Question:
Not long ago, we lost our darling 3-year-old male pekeapoo to autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA). A week before, he was a healthy, active, playful dog. One Wednesday he became lethargic, and when we took him to the vet on Thursday morning the vet thought it was AIHA. The blood tests confirmed it on Friday.The vet didn't hold out much hope for him in that he had lost half of his red blood cells, but when our dog lived through the night we asked that the disease be treated aggressively to give him a chance. He was given two kinds of steroids, electrolytes, antibiotics, vitamins, dextrose and Nutri-Cal. In spite of it all, we lost him.What could we have done to avoid this disease or to help him fight it? How can we prevent it in our other dog?.
B.S., North Richland Hills, TX Jul 10, 2005
Answer:
I am saddened to hear of the death of your young dog.Autoimmune hemolytic anemia can come on suddenly in a perfectly healthy dog. Aside from possible hereditary predisposition, the most likely cause is an adverse vaccine reaction.In order to reduce the risks of this and other vaccinosis disorders, most veterinarians are becoming much more cautious about giving vaccinations, and are giving far fewer with less frequency.
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