From:
kellechu
Date: 2002-02-26 22:17:00 UTC
Subject: Re: Giardia/Antibiotic Questions
My two ferrets are being treated for Giardia and it has been about a
month now since they first contracted the parasite. I know there are
some people who think Giardia is very rare in ferrets, that the yeast
cells from their food are mistaken for the cysts. This could be in
some cases, but not mine. I live in an area that has a very high
occurance of Giardia in humans and pets. This is my second outbreak
of the parasite in my home in less than two years.
> and I did not think giardia was something that could kill.
I don't think the Giardia parasite necessarily kills, but the symptoms
of it can (diarrhea, dehydration, refusal to eat). That is why it is
extrememly important to make sure your ferret is eating, drinking
while sick. They can die from dehydration in a day!
> being treated with antibiotics (valbazen and flagyl -- not both at
> once, but alternating valbazen for one period and flagyl for
> another).
What is Valbazen for? My ferrets are only taking the Flagyl.
> diarrhea and is transmissible to humans and other pets. Another
> veterinarian I spoke with was of the opinion that giardia is very
> common in both humans and animals where I live and is usually
benign,
> causing no real harm to the host, and does not require treatment
YES, Giardia is very transmissible to humans and other pets! It only
takes a few cysts to infect somebody. My vet says the parasite is
very common and that even a large percentage of the humans in our area
probably shed the cysts in their feces without knowing it (no active
symptoms I guess). He also tells me that once you have Giardia, it is
very hard to get rid of the parasite. The Flagyl's purpose,
therefore, is to reduce the numbers of cysts being produced until the
bodies immunity can take over and tolerate the disease without any
symptoms. Stress can cause outbreaks of the disease again though.
> antibiotics can actually do harm and possibly cause death. The
> treating veterinarian said no.
I think the antibiotics kill all the bacteria in one's system--the
good along with the bad. The good bacteria are needed though, to
fight off other bad things. That is why I supplement my ferrets with
a Bene-Bac or live culture yogurt to replace the good bacteria in
their system. I don't know if it helps any, but it doesn't hurt to
err on the side of safe.
> that yeast is sometimes confused with giardia, so it seems possible
> that my ferret never had giardia at all.
Could be possible. I know a lot of people on the list told me that my
ferrets might not have Giardia and the yeast cells are confusing my
vet. But I trust my vet, who is a very knowledgable with ferrets and
he has worked with the pets in this area for a long time. I know my
area has outbreaks of Giardia in the water sometimes. I don't think
it is unreasonable that my ferrets contracted Giardia. You just got
to do research about the environmental conditions in your area. Some
places don't have a lot of cases with Giardia, and may have
inexperienced vets thinking they're seeing the cysts when they're not.
Some places have a lot of experience and know to look for the adult
forms along with the cysts in an animal who is actively showing the
symptoms.
Just my 2 cents worth from dealing with it everyday for the past
month.
Kelley and the boys