From:
"Sue Liszewski"
Date: 2004-06-11 05:16:52 UTC
Subject: RE: [ferrethealth] Cryptococcus
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <BAY15-F39QWbUfWKiyN00097896@hotmail.com>
Crypto is a fungal infection. i have seen it in cats and it is common to
find it in the nasal areas. Be sure x rays are taken too. That is an
pretty high titer and you are probably going to be treating him for over a
year. You generally want to continue treatment for 3-6 months past clinical
cure and be sure you have a negative titer before stopping treatment. The
titer, was it done on blood and the aspirate sent for cytology?
It is usu picked up in basements or in areas where there are birds esp
pigeons. We had a shelter cat that had it and had been put in the basement
since a family member was allergic and lived there quite a while. I usu try
treating twice daily and would check a titer again in 3 months.
There is an additional treatment if the Itraconazole does not seem to be
doing a good job. Also find the original source, nasal, Nervous system,
etc. since some different tretment protocols are needed for the nervous
system type.
Hope this helps a bit. Good Luck.
Dr. Sue
>From: Nichole Grant <dmblovin@direcway.com>
>Reply-To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
>To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
>Subject: [ferrethealth] Cryptococcus
>Date: Wed, 09 Jun 2004 20:43:12 -0500
>
>I have a ferret, Scooter, that has been diagnosis with Cryptococcus. His
>blood work came back normal. During the exam we felt an enlarged lymph
>node on his neck, right side. The vets took a sample of the tissue and
>found Cryptococcus. The antigen titer was 1 : 1024. We are treating him
>with Intraconazole. I was wondering if anybody else has come across
>this, as there are not many reported cases. My vet is doing a research
>study with Scooter, so I would think that his findings will be
>published. He is a Marshall ferret that was rescued two months ago from
>our local humane society. I contacted the previous owner and they said
>he never traveled, he was the only ferret, and never went outside. I
>live in Wisconsin and cryptococcus is usually not found around here. I
>am really curious when he picked this up.
> I know there have been 19 reported cases in Penn. from 1985
>to 2002, in cats. Somebody just contacted me and said their dog had
>Crypto and they live near me. We recently had to put a fur kid to sleep
>because of megaesophagus. I haven't gotten the results back from the
>necropsy, I was hoping they would find something that could of caused
>mega, to help other ferrets. If they do I'll let everybody know. The
>vets looked for Cryptococcus during a necropsy, but nothing turned up so
>far. I will keep everybody updated on Scooter's condition. My vet says
>that I have very interesting ferrets, as both of these conditions are
>rare. We are just waiting to see what pops up next!
>
>Nichole Grant
>Owned by Scooter, Sully, Suzie, and Stiffler
>At Da Bridge - Sky, Tate, TJ, and Slinky - God Bless
>
>
>
>
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