Author Topic: Blastomycosis—What Every Dog Owner Needs to Know  (Read 714 times)

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Offline DeeDee

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Blastomycosis—What Every Dog Owner Needs to Know
« on: June 05, 2016, 09:55:32 AM »
What my vet told me about when I said that I couldn't imagine anything worse than cancer:



 http://lifewithllewellins.com/blastomycosis-what-every-dog-owner-needs-to-know/


Quote
Blastomycosis, or Blasto as it is often called, is a very serious and potentially deadly, systemic fungal disease that can affect dogs, humans, and other mammals. Blasto is caused by inhaling the spores of the fungus Blastomyces dermatitidis. B. dermatitis grows as a mold in acidic, organically rich sandy soils, decaying wood and other vegetation; and near bodies of fresh water with fluctuating levels such as streams, creeks, beaver lodges, and lakes.


When the soil or vegetation where the fungus lives is disturbed, the spores are released into the air and either inhaled where it then travels to the lungs, or it can enter the body through a puncture wound. After the organism multiples, it can travel from the lungs or wound to the vascular system or lymph nodes.

The soil can be disturbed by simply digging in the dirt, following a scent trail, or in dry weather the spores simply spread through dust in recently excavated areas, farmers plowing fields, areas undergoing construction, etc. It is generally found in the soil near fluctuating waterways and the right conditions—being temperature and humidity—must be present at just the right time to produce the spores, thus, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to isolate the source. . .continued at link.
"In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semihuman. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog." Edward Hoagland
"Thorns may hurt you, men desert you, sunlight turn to fog; but you're never friendless ever, if you have a dog."

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