get him fully back on track and for all of his hair to grow back, but today you wouldn't recognize him!
Blue when he arrived, in a very bad shape.
After a few months of treatment, looking and feeling much better.
Finally cured after more than a year!
On the other hand, Titus was sadly too affected by the disease to survive. He came to us already very weak, not as much hair loss as Blue, but with a body completely damaged, skinny and his liver and kidneys were already affected, he did not tolerate the treatment (that had been started a few weeks before by another organization) and left us a short week after he had arrived in our care... It's very hard to rescue them too late, we wish we could have cured him just like Blue and give him a better life... Leishmaniasis is indeed a deadly disease if not addressed early enough.
Poor little guy who could hardly stand up.