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Valley Fever


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We're thinking of going to Arizona this winter. My brother told me that some dogs in the nearby areas have been dying from Valley Fever.

Is this really a concern? Darlene? Gunplummer? Anyone?

 

I hadn't ever heard of this in our neck of the woods........

 

I would rather not take pets, but we may not have a care giver for fur babies for an extended length of time.

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Valley Fever is yucky.

The spores, known as arthroconidia, are swept into the air by disruption of the soil, such as during construction, farming, or an earthquake.[6]

Infection is caused by inhalation of the particles. The disease is not transmitted from person to person.

 

 

WebMD's description

 

 

Here in Arizona, anyone or animal can get it. The less wind and dust you encounter, the less likely you or your fur babies would get it.

 

 

I have not heard anything on the news saying it is worse than before. When you travel here, avoid the dust storms if you can. Winter is usually our calm weather season.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Yes, it is a concern, but it's not necessarily (rarely) fatal.

 

In humans, it affects the lungs, like a bad cough or cold. Then we usually get over it and are fine. Very rarely a human will need further treatment or even hospitalization. Most people don't even know that they had it.

 

For dogs, it doesn't affect (just) the lungs but the bones. It is the biggest cause of lameness in the area. That's how we found out our dog had it -- he had a growing lump on his paw, then wouldn't put any pressure on it. We took him in and that's what the vet said it was. He's been on fluconazole for several years now. He had no pulmonary symptoms at all, no cough, nothing. Just the lameness and general lethargy.

 

Many dogs only require a few months of treatment, some require lifelong treatment.

 

Inside dogs are less likely to get it than outside dogs, because it is a spore in the dust. Ours was an outside dog in the desert (pretty much dirt) for several years until he was diagnosed, at which point we brought him inside.

 

Not all dogs get it. One issue though is that if they do, only vets in the Southwest know how to treat and manage it. My vet up here in Wisconsin was perfectly willing to prescribe whatever I needed and order any tests that I needed to manage it, but had no idea what to do on her own. My vet in AZ did tell me that when we moved and got one up here, to feel free to have the vet up here call her down there for treatment advise.

 

Here's a link: https://www.vfce.arizona.edu/ValleyFeverInPets/Default.aspx

Edited by Marjorie
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  • 3 weeks later...

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