Suppositions are that during gestation, the chronically and subclinically infected bitch develops parasitemia, which spreads transplacentally to the fetus, and successive litters may be born infected. However, transplacental transmission alone is unlikely to propagate N caninum infection in dogs in nature.9 Most puppies in a litter have clinical manifestations; others may carry the infection subclinically, with reactivation occurring later in life because of immunosuppressive illnesses, administration of modified live virus vaccines, or glucocorticoids.
Management
Treatment will likely not lead to improvement in puppies already showing advancing paralysis or muscle contracture. However, if 1 puppy in a litter is diagnosed with infection, it is prudent to treat the entire litter with clindamycin, sulfadiazine, and pyrimethamine, alone or in combination.10 At this time, potential benefits of ponazuril on affected neonates are unclear.
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