Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Common causes and treatment of newborn puppy diseases in first days
By Münnich, A & Küchenmeister, U·Published in Reproduction in domestic animals = Zuchthygiene·2014·Small Animal Clinic, Germany·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Causes, diagnosis and therapy of common diseases in neonatal puppies in the first days of life: cornerstones of practical approach.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of newborn puppies often face serious health issues in their first days of life, leading to high rates of illness and death. Common problems include low oxygen levels at birth, low body temperature, low blood sugar, and dehydration, with many deaths occurring within the first 48 hours. Bacterial infections, particularly from E. coli and Staphylococcus, are also frequent causes of mortality. In a study of infected puppies, those treated with a combination of amoxicillin and clavulanic acid showed the best recovery results. Early diagnosis and tailored treatments are crucial for the survival of these vulnerable pups.
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Abstract
Neonatal diseases and losses are a common and often unavoidable problem within breeding kennels. Altogether, morbidity and mortality ranges, according to the literature, from 5 to 35%. Among non-infectious causes besides hypoxia during birth, hypothermia, hypoglycaemia and dehydration are mostly responsible for puppy diseases and losses. Approximately 90% of all deaths in hypoxaemic pups occur during the first 2 days. Of 183 pups with hypoxia, 63 died, 92.7% of them within 48 h after birth. Among infectious causes, bacterial infection is the most common cause of neonatal mortality. Escherichia coli, streptococci, staphylococci, Pseudomonas sp., Klebsiella sp., Enterobacter sp. and some other micro-organisms are regularly involved in neonatal infections. Post-mortem findings especially document E. coli, Staphylococcus sp. and Streptococcus sp. as responsible bacteria. The dam and the environment are suspected as sources of neonatal infections as it was shown by genetic relatedness of responsible bacterial strains isolated in both puppies and their dams. From a total of 517 puppies with bacterial infections, the treatment results documented that parenteral administration of amoxicillin/clavulanic acid in 308 neonates showed the best result. Diagnosis of diseases is often made difficult by the absence of variability in clinical signs contrary to adult dogs. Findings during a physical examination in pups differ from those in adults. Furthermore, treatment recommendations have to meet the special conditions in neonates concerning drug metabolism and excretion.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24947863/