Vet on call: Please don’t ignore this warning cry from dogs

My WhatsApp messages have continuously increased in the past two weeks, so much that I had to mute the notification alert to enable me to concentrate on tasks.

Most of the activity is coming from the Kenya Small and Companion Animals’ Veterinary Association (Kescava).

Kescava is one of the many branches of the Kenya Veterinary Association (KVA), the umbrella professional organisation of all veterinary doctors licensed to operate in the country by the professional regulator, the Kenya Veterinary Board (KVB).

The branch comprises veterinary doctors who specialise in pets and other companion animals either exclusively or in addition to offering animal health services for other types of animals.

The flurry of WhatsApp traffic was triggered by unique observations by members of Kescava throughout the country.

I had observed four cases of the problem at my clinic in a month but attributed them to individual household faults in handling of pet food.

Little did I know that other doctors were making similar observations across the country.

The patients at my clinic were dogs showing the full range of clinical signs and history consistent with mycotoxin poisoning.

This is poisoning caused by products of growth of fungus in foods or food ingredients.

Some patients had sudden onset of poisoning, including loss of appetite, dullness, abdominal pain and bloody diarrhoea.

Others showed slow weight loss and progressive reduction of appetite. The others showed slow weight loss, moderate appetite, progressive abdominal and leg swelling, low blood levels and the mucous membranes turning yellow.

Our observations at the clinic were a sure indicator of fungal toxin poisoning. The signs seen represented the three types of poisoning – called acute, chronic and peracute poisoning.

In the latter case, the animal dies suddenly due to consumption of a high dose of poison in the food.

Post-mortem examination on such animals shows a lot of bleeding in the intestines and kidneys.

COMMON OUTCOME

Some of the patients at our clinic, those with signs of chronic poisoning, died after various lengths of treatment periods.

Most with signs of acute poisoning survived but some progressed into the chronic stage. This observation is the common outcome of mycotoxin poisoning.

As we were busy with our cases, other doctors were in the same predicament but quietly managing their patients, until some could not continue with the silence.

Dr Mary from Mombasa posted her recent experiences on the group, saying she suspected the caseload for mycotoxicoses was higher than normal and she had lost a number of patients.

That post opened a floodgate of responses, with photos of patients in various stages of poisoning, including death.

It was evident there was a serious mycotoxicoses outbreak in dogs, clearly overshadowed by the Covid-19 pandemic. The problem is still ongoing.

Kescava members have postulated the cause of the outbreak – pointing to specific dog food brands.

I cannot reveal the foods at this time for ethical and commercial reasons since there is no authoritative determination of their culpability.

This can only be done by laboratory confirmation by the Director of Veterinary Services (DVS).

Interestingly, some Kescava members have done independent laboratory testing and demonstrated that certain dog feeds have high aflatoxin levels, close to the maximum limit of 10 parts per billion (ppb) set by the Kenya Bureau of Standards.

As scientists, we are concerned when dogs start showing mass mycotoxin poisoning.

You see, dogs are more sensitive to mycotoxin poisoning than humans and livestock. In addition, their diet in Kenya comprises the same cereals, particularly maize, that are used to make human food and feed for livestock, mostly cattle and pigs.

Historically, human mycotoxicoses have been associated with initial incidence in dogs. Therefore, dogs act as indicators of possible impeding outbreaks of human mycotoxicoses.

SIMILAR SIGNS

Humans tend to show similar signs as seen in dogs. It is, therefore, imperative that when large numbers of dogs are affected by mycotoxicoses, the status of mycotoxins in human cereal foods, cattle and pig feeds should be established to confirm whether people are also being exposed to the mycotoxins.

Unfortunately in cattle, effects of mycotoxicoses are not directly evident. Affected animals show non-specific signs such as reduced appetite, reduced milk yield, failure to thrive and difficulties in breeding.

Exposure of cattle to mycotoxins affects human health because the most common toxins, known as aflatoxin B1 and B2, are excreted in milk as aflatoxins M1 and M2.

These chemicals are very stable and are not destroyed by milk processing or normal heating. They end up being consumed by humans through milk.

Aflatoxins are known carcinogens, meaning they can cause cancer when consumed especially in humans and dogs.

They also cause stunting in children and liver damage in humans and dogs. This is the reason some dogs have swelling of the abdomen and legs.

The most common source of aflatoxins in both humans and animals in Kenya is maize and maize products.

Incidentally, this is the most commonly used cereal for making both human food and animal feed. Many people are even known to use mouldy maize to make animal feed instead of destroying it.

In cattle, cotton seed cake, sunflower meal and silage also contribute heavily to aflatoxins in feeds and hence in milk.

High humidity and warm weather are known to encourage the growth of fungi and production of aflatoxins in cereal grains and products such as maize flour.

Last year and this year have seen high and continuous rainfall in the country. The result is a favourable environment for mycotoxins contamination of ingredients used in food and feeds production.

The same is likely to happen for foods and feeds if they are not properly stored and regularly tested for quality assurance.

Cereals such as maize can be contaminated with mycotoxins while on the farm before harvesting, especially when there is sustained rainfall and drying is delayed.

They can also be contaminated if improperly stored with high moisture content. The same may also happen with stored final products such as maize flour even at the consumer level.

Care must always be taken to ensure good handling, especially maintaining the recommended moisture levels and proper usage.

Man’s best friend has given us a warning, please don’t ignore it.