Harmful Algae Blooms (HAB) and your Pets/Livestock

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY (Calif.) - A third dog died Thursday after exposure to toxic algae at an East Bay park, and broken-hearted dog owners say the park district's warnings have been too little, too late.

"It's this green algae that's everywhere, it's fatally toxic to dogs, " warned Katie Stone (owner of one of the stricken dogs), intercepting hikers at the Lake Chabot marina Friday evening.

"We see shock and bleeding abnormalities, and liver failure," Dr. Sharon Finster told KTVU. Finster is emergency director at Bay Area Veterinary Specialists in San Leandro, which has treated two of the dogs that succumbed.

"It's not unlike the damage we see from strychnine or rat poison," elaborated Dr. Finster,  "there's almost nothing we can do to reverse it."

For the full KTVU story and video see:
http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/27990715/owners-outraged-after-lake-algae-poisonsdogs-at-lake-chabot

There is a case report of successful veterinary treatment of HAB poisoning in Montana in 2013. Successful treatment is dependent on exposure levels, early recognition and Veterinary care. Please share this link with your Veterinarian: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23888515

The risk of HAB poisoning was primarily linked to seasonal marine environments or stagnant bodies of fresh water, but with the Western United States in one of worst droughts in recent history, HABS are becoming evermore prevalent in freshwater lakes, streams and even flowing rivers. See the below link for HAB in the Willamette River, Oregon: http://www.deq.state.or.us/wq/algae/algae.htm

HABS, often referred to as “red tide” in marine coastal areas of California are nothing new, but have posed an ever-growing concern to southern California fisheries. http://www.habmap.info/Site%20Map.html

For more information see the California Department of Public Health website.
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/healthinfo/environhealth/water/pages/bluegreenalgae.aspx