SPCA to use fox’s death to create awareness
The fox was brought in by construction workers before being taken to the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital.
Despite the sad outcome, the Brakpan SPCA hopes the case of Jacques, a Cape fox, will raise awareness about botulism in animals.
Construction workers at a nearby solar farm brought the fox to the society last Tuesday. The fox seemed injured or ill and, on closer inspection, was deemed in need of urgent care.
SPCA inspectors took the fox, whom they named Jacques, to the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital, where, after extensive testing, they found he had a severe case of botulism.
The botulinum toxin, produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, is responsible for the disease and causes paralysis and other symptoms in animals. Botulism most often comes from eating contaminated meat, and symptoms can develop and progress quickly.
The paralysis often starts in the rear legs moving forward and can affect the ability to swallow, and cause increased salivation, constipation and eye inflammation. The diaphragm, the muscle that inflates the lungs, can also be paralysed, causing an inability to breathe.
Blood or urine tests and stool or vomit samples can diagnose animals with botulism. It can be treated with the botulinum antitoxin if the antitoxin is administered before the onset of paralysis. Jacques was already in the late stages of the disease and was euthanised to avoid a painful death.
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While the disease causes paralysis of the muscles, it does not inhibit pain sensors or neurological function, meaning suffocation or starvation as a result of the paralysis can be very painful.
If you are concerned about your pet getting the disease, you can implement preventative measures such as not feeding it raw meat and not allowing it to catch and eat wild animals. Prevention is vital because there are no vaccines against botulism.
If you encounter a wild animal you think might be ill or injured, the SPCA urges you to observe it and call an inspector.
Handling wild animals can cause stress to the animal, which might result in death, according to Tamaryn Lombard, the manager at the Brakpan SPCA.
If your pet looks weak, lethargic, ill, or has consumed raw meat or caught and eaten a wild animal, take them to the vet immediately to ensure recovery.
Animals treated timeously for botulism often recover within 14 to 24 days of treatment, but without treatment, death due to paralysis or a secondary infection is likely to occur.
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