Why does my puppy have a fever and low platelets after vaccination?

The problem here is to establish the underlying cause of thrombocytopenia (low platelets). Immune-mediated thrombocytopenia is one of the most common causes. This process usually occurs in the spleen although the liver also plays a role. Thrombocytopenia develops as platelet destruction exceeds compensatory production by the bone marrow. Immune-mediated thrombocytopenia can be classified as primary or secondary. Secondary processes can be caused by infective diseases or tumors very commonly. Usually to determine a diagnosis more tests needs to be performed like abdominal ultrasound and chest x rays. Infective diseases like Ehrlichia, Anaplasma spp for example should be ideally evaluated as well. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum (where you can post pics of the blood tests) or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Hi there! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Lethargy, fever and inappetence can occur 24-48 hours post-vaccination. This is not uncommon. If it has been longer than this, it is likely unrelated to the vaccines that a good reason to have Saski evaluated by your veterinarian to ensure that there is not something else going on. Good luck! Have a good evening!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. If he is still running a fever after all of this, I would get him seen by an emergency veterinarian to be safe. He may need something stronger such as a steroid to help with a potential reaction. There may be something else going on such as an infection as well. I would get him seen as soon as possible. I hope this helps!

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I would recommend a visit with a vet. It sounds like your puppy needs intensive care, IV fluids, possibly glucose supplementation. If he is eating and drinking and not vomiting, these are good signs, however if he is very lethargic and not moving that is concerning. To tell what is going on, what treatment to perform and prognosis, he needs more tests to determine what the cause of his illness is, so I cannot give any more specific answers. You can try posting your question again with blood results (picture of the results) along with any other information (temperature, heart rate, gum colour, how long he has been sick for, etc.). We might be able to better help you with that. Best of luck with Luffy!

Low Hgb and platelets can be due to internal bleeding (such as a gastric bleed), sepsis or immune disorders such as Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia and Immune Mediated Thrombocytopenia. The treatment would be very different depending on the cause of the blood work findings. Once the veterinarian who performed the blood work is able to diagnose and underlying cause, she will be able to prescribe necessary care and medical treatment for Rafa.

Maxi certainly sounds quite sick, but I am glad to hear that she is eating and drinking normally. As I'm sure your vet discussed, tick borne diseases are one of the more common causes of a fever of unknown origin (FUO). However, FUOs can also be caused by other infectious diseases (toxoplasmosis, Bartonella, Brucella, mycoplasma, fungal diseases, etc.) as well as immune-mediated or cancerous causes. To answer your question, yes, you will need to do some more diagnostics to get to the bottom of this issue. Different causes of the FUO will require different treatments. Maxi's vet will be able to guide you as to their next tier of diagnostic testing based upon their clinical suspicions. I hope that all goes well!

The main two things i would suspect is Tick fever caused by a bacterial called Erlichia (it is treated with an antibiotic called doxycycline). it could also be an autoimmune hemolytic crisis, this will need to be treated with steroids.