Spotting and Treating Giardia: aka “Beaver Fever”

We’ve all heard of the infamous “Beaver Fever”, originally known as an intestinal infection that afflicts campers who drink contaminated waters inhabited by beavers. In fact, all animals can carry the parasite called Giardia that causes beaver fever, and Giardia is commonly found in cats and dogs.

Dogs and cats can get Giardia when they swallow Giardia cysts that are shed by other animals feces (fecal to mouth transmission). Giardia cysts can end up in the water your pet drinks, the food they eat, or eaten when they are self-grooming.

Human Giardia infections are primarily caught from other humans. This being said, it is always good to use proper hygiene when around dogs and cats. However, transmission from dogs and cats to humans appears to be rare, if at all.

Often dogs carry this microscopic organism without showing any signs of a Giardia infection. Like other gut parasites, Giardia can cause intestinal signs such as diarrhea and vomiting. Luckily, many dogs infected with Giardia don’t end up having diarrhea.

Finding Giardia in healthy dogs stools is usually an insignificant finding. Most often, it is puppies, elderly or stressed animals that get sick. Should your dog have diarrhea, your veterinarian will work with you to choose the best plan for diagnosis and treatment.

There are a few different tests that are commonly performed to detect this parasite. Usually a stool sample is directly examined using a microscope. There are other lab tests available and doing more than one may help find a diagnosis.

Diagnosis can be tricky because infected animals are not always shedding Giardia in their stool making the parasite very difficult (requiring several samples) to find in order to get the diagnosis. Now you know why your veterinarian may ask you to bring in a fecal sample for both your dogs health visit and when they have symptoms such as diarrhea.

Treatment of Giardia usually involves a 5-7 day course of an antibiotic called Panacur. If dehydration occurs and if Panacur is not effective, other medications may be recommended. Cleaning your dog’s back end to minimize contamination will help prevent re-infection. This can be done with something as simple as a baby wipe, or bathing if necessary.

Although illness is rare, it is good to be aware of the signs of Giardia (beaver fever) as the summer approaches and your pet spends more time outdoors and in the water.