|
Written by Webmaster
|
|
Monday, 20 November 2006 |
CANINE COUGHING AND BORDETELLA
 Closely related to Bordetella pertussis, the cause of "whooping cough" in humans, Bordetella bronchiseptica is a gram negative, aerobic coccobacillus particularly well adapted to colonize the ciliated respiratory epithelium of dogs and cats. Today, this organism is regarded as the principle etiologic agent of canine infectious tracheobronchitis (ITB).
In the clinical setting, however, B. bronchiseptica infection should not be regarded as synonymous with ITB. Dogs infected with canine parainfluenza virus (CPiV) or canine adenovirus-2 (CAV-2) are expected to experience more severe respiratory disease when co-infected with B. bronchiseptica than with any these agents alone. Canine bordetellosis, i.e., B. bronchiseptica infection in the absence of either CPiV or CAV-2, is known to occur and can be associated with acute, fatal pneumonia in young dogs. B. bronchiseptica is transmitted through aerosolization of respiratory secretions. Bacteria can also be transmitted directly by contaminated dishware, human hands, and other fomites. Because B. bronchiseptica possesses several intrinsic mechanisms for evading host defenses, it is recognized for its role as a significant complicating factor in dogs with multiple-agent respiratory infections. The fact that outbreaks of canine ITB are common, despite widespread use of topical and parenteral vaccines in dogs for over 20 years, highlights the fact that current vaccines are not highly effective in preventing infection. On the other hand, our understanding of the role that B. bronchiseptica has in feline respiratory disease is only beginning to undergo scientific scrutiny.
Vaccines do however limit the diseases severity for more info: CLICK HERE
|
|
Last Updated ( Monday, 18 December 2006 )
|
Medical Q & A 
