What kennel cough, Giardia, flu and one particular patient taught us about the immune system
Introduction
On a playing field a dog with kennel cough walks.
He coughs and plays on. With every cough, he spreads bacteria through small droplets in the air.
In the end, ten dogs play with him.
Within a few days, 1 dog ends up at the vet with serious complaints, another dog also starts coughing a bit, but is free of complaints after 3 days. And the rest of the dogs are not bothered by anything.
The same bacterium, the same time and the same exposure. But still completely different outcomes.
Exactly the same can be seen with parasites such as Giardia duodenalis.
And even in people during a flu epidemic, as recently reported by the RIVM.
The difference is not in the bacteria, virus or parasite.
The difference is in the immune system.
How does that immune system actually work?
70–80% of the immune system is located in the gut. This is where the Gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) is located: the control room of the mucous membrane defense.
The GALT controls protective substances that end up in the mucus of:
- Intestines
- Respiratory tract
- Nose and throat
- Skin
Substances controlled by the GALT include:
- sIgA
- Lactoferrin
- Calprotectin
- Defensines
- Lysozyme
- A healthy mucus layer
The microbiome plays an active role in this. Good bacteria take up space, produce protective substances and give signals to the GALT to continue to control this defense.
If this system functions properly, intruders are removed before they can cause symptoms.
What happens to the dog that does get sick?
In practice, we almost always see:
- A disturbed gut microbiome
- Low-grade inflammation
- Chronic stress or overstimulation
- Reduced mucosal resistance
- Dysbiosis of the respiratory tract
- A decreased antiviral response (interferon)
The bacterium enters, attaches to the mucous membrane wall…… and is given free rein.
Case 1 – parasites
Parasites enter many dogs. But they can only attach themselves if the intestinal mucosa is out of balance.
In a healthy gut, the parasites become:
- Retained by mucus and sIgA
- Inhibited by lactoferrin, calprotectin, defensins and lysozyme
- Supplanted by a healthy microbiome
And then disposed of – without infection.
Recurrent Giardia or other parasites is rarely an exposure problem.
It is a problem of mucous membrane defense.
Case 2 – Kennel cough
Kennel cough is rarely the result of one causative agent. It is often caused by a combination of:
- Bordetella bronchiseptica
- Canine parainfluenza virus
- Canine adenovirus type 2
These pathogens regularly enter the respiratory tract of dogs.
Whether a dog gets sick depends on the same protective mucous membrane substances that are controlled by the GALT. An infection occurs when the anterior respiratory microbiome is out of balance and pathogens can attach, multiply, and dominate.
Case 3 – Human flu
Flu usually involves variants of the Influenza A virus and Influenza B virus.
These viruses change continuously (antigenic drift). This makes it difficult to predict the exact right variant with vaccines.
Vaccines can reduce severity, but can never take over the work of the mucous membrane defense. As with kennel cough, despite a vaccine, we still regularly see symptoms of illness. Here too, the outcome depends very much on the state of the mucous membrane and the immune system.
TCM: why cold and wind viruses help
Within Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) this has been described for centuries:
- Cold slows down the blood flow to mucous membranes
- Wind is the carrier of pathogens through the respiratory tract
- Less exercise and more sitting indoors weakens the intestinal blood flow
This weakens the first line of defense in mucous membranes — right where viruses enter.
We also know from Western medicine that viruses survive better in cold and humid conditions. Autumn and winter are therefore ideal conditions for flu epidemics.
Our therapy plan: increasing resistance starts in the intestine
- Restoration of the basics
- Restoration of microbiome, mucus layer and GALT
- Intestinal protocol or Giardia protocol
- Targeted immune support
- Lactoferrin
- Myco immune complex (Mushroom mix 1)
- If the immune system is overloaded
- For energy production, detoxification and repair capacity of immune cells
- Longevity support (NAD+, resveratrol, ergotioneine)
- Coenzyme Q10
- Glutathione
Case 4. Intracellular bacteria
Sometimes, despite an improvement in stool, appetite and microbiome, we still see insufficient recovery of energy and resistance. With a live blood analysis (darkfield microscopy) we can directly observe the activity and load of blood cells, in addition to a regular blood test.
We can then see
- Intracellular bacteria and spirochete-like forms
- Overloaded neutrophils and monocytes
- Yeasts and fungi in the plasma
- Malfunctioning erythrocytes
- Overburdened liver and immune system
These are signs of an immune system that is continuously active and has little room for recovery. In practice, we often see that this is due to intracellular bacteria such as spirochetes, as in Lyme and Erlichia infections. These create a continuous burden on the immune system and maintain low-grade inflammation.
In such cases, we additionally focus on targeted support. For example, with antibiotics, ozone therapy or antimicrobial essential oils such as Microbe Guard. We have also developed our new protocol for this. See here for more information.
Conclusion
Getting sick isn’t just about exposure.
It’s about how much room the immune system has left.
Kennel cough. Giardia. Parasites. Flu. Chronic inflammation. Lethargy.
They are not separate problems.
They all tell the same story:
The inside is out of balance.
A strong dog — or human — is not the one that is never exposed.
It is the one whose system is balanced. From the inside out.
Scientific substantiation
- Dhar & Mohanty. Gut microbiota and respiratory health: the gut–lung axis. Frontiers in Microbiology.
- Budden et al. Emerging pathogenic links between microbiota and the gut–lung axis. Nat Rev Microbiol.
- Honda & Littman. The microbiota in adaptive immune homeostasis. Nature.
- Function of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue in antibody formation. Immunol Rev.
- Marsland et al. The gut–lung axis in respiratory disease. Annals ATS.
- Kogut et al. Mucosal immunity and IgA in respiratory defense in dogs. Fat Immunol.
- Paules & Subbarao. Influenza. Lancet.
- Moriyama et al. Seasonality of respiratory viral infections. Annu Rev Virol.