very large swollen lymph glands

Question
QUESTION: Hello,
  Our rat Jingle has been sick (she's ~6 months of age). She initially was sneezing, raspy and had porphyrin staining to where I thought she had a respiratory infection and took her in for treatment. She's been on baytril for over a week now, and while her breathing is good and is no longer sneezy or raspy, each of her lymph nodes is about the size of a small bean. Additionally, she still has porphyrin staining as well as piloerect fur. Additionally, she doesn't like having her mouth opened for dosing (we checked her teeth and they look fine). She has lost a significant amount of weight and we have started to feed her soft, fattening food so as to help her keep her weight up. We don't believe she's eating solid food right now (as we think it may be painful for her). I have never seen anything like this before... any idea as to what is going on with her?

ANSWER: Hi Karin

A few things first I need to ask:

Is she the only rat?  

If not, how long have you had the other rats?

Does she have porphyrin from both the eyes and nose or just one or the other?   

Would you say she looks like a bullfrog from the front?
Are the rims around her eyes red or dark pink? Are they enlarged?

If her fur is still erect, she is still feeling badly. I suspect this may also be viral. Please let me know the few things I asked before I form a concrete "cyber diagnosis"

hang in there......

Sandy

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello,
  Jingle is not the only rat. She's in with 3 other girls. The other girls are fine. I've had the other rats for over year as she is the youngest rat. Yeah, she does look like a bullfrog from the front. Her lymph nodes seem to be getting larger.  The porphyrin is a dark red, and she has it mostly around both eyes. On occasion, she gets it around the nose. Her appetite is still good, although she is easily fatigued.

ANSWER: Next question:

Have you been in any pet stores that sell rats lately?

I hate to keep asking you questions, this can be a real pain to go back and forth like this.  I have a real good idea what this can be but I wont continue until I hear back from you about the pet store and other rats that you may have been around lately.

Hang in there....I do think what she has may be viral in nature, but I will let you know more in a bit.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Yes, I've been in other pet stores that sell rats. However, the main thing that has baffled me is that if what she has is viral (and contagious from the sounds of things), why is she the only one that is affected?

Answer

This helps shed alot of light on things now.  Your rat may have SDA, also known as Sialodacryoadenitis virus or Rat corona virus. Remember now, this is just an educated guess and without really seeing her in person that is all it can be, but it sounds just like it in every way.

Clinical Signs include the following:
Swelling around the neck and cervical nodes which makes the rat almost look like a bullfrog from the front. You may see Bulging of eyes  and you may also see porphyrin staining,  or discoloration of tissue around the eyes which is why I asked if the rims around her eyes May see symptoms of secondary respiratory infection with sneezing, fluid filled lungs, weight loss, and loss of appetite.
Not all rats that are infected show signs either if the diseae is mild or if the rat has a stronger immune system and is able to fight it off better.

SDA is a highly contagious virus that weakens the immune system. Alone it is not fatal,but it can lead the path for secondary infections that can be deadly such as pneumonia. Again, SDA has a low mortality rate on its own but again if the rats immune system is compromised, it can turn into a nasty secondary infection.

It is an airborne virus that is contracted via aerosol. It is known to live in our mucus membranes up to 3 hours and also can live on our clothing.

Viral secretions carried on human skin, clothing, or in mucus membranes can also contribute to the spread of this illness.

Lets say for example, you went to a pet store that had rats that were infected with SDA and they had sneezed and you touched something that their mucus came in contact with, the virus would get on you and live for up to three hours allowing it to come in your home with you and go straight to your rats.

Sometimes, the virus is mild causing only the swollen nodes and the excessive porphyrin discharge and sometimes the only thing else you may see is excessive porphyrin from the eyes, nose or both.
What you need to look for is a few days after onset if you notice alot of sneezing or congestion or the rat is lethargic and stops eating and drinking, a vet must be seen for sure. Howver I suggest a vet now to start antibiotics such as CEFA DROPS or KEFLEX and baytril just to hold any pending bacterial infection at bay.

Prevention is hard to do since it requires very strict protocol to follow. When going to a place that has strange rats, always be sure when going home to remove shoes before entering your home to avoid bringing the virus in on the soles of your shoes (I will get to that in a minute) Wash your hands, face, blow your nose and change clothes OR skip the change of the clothes but do NOT go near your rats or anything that belongs to them for up to 3 hours since this is how long the virus lives on fomites.  Also when bringing new rats, quarantine should be done for 3 weeks and you will follow the same protocol as you do when dealing with pet stores and other places where any rodents are, even hamsters or mice.

When I mentioned removing shoes, this is because ***I** had a colony of rats several years ago that came down with SDA. No new rats in, no new rats out, I had not worked with any rats that were sick with it and had not gone to a petstore that sells rats etc... However, we have alot of squirrels around here and they also carry SDA. The chance I stepped in squirrel urine and brought the virus inside was very high and in fact, made the most sense. 18 out of 24 rats had symptoms. Luckily we did not lose but just two rats but that was still two to many.

There is so much more to cover about this virus so I am providing you with a link or two so you can read up more about it too. Keep in mind some sites say things a bit different than the other so I will warn you so you dont get confused.


http://ratguide.com/health/viruses/sda.php


http://www.rmca.org/Articles/sda.htm

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/thequarantinepage.htm

Also if you need a vet that is up to par with rat care, please let me now and I will gladly fine d a vet for you!