Are vector-borne pathogen co-infections complicating the clinical presentation in dogs?

Particle and Fibre Toxicology

Donato de Caprariis⁴  Edward B Breitschwerdt²  Gioia Capelli¹  Filipe Dantas-Torres³  Domenico Otranto⁴  Anna Sara De Tommasi⁴ 

[1] Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale dell’Università, Legnaro, Padova, 10, 35020, Italy;Intracellular Pathogens Research Laboratory, Center for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA;Departamento de Imunologia, Centro de Pesquisas Aggeu Magalhães, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz – Pernambuco, Av. Prof. Moraes Rego s/n, Recife, PE, 50670-420, Brazil;Department of Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Str. prov. per Casamassima km 3, Valenzano, Bari, 70010, Italy

关键词: Bone marrow;    Leishmania infantum;    Ehrlichia canis;    Dirofilaria immitis;    Co-infection;   

Others  :  1228005
DOI  :  10.1186/1756-3305-6-97

 received in 2013-01-17, accepted in 2013-02-14,  发布年份 2013

【 摘 要 】

Background

Infection by two or more canine vector-borne disease (CVBD)-causing pathogens is common in subtropical and tropical regions where vectors are plentiful. Co-infections may potentiate disease pathogenesis, thereby altering clinical manifestations typically associated with singular infections. These factors complicate diagnosis, treatment and can adversely influence prognosis if the practitioner fails to suspect, document, and treat each concurrent infection. The spectrum of pathogens co-infecting dogs may change over time in a given practice location due to the rapid expansion of arthropods and their associated vectored agents, and international transit among pets and wild animals. This applies, for example, to Dirofilaria immitis and Leishmania infantum, the distributions of which have expanded from northern to southern Italy, and vice versa, respectively. Indeed, mixed infections by D. immitis and L. infantum have only been reported once in Italy, probably due to the fact that competent vectors for these infections do not usually occur in the same geographical areas. Thus, information that would help practitioners to identify clinical presentations in dogs co-infected by D. immitis and L. infantum and other CVBD-causing pathogens is scant.

Findings

This manuscript describes the clinical history and physical examination of findings for 7 CVBD co-infected dogs that were examined because of a spectrum of clinical signs. Five dogs were co-infected with L. infantum and Ehrlichia canis, one dog with L. infantum, E. canis and D. immitis and the remaining dog with L. infantum and D. immitis.

Conclusions

The clinical signs and haematological abnormalities associated with the diagnostic evaluation and treatment of these dogs is discussed. Also, the usefulness of bone marrow specimens for the molecular diagnosis of CVBDs and for the enhanced monitoring of treatment response is emphasized.

【 授权许可】

   
2013 De Tommasi et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

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