My dog's Babesiosis isn't clearing, what are other treatments?

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Itis good that Bruno is feeling better. Babesia gibsoni can be very hard to completely clear and is an infection that can remain in hiding/dormant with no outward clinical signs. Therapy with variety of different medications has been tried with varying success. Months (2-3) of therapy is often needed. It is important that control of the vector (ticks) be a priority in preventing reinfection if the current infection is cleared.

Babesia can cause an increase in the WBC count. Imidocarb dipropionate (Imizol) is the drug typically recommended to treat Babesia. Talk to your vet about treatment recommendations. Thanks for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Your dog has a blood parasite transmitted by ticks, ie Babesiosis. Up to now, no single drug has effectively and consistently eliminated B. gibsoni from infected dogs and the side effects, as well as availability, of some of the medications limit their use. Here is information on B.gibsoni infection. You may want to discuss with your veterinarian, whwther he wants to proceed with treatment or just use supportive treatment. There is no virus involved. http://www.vetfolio.com/infectious-disease/babesia-gibsoni-an-emerging-pathogen-in-dogs

Hello. As I said earlier, in some dogs B. gibsoni many NEVER clear the blood & will always test positive by PCR. This does not mean your dog has an active infection but total remission seldom occurs. There was a paper presented in 2017 where a dog was treated with clindamycin, doxycycline & metronidazole for 6 weeks, & was tested negative at 3 & 6 months after treatment was stopped, so you might want to discuss this with your veterinarian & see if this is possible for your pet. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello there! First of all a small correction- tick fever is caused by Erlichia and not by Babesia Gibsoni, although both conditions are tick born diseases and often cause almost similar symptoms and can even be found at the same time, they are not the same and treatment for each is different (B.Gibsoni is treated with Imidocrab). So it is important to make sure what was the diagnosis exactly. Tick fever can both reoccur if your dog gets infested with ticks again or can reappear spontaniously even if it has been treated for, this is especial true for chronic erlichiosis, your dog might need treatment from time to time (it has nothing to do with winter though). In chronic tick fever condition treatment might need to be given for more that 21 days and sometimes steroids needs to be prescribed as well.

Hello, sorry to hear about Bruno. Treatment for babesia may be long, up to 4-6 weeks at times. Bruno may need to be on this medication for this time or longer depending on what your veterinarian sees when Bruno goes in for his recheck. Additionally, Bruno may need more than one medication for this treatment. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Most treatments are available throughout Europe for canine babesia but as the condition is rare in the U it may not be in stock at the clinic. I recommend you email your vets office with (a) the particular parasite that has been diagnosed and (b) the current treatment she is receiving so that they can source it and have it in stock. Products which are ordered in to treat rare cases can be very expensive