Tetanus
The bacteria Clostridium has many different subgroups, each of which can cause a different disease. Clostridiums are responsible for many cases of food poisoning, for example, and another type of Clostridium causes Botulism.
Tetanus is caused by a neuro-toxin made by the germ known as Clostridium tetani. This germ can survive in the soil and if it gets in a cut or wound, the germ will multiply and then release it's toxin.
Dogs and cats seem to have a fair amount of natural resistance to Tetanus, but we they are still susceptible. Usually the cause is a wound that is ignored.
The toxin released by the bacteria often nums or paralyzes the muscles near the wound... but the toxin is spread by the lymphatics and circulatory system throughout the body causing any of the following:
Fever
Constipation
Pain during urination
Excessive drooling
Wrinkled forehead
Grinning appearance
Stiff and hard tail
Continuously erect and stiff ears
Progressive stiffness of the body muscles, giving the animal a sawhorse appearance
Difficulty eating
Breathing difficulty (due to stiffness of the chest muscles)
Difficulty opening the mouth (due to stiffness of the jaw muscles)
Whole body muscle spasms with sudden external movement, sound, or touch
Paralysis
Death due to inability to breathe
There isn't a vaccine available for dogs and cats.
There is an anti-toxin, but using it is somewhat dangerous as it may cause an anaphylaxic reaction.
Diagnosis:
The tentative diagnosis is made mostly by observing the very stiff muscles and other symptoms.
Other clues include a very high or abnormally low white blood cell count, an elevation in the blood of an enzyme called creatine phosphokinase (CPK), and the presence of myoglobin in the urine.
The definitive diagnosis is from culturing the organism from the wound.
Treatment:
Treatment involves high doses of combinations of penicillin G, tetracycline, and metronidazole antibiotics, control of the seizures, and lots of supportive care to include IV Fluids.
Sometimes the muscles spasms in this disease are so severe the patient can't swallow and a feeding tube must be inserted into the esophagus. And sometimes the muscle spasms are bad enough to cause heart attacks.
In milder and moderate cases, treatment is often sucessful but requires up to several weeks of expensive hospitalization. The more severe cases usually die.
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