Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Poison and AIHA

My dog has just died of what seems to be AIHA. He was 13 years old but a very sturdy mongrel. Unfortunately he did not react to steroids (he was given Dexaven and Imiozol). Due to the lack of any reaction to the steroids, the vets think he was poisoned. Is this possible? Do you know of a toxin capable of inducing AIHA in a dog? I should add that well before the anemia (which lasted a week) the dog also exhibited other strange symptoms including pain in his rear legs and what might be described as paranoid behaviour. This may or may not be related to the AIHA. Although I can't bring my dog back, the thought that he was intentionally poisoned is very troubling, hence the post.

Toby Poland

Toby, I am sorry that you have lost your boy. I am not familiar with the drugs you have named but most of the drugs commonly used in fighting AIHA can take more than a week to show that they are working. What sort of tests did your Vets do? I am trying to understand the reasoning for the possibilty of poison diagnosis? Zinc in pennies can bring on AIHA but the other signs you have mentioned are indicative of so many other things. I think that most of us on this board will never know why our dogs got this disease there are so many unknown factors as well as the known dangers of over vaccinating and flea/pet products. The idea that someone would have poisoned your dog is horrific but there sounds like other things were going on? I hope that the 13 good years of memories will help you through this terrible time. Penny

Penny Lytle Creek Calif

Toby, I am so sorry that this happened. It is far more heartbreaking when the cause is undetermined. Your vet may have been referring to something like a rodenticide. Unfortunately there are several types of this poison. The more commonly used type causes depletion of Vitamin K in the body and this causes a chain reaction that leads to unchecked bleeding. This is actually treated with shots of vitamin K. There are also treatments for the other types of rodenticides if it can be determined what they were. The anemia/bleeding from this could be sudden and severe. Other toxins can include things like certain medicines, zinc coins and even foods like onions. Another cause can be infection with a tick disease. The pain in the rear legs is a relatively common sign of certain tick diseases and this paranoid behavior has been seen in some infected dogs. The anemia is caused by the spirochetes of the disease inserting themselves into the red blood cells. I can't imagine how you must be feeling right now wondering if your dog was poisoned. I hope that you will find your answer. Please accept my deepest sympathy. Patrice

Patrice NYS

Dear Penny and Patrice, Many thanks for your answers. The drugs I mentioned are commonly used to fight the disease in Poland; I don't know what the international equivalents are. I do not believe that zinc is used in Polish coins. We have never used any anti-flea products and Kopek was never vaccinated. Anti-coagulant poisons were ruled out due to the lack of any blood found in vomit, urine and stools. He was tested negative for babesiosis. The suggestion that he was poisoned was based on 1) The extremely aggressive nature of the disease 2) The lack of any response to the steroids 3) The fact that he does not fit the typical AIHA profile at all. As I understand the dogs most at risk are middle aged female dogs of various breeds, cocker spaniels being the most frequently mentioned. By contrast, Kopek was a relatively old, male mongrel and a very healthy one at that. Are these arguments sufficient to come to this conclusion? I have to say I have never heard of this disease before but judging by the amount of material on the internet it would appear that it is not that rare. Do you have information on how prevalent the disease is? Best regards, Toby

Toby Poland

Hi Toby, I'm really sorry to hear about Kopek. AIHA is almost always extremely aggressive and sudden. Our dog is male, mixed breed (pit bull and ??). We'll never know what caused his AIHA, but other triggers can also be vaccinations, bee stings, and many others suspect other veterinary medications. Tiggs wasn't on anything at the time, nor had he been vaccinated. I believe there are at least a few people here with older male dogs that have been diagnosed. Though poison could certainly be the cause one may never really know why the immune system suddenly goes haywire, unfortunately. Are you planning on having any tissues analysed? I hope that either way, you are able to make peace with Kopek's passing with time. It's a terrible disease, that unfortunately, leaves most of us puzzled, grieved, and frustrated. Our thoughts are with you, melissa and tiggs

melissa slc

As mentioned, I had never heard of this disease until last week. Does anybody know how prevalent this disease?

Toby Poland (Warsaw)

Toby, First of all let me tell you how very sorry I am to hear of the death of your most beloved Kopek. I truly do know how much it hurts to lose a dog so suddenly possibly to a disease you have never heard of. If you have not read my Web site on AIHA/IMHA you might want to do so when you feel up to it. The URL is http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/ Be sure to follow the links on the first page to many other sites on AIHA/IMHA. Dogs of any age, gender, or breed can develope AIHA/IMHA. I have been aware of AIHA for nearly 17 years now and in that time I have seen both pure breed and mixed breeds with it and every age range from a few months old to dogs in their senior years. I have seen both males and females with AIHA/IMHA. Some dogs with AIHA/IMHA do not respond to steriods while some dogs respond to the steriods very well. And it should be noted that it does take some time for the steriods to "kick in". I don't think that anyone has any idea how prevlant AIHA/IMHA is but it appears to be a lot more common then most vets believe. Once again, my deepest sympathies to you on your loss. Please know you are in my thoughts and prayers during these most difficult days.

Joanne MN

Hi Toby, Several drugs have also been implicated as AIHA/IMHA triggers, such as sulfa-based antibiotics, cephalosporins, anti-malaria drugs, and potentially even naphthalene. Unfortunately I do not know what name any of these drugs may go by in Poland.

Brian Vermont

I believe that stress can be a major factor as well. One week after I changed my residence, my Rocco was diagnosed with AIHA and passed away 4 days later. I know Rocco was timid, and I don't think that he got this disease by coincidence. I racked my brain and couldn't think of any contact with anything unusual, like poisons or pesticides, although the vet's first thought was rat poison, but changed his diagnosis 2 days later to AIHA. Was there any stress a week or so before the diagnosis of your pup? With Rocco, I noticed he wasn't himself a few days after I moved, but I figured he was just stressed out. After a week, My gut feeling, and only my gut feeling, told me to take him to the vet. This disease strikes so fast its scary. Think hard about the days prior, but don't blame yourself for not recognizing any small unusual things that you might have missed, because you will drive yourself crazy.

Glenn NJ

I also think stress can play a part in this horrible disease. My 9 months old Scruffy came down with it after I left him in the care of my son for a week. He was fine when I left. However as a puppy he showed odd signs of not being quite right. Maybe some genetic link. I also believe there are a lot more cases than vets will admit to.

Julie Australia

Thanks again for the posts although unfortunately the triggers listed do seem be provide a satisfactory answer in this case. Kopek was not on antibiotics and needless to say anti-malarial medicine is not widely used in Poland. He was not in any way stressed. He was a very healthy 13 year old mongrel who, despite his relatively advanced age, could outrun most dogs. I expected him to live at least another 3-4 years.

Toby Poland

This thread was discussed between 11/12/2008 and 12/12/2008

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