Pets like cats and dogs, as well animals kept as livestock can get cyanobacteria poisoning. Cyanobacteria are also known as blue-green algae. Animals could ingest from the water where algae growth is present. Summer months bring in the highest number of incidents because the weather is the perfect mix of humid and hot to foster algal blooms found in lakes, ponds, and various other pools of stagnant water. Cyanobacteria has two varieties of toxins. One toxin targets the liver, known as microcystins, and the other one goes after the animal’s nervous system and is called anatoxin.
Once the liver becomes critically damaged, the main physiological bodily functions are affected because most of these need the liver to be functioning well. The animal affected will soon be bleeding, have a tarry stool, vomiting, diarrhea, and jaundice. Sugar levels can drop significantly as well as blood protein levels. Since the liver is not filtering toxic substances and other by-products of metabolism, they all pile up inside the body causing disorientation and seizures. In extreme cases, comatose can also happen. If no medical intervention happens, it becomes fatal after just a few days.
If your animal companion is often close to water sources like the ones described above and you see symptoms of toxicity, immediately take your pet over to an animal clinic Scottsdale, AZ. Click here to know more.
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