Diagnosing Blastomycosis In Small Animals with Dr. Andrew Hanzlicek | MiraVista Veterinary Diagnostics

Description

Andrew Hanzlicek, DVM, MS, DACVIM (SAIM), is a veterinary internal medicine specialist with more than 14 years of professional experience teaching, providing clinical services, and conducting research in small animal internal medicine. Dr. Hanzlicek has 4 years of experience as the Joan Kirkpatrick Chair of Small Animal Medicine and as director of the residency training program of Small Animal Internal Medicine at Oklahoma State University. In this lecture, Dr. Hanzlicek walks through his presentation on diagnosing Blastomycosis in small animals, particularly dogs and cats. Blastomycosis is caused by the dimorphic fungus, Blastomyces (dermatitidis, B. gilchristii, and B. helicus). The fungus lives in moist soil as well as decomposing matter such as leaves, fallen trees, or other decaying woods. In the United States, Blastomyces is endemic in Ohio, Mississippi, and Missouri River valleys, areas near the Great Lakes, Vermont, and the East Coast. The fungus can also be found in Canada, primarily in western Ontario, parts of Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. Blastomycosis is not contagious and cannot be passed from pets to humans. MiraVista Veterinary Diagnostics offers a wide selection of antigen and antibody tests for systemic mycoses, as well as therapeutic drug monitoring for itraconazole. The MVista® Blastomyces Antigen Quantitative EIA (Test Code: 316) is the most accurate diagnostic test. Other testing may also be necessary via the MVista® Blastomyces Canine lgG Antibody EIA (330), Blastomyces Antibody by lmmunodiffusion (Test Code: 322), (1-3) – β-D-Glucan Colorimetric Assay (Test Code: 317), or the MVista® ltraconazole by Bioassay (Test Code: 312).