Coccidiosis
This is a common disease typically found in young dogs, although adult dogs are not immune. It is especially severe in litters of nursing puppies. It is a serious problem in the southern United States but can occur in the northern states as well. Usually it occurs in connection with filth, overcrowding, poor sanitation, and housing of dogs in cold damp areas.
Puppies can get the infection from contaminated premises, or from their mother if she is a carrier. When kennel sanitation is poor, puppies reinfect themselves from their own feces. This disease spreads very fast through a kennel.
Five to seven days after the ingestion of oocysts, infective cysts appear in the feces. The entire cycle is complete in a week. The first signs can be a mild diarrhea which progresses until the feces become mucus-like and tinged with blood. There is loss of appetite, weakness, dehydration and anemia. Often this is accompanied by a cough, runny nose and a discharge from the eyes- much like the symptoms of distemper.
Coccidia can be found in the stools of puppies without causing problems until some stress factor such as an outbreak of roundworms or shipping reduced their resistance. Dogs that recover can then become carriers. They remain in good health but can suffer relapses when afflicted with some other disease, such as distemper. Carriers and dogs with active infection can be identified by finding adult oocysts in a microscopic slide of fresh stool.
Sulfonamides and antibiotics have been used to treat Coccidiosis. Response is slow once the signs of the disease are apparent. Known carriers should be isolated and treated. At the same time their quarters and runs should be washed down daily with Lysol and boiling water to destroy oocysts, otherwise they can reinfect themselves.