Spirocerca lupi - The silent killer
Spirocercosis is the name given to a disease which unfortunately, is also referred to as ' The Silent Killer' . It is caused by the worm Spirocerca lupi and is endemic in our area. Many moons ago when my head carried more hair than my chin, I was part of a team that looked to raise awareness of the disease amongst the KZN Veterinary Community. For those interested there is a link at the bottom of the article to the publication which carries more detail on the disease. The biggest problem we face with the worm is that the onset of clinical signs occurs anywhere from 6-18 months after infestation, and in many of these cases severe complications are already present. These include neoplastic or cancerous transformation of the nodules in the oesophagus, and necrosis and secondary infection of the nodules often resulting in rupture of the oesophagus. In addition to this, between 2 and 12% of cases are reported to present as acute deaths due to aortic aneurysm rupture. ...