Tetanus is an infectious disease in dogs. Symptoms of dangerous tetanus in dogs Tetanus in dogs symptoms

Characteristic
Tetanus- an acute wound infectious disease of animals and humans, characterized by damage to the nervous system, reflex excitability and convulsive contraction of body muscles without impairment of consciousness.

Etiology
The causative agent of tetanus is widespread in nature; there is a lot of it in the soil of gardens and vegetable gardens, and in manure. There is information that it multiplies in the intestines of animals and enters the external environment with their feces.

The causative agent of tetanus, Clostridium tetani, is a spore-forming microbe, mobile, and stains positive on the Gram. Its size is 4-8 microns in length and 0.4-0.6 microns in width. The spores are located at the end, and the microbe has the appearance of a drumstick. The flagella are located peritrichially. The pathogen is a strict anaerobe and does not grow in the presence of the slightest amount of oxygen. Produces a very strong neurotropic toxin, which consists of two components: tetanospasmin or neurotoxin and tetanohemolysin. The first component is the main one, it acts on the nervous system and causes tonic contractions of the striated muscles. Tetanohemolysin destroys red blood cells.

Sustainability
The vegetative form of bacteria is not very resistant to the effects of physicochemical factors. Disputes, on the contrary, are very persistent. In a humid environment, they can withstand heating up to 80 °C for 4-6 hours; when boiled, they die after 40-50 minutes.

When dry, keep at 115 °C for 20 minutes. The spores are completely insensitive to low temperatures. A 1% solution of sublimate, a 5% solution of carbolic acid kills them only after 10-12 hours. They persist in the soil for many years.

Epizootology
Dogs, horses, large and small cattle, pigs and other animals are most susceptible to tetanus.

Pathogenesis
Clostridia enter deep wounds with dead tissue, begin to multiply and secrete a toxin that acts on peripheral nerves, spreading to centers in the spinal cord and brain. This action is manifested by a specific form of change in tone observed in the corresponding muscle groups.

Symptoms
The incubation period of the disease lasts from 7 to 20 days, sometimes it can be longer (up to several months).

In dogs, tetanus can occur in generalized and localized forms. In the first case, all muscles are involved in the process, in the second - a separate group of them.

Localized form of tetanus It is very difficult to recognize and usually ends in recovery.

At generalized form of tetanus the gait is difficult, the limbs are apart, the tail is raised, the head and neck are elongated, the skin on the forehead is folded, the eyes are motionless, the jaw is clenched (trismus), as a result of which swallowing is difficult or impossible. Noise and light increase convulsions and seizures. Death occurs from asphyxia or exhaustion.

Pathological changes not typical for tetanus. Sometimes pulmonary edema, hyperemia and hemorrhages in the meninges are noted.

Summary clinic:
1. Abnormal reflexes of the hind limbs;
2. Abnormal forelimb reflexes;
3. Anorexia;
4. Arrhythmia;
5. Ataxia;
6. Auscultation: heart: galloping rhythm;
7. Bradycardia;
8. Fatigue during physical activity;
9. Excitement;
10. Generalized lameness, stiffness of movement;
11. Hyperesthesia;
12. Dehydration;
13. Dysuria;
14. Dysphagia;
15. Dyspnea;
16. Abdominal distension;
17. Constipation, Obstipation;
18. Fever;
19. Miosis, meiosis, pupil constriction;
20. Myotonia, muscle hypertension;
21. Inability to get up;
22. Inability to open (trismus) and close the mouth;
23. Opisthotonus;
24. Third eyelid prolapse;
25. Vomiting, regurgitation, emesis
26. Salivation, Ptyalism;
27. Spasms in the head and face;
28. Spasms in the back;
29. Spasms of the hind limbs;
30. Spasms of the forelimbs;
31. Tachycardia;
32. Tachypnea, increased respiratory rate,
33. Tetany;
34. Difficulty in eating and chewing food;
35. Enlarged bladder;
36. Lameness of the hind limbs;
37. Lameness of the forelimbs;
38. Cyanosis;
39. ECG: Sinus delay;
40. ECG: Sinus arrhythmia;
41. Emprostotonus: stiffness and stretching of the neck forward;
42. Enophthalmos;

Diagnosis
It is diagnosed based on the symptoms of the disease. Tetanus is characterized by the presence of tonic muscle spasms, unimpaired consciousness and normal temperature.

Treatment
Wounds are treated with antiseptics, dead tissue is removed and aerated. It is recommended to administer antitetanus serum to dogs: the first day 10,000-40,000 units, and then 3,000-5,000 units daily. within 7-9 days. A glucose solution and multivitamins are injected subcutaneously.

Prevention of tetanus
Wounds should be treated well and all crushed and dead tissue should be removed. Animals suspected of being infected with tetanus are injected with antitetanus serum and antibiotics and immediately subcutaneously with 0.5 ml of tetanus toxoid. A month later, the vaccine is re-vaccinated at the same dose.

Tetanus– a disease caused by the influence of poisoning of the central nervous system (neurotropic toxin). This toxin is produced by a bacterium, Clostridium tetani. The bacterium is found in soil and as part of the normal intestinal flora of mammals. This bacterium lives and grows without oxygen (anaerobic bacterium). It produces a powerful toxin (tetanus toxin). Tetanus has been found in the wild, especially in the tropics. Tetanus usually occurs in dogs. Rare in cats.

Additional Information

Clostridium tetani is an obligate spore-forming anaerobe, gram-positive; prone to contamination, necrotic, anaerobic wounds (punctures, surgical interventions, lacerations, burns, frostbite, open fractures, abrasions).

Pathophysiology

Spores in the wound can produce a powerful exotoxin, tetanospasmin (tetanus toxin). It is transported by retrogardic axoplasmic flow in the axon and through synaptic junctions before reaching the central nervous system (CNS). Tetanospasmin blocks the release of inhibitory neurotransmitters such as glycine and GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid).

Tetanus spores are resistant to disinfectants and environmental influences.

Signs

Tetanus usually occurs in dogs.

Rare cases have been reported among cats.

Anamnesis

It appears several days or months after the spores enter the wound. In this case, the wounds can already heal.

Findings of physical examination

Localized tetanus

1. Moderate muscle rigidity or the nearest limbs closest to the site of spore penetration (wound).
2. Stiffness of the hind legs.
3. Moderate weakness and incoordination
4. May resolve spontaneously (reflecting partial immunity to tetanospasmin) or may proceed prodrome to generalized tetanus (before the toxin penetrates the central nervous system).

Generalized tetanus

1. Tail pulling
2. Progressive muscle tetany until the appearance of the goat's posture for sawing wood.
3. Pain during contraction
4. Dyspnea
5. Eyelid retraction
6. Wrinkling of the forehead
7. Raised eyes
8. Grin (retraction of the labial commissure)
9. Third eyelid prolapse
10. Enophthalmos
11. Difficulty opening the dog's mouth
12. Fever
13. Painful urination
14. Stimulation (sudden movement, sound, touch) causes tetanic muscle spasm.
15. Death occurs during spasm of the larynx and respiratory muscles from acute asphyxia or during complete paralysis of the respiratory muscles.

Causes

Untreated wounds create a gateway for spores to enter.

Free-ranging animals are more likely to be injured.

Differential diagnosis

Differentiate from intoxications like tetanus (poisoning with strychnine)

Blood and urine tests

Initial leukopenia, progressing to moderate leukocytosis, then returns to the normal range.

Biochemical profile

Some increase in AST, CPK (creatine phosphokinase) and LDH as a result of muscle damage during the late stage of the disease.

Analysis of urine

Essentially normal except for large amounts of myoglobin being lost due to muscle damage.

Laboratory tests

Serology

Antitetanus antibodies are often undetectable in patient serum.

Cultural studies

Attempting to culture wound contents for C. tetani or detect the toxin in the serum or wound is usually unsuccessful; Culture of cerebrospinal fluid and blood samples for other bacterial pathogens of meningitis is necessary.

conclusions

Patient monitoring.

Prevention of pressure ulcers and peripheral nerve palsies by careful movement of the stabilized patient; blood pressure monitoring and ECG.

Prevention

Vaccination with tetanus toxoid.

Prevention of skin injuries (cleaning walking areas of potentially dangerous objects (glass, metal, etc.)

Early irrigation with hydrogen peroxide, surgical treatment, drainage, especially of wounds favorable for the development of the causative agent of tetanus.

Penicillin administration for a minimum of 3 days for all deep contaminated wounds.

Possible complications

Generalized tetanus and death.

Expected course and forecast

The course of recovery is slow; rehabilitation is necessary to fully restore limb function; Unattended illness usually results in death.

Clinical signs typically manifested in this disease.

1. Arrhythmia
2. Bradycardia
3. Gallop rhythm
4. Sinus arrest
5. Sinus arrhythmia
6. Tachycardia
7. Abdominal stretch
8. Anorexia
9. Reduced amount of feces
10. Difficulty grasping and chewing food
11. Dysphagia, difficulty swallowing
12. Ptyalism, excessive salivation
13. Vomiting, regurgitation
14. Ataxia, loss of coordination
15. Cyanosis
16. Dehydration
17. Exercise intolerance
18. Fever
19. Lameness of the forelimbs
20. Generalized lameness
21. Hind leg lameness
22. Inability to stand, falling, prostration
23. Opisthotonus
24. Stiff and elongated back
25. Neck spasm, myoclonus
26. Forelimb spasm, myoclonus
27. Spasm, myoclonus of the head and neck
28. Spasm, myoclonus of the hind limbs
29. Abnormal hind limb reflexes, increased or decreased
30. Abnormal forelimb reflexes, increased or decreased
31. Excitement, delirium, mania
32. Hyperesthesia, hyperactivity
33. Muscle hypertension, myotonia
34. Tetany
35. Enophthalmos
36. Miosis, contraction of pupils
37. Third eyelid prolapse
38. Dyspnea
39. Tachypnea
40. Dysuria
41. Enlarged, distended bladder

Treatment

Assessment of airway patency and ventilation; endotracheal intubation may become necessary; a tracheostomy may be necessary later.

Keep the animal in a dark, quiet room, do not agitate it, keep it on soft bedding, prevent bedsores.

Cleaning wounds from necrotic tissue, irrigation with saline solution, drainage, air access.

Feeding through a nasoesophageal tube with small portions of soft food.

Drug therapy

Provide adequate fluids (Ringer's lactate) to remove muscle spasm products (myoglobin).

Tranquilizers (acetylpromazine) or sedatives (diazepam) to control tetany and reduce rigidity.

After the hypersensitivity test; administration of human tetanus immunoglobulin

to different places, especially proximal to the wound) or equine tetanus toxoid (iv).

Administration of adsorbed tetanus toxoid intramuscularly.

Inject penicillin systemically and locally into the wound (every 12 hours for 5 days in a row; use crystallized penicillin on the first day and procaine penicillin thereafter. Note: Antibiotics have no effect on toxin that has already entered the nerves.

Contraindications

Glucocorticoids

Drugs

Forecast

Good support and long-term maintenance nutrition are important in hospital settings over a long period (3-4 weeks); treatment is expensive. The prognosis depends on many factors - the more toxin that gets into the nerves, the worse the prognosis; the best prognosis is when additional sources of toxin are removed - by treating the wound, etc.

Tetanus in dogs is a very dangerous disease for a pet. When getting pets, every owner must understand that a dog or cat is not just a toy or a fashion accessory, but a living creature. And it is necessary to take care of it so that the pet lives a long and happy life.

This infection causes paralysis of the animal, and in especially severe cases leads to death. Therefore, it is very dangerous to start treatment for this disease. But not only dogs are susceptible to this disease; humans can also be infected. If you notice unusual behavior in your pet, you should immediately consult a doctor.

What is tetanus in dogs

Tetanus infection enters the body through an open wound. This is why you should carefully examine your pet after each walk. The disease is caused by the microbe “Clostridium tetani”(), which is very dangerous, because it releases a dangerous toxin and has a detrimental effect on the dog’s nervous system. The standard habitat of the microbe is in places without access to oxygen.

The stick, arriving in unfavorable conditions, goes into sports form and can live like this for many years, waiting for suitable conditions for development. Once again, it is worth noting that infection can enter the body only through an open and poorly treated wound of the animal.

How is tetanus transmitted?

While walking through an area with many broken and sharp metal objects. The tetanus bacillus lives in rust, so stepping on an old nail or cutting yourself on a rusty sheet of iron can introduce spores of the microbe. Parks and areas with abundant fertilized soil are also excellent habitats for tetanus bacillus. Infectious organisms also live in the feces of sick animals.

You can become infected by getting tetanus from a dog bite, for example in a dog fight. Therefore, avoid walking with your pet in places where stray dogs are concentrated. If the animal has problems with teeth and there are wounds on the gums, then there is also a chance of infection with tetanus bacillus. Even if your pet is injured, it is necessary to promptly and thoroughly treat the wound to minimize the possibility of infection.

Important! You can kill a tetanus infection only in boiling water, and you need to boil the item for at least 50 minutes.

The infection can develop in the dog’s body from 3 days to several weeks. Much depends on the animal’s immunity. Tetanus has two forms of the disease:

1. Muscle spasms in a specific area,
2. Complete damage to the nervous system.

In the first case, there is a high probability of a quick recovery, since the tetanus bacillus remains only in the area of ​​damage, that is, on the wound. If the infection has spread, it is difficult for the pet to survive; in 50% of cases the animal dies.

The nervous system is incredibly important, and due to muscle spasms caused by the toxin released by microbes, there is a chance that the animal may stop breathing. Therefore, it is so important to contact a veterinarian promptly if signs of disease are noticed. Tetanus in dogs symptoms can be easily detected even with a visual examination of the pet.

What symptoms can you use to identify a disease in a dog?

The first symptoms may appear from the first days of infection. Once in a favorable environment, the wand begins to actively develop. Watch your dog carefully. If characteristic signs of tetanus appear, the symptoms will be as follows:

• Muscle tension.
• Causeless lameness due to muscle stiffness.
• General weakness, the animal prefers to lie down rather than move.
• Due to muscle spasms, an uncoordinated gait is observed.

If the infection remains only in the wound area, then over time the symptoms may go away, the dog’s body will cope on its own. But if the toxins secreted by the tetanus bacillus have already penetrated the nervous system, then the symptoms increase significantly:

• There is a high temperature.
• The dog is having trouble going to the toilet.
• Uncontrollable salivation.
• Muscle spasms literally make your forehead wrinkle.
• Facial expressions take on an unnatural appearance, like a sardonic smile.
• The pet's tail is tense.
• The ears take a rigid, erect position and do not droop.
• The dog can freeze in one position for a long time.
• Spasms also make feeding difficult, since the swallowing reflex suffers, the dog cannot swallow on its own, and in some cases even unclench its jaw.
• There is a high probability of respiratory arrest due to the blocking of the pectoral muscles by the nervous system.
• Paralysis at the initial stage is short-term, but as the disease progresses, the time of paralysis of the body increases.
• Death as a result of complete blocking of the pectoral muscles, respiratory arrest.

Methods for treating tetanus in dogs

Before starting treatment procedures, it is necessary to conduct a diagnosis. Usually external signs are sufficient to identify the disease. Determination of the amount of tetanus antibodies in the blood takes place in a separate laboratory.

Attention: It is important not to confuse the symptoms of tetanus and rabies, because the treatment for these diseases is different.

As the first stage of treatment for tetanus, the wound is treated with a special antiseptic and an anti-tetanus injection of a special serum is given. But the serum only fights the stick. Removing the toxin released by the infectious bacillus takes much longer and requires more expensive treatment.
Here is the standard treatment for severe tetanus:

1. Administration of serum to combat the tetanus bacillus.
2. Taking intramuscular medications to cleanse the body of toxic poisoning.
3. A course of treatment to combat muscle spasms.
4. Creation of special conditions to reduce sensitivity to various external stimuli: light, sound, etc.
5. If necessary, use devices to stimulate the cardiac and pulmonary muscles. Artificial ventilation.
6. Regular full body massage to restore muscle function.

A dog, like any sick person, needs special care and attention from its owner. The following drugs are used to combat infectious bacillus.
The antibiotic Metronidazole helps fight toxins that paralyze the body.

But there are some caveats here too. The serum affects only the toxin that has not penetrated the nervous tissue. That is why it is important to consult a veterinarian for treatment as soon as possible to minimize the consequences. The dog may have serum rejection, so a preliminary drug sensitivity test is necessary.
To combat muscle stiffness, the doctor uses special muscle relaxants: Diazepam, Methocarbamol.

To relieve hypersensitivity, sedatives such as Acepromazine are used. After all, the nervous system is already experiencing a lot of serious shocks, so it is important to place the sick animal in a place with poor lighting and good sound insulation, so as not to once again cause trauma to the affected psyche.

In case of serious problems with the respiratory system due to spasms and paralysis of the pectoral muscles, the dog is given an artificial device for air ventilation. If there are problems with nutrition, then supporting droppers are installed.
It is important that the toxin does not penetrate the heart muscle, because this is the main muscle that ensures blood circulation throughout the body.

Standard prophylaxis against tetanus

Regular veterinary examinations are number one when it comes to infection prevention tips. It is also necessary to independently examine your pet for various types of injuries and scratches. Treat wounds promptly with antiseptic agents.

You should not walk in places where there is a high probability of contracting tetanus in dogs, especially letting the animal off leash or allowing it to walk independently where it wishes. There is a high probability that your pet will go climbing through destroyed buildings, where there are a lot of rusty metal objects.

Do not let your dog interact with stray dogs; the chance of contracting not only tetanus, but also other dangerous diseases from them is very high.
Care and love for dogs is manifested in constant care.

A responsible owner will always be able to distinguish the normal behavior of a pet from a developing disease. Animals are unable to tell that something is hurting them, so it is important to pay attention to strange behavior and seek immediate medical attention. Your vigilance and careful care of your dog will help your pet live a long and happy life.

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