more-in : A five-month-old chippiparai puppy was brought to the Madras Veterinary College with symptoms of anaemia. Its eyes were sunken and the mucous membrane was pale. The blood test, however, proved to be normal, and the haemoglobin count stood at 12.5. An ultrasound scan revealed an intussusception, a condition in which the intestine telescopes into another section. “Diagnosis is vital for treating anaemia. Iron deficiency can be treated with injections, but if anaemia is caused by other factors, the iron injection will prove toxic. Diagnosis will help us go for specific treatment,” said Dr. Urs Giger, head of the Clinical Programme in Medical Genetics and Pediatrics, Philadelphia School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. This was Dr. Giger’s first visit to an Asian country and he was here to participate in a workshop on ‘Clinical haematology: approach to anaemia and blood transfusion practices in dogs and cats’ organised by the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS), inaugurated by Vice-Chancellor S. Thilagar. “We will first stabilise the puppy through blood transfusion. If they had brought the puppy, earlier we could have easily saved her. A surgical correction may give it a new lease of life,” said Dr. S. Prathapan, head of the Centre of Advanced Faculty Training, TANUVAS. Guided treatment A conference hall in the veterinary college has been converted into a mini diagnostic centre, with equipment ranging from an ordinary microscope to highly advanced machines for analysing blood samples. Dogs of different breeds suffering from anaemia were treated by 49 participants from various States under the guidance of Mr. Giger. An anaemic ten-year-old boxer with a big abdomen and pale mucous membrane was diagnosed with a hemangiosarcoma, a malignant tumour. “Boxers are genetically predisposed to cancer. It appears in the skin, spleen and liver,” said Dr Giger. A blood smear from a local breed that came for the treatment of complaints in its eyes indicated early stage of renal failure. In the case of a pug, a blood test showed the presence of hepatozoon canis, which causes nosebleeds. But ehrlichia canis is a bacterium that also causes anaemia. “We would be giving the same type of treatment if the blood samples are not studied. The blood smear should be studied immediately since the parasite will disintegrate by the time it reaches the laboratory,” said Dr. Prathapan. In a tropical country like India, anaemia is caused by tick fever, and identifying the specific organism causing it would make the treatment easy. “Veterinarians can set up a small laboratory in their clinics and results can be obtained quickly. It will not cost much,” said C. Balachandran, dean of the Madras Veterinary College.

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