Highly Variable Clinical Pictures in Dogs Naturally Infected with Angiostrongylus vasorum

Canine angiostrongylosis by Angiostrongylus vasorum is increasingly reported in both enzootic and previously free areas. The complex pathogenesis of the disease makes the clinical workup challenging. Infected dogs show highly variable clinical pictures, characterized by subclinical to life-threateni...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pathogens (Basel) 2021-10, Vol.10 (11), p.1372
Main Authors: Colombo, Mariasole, Traversa, Donato, Grillotti, Eleonora, Pezzuto, Carlo, De Tommaso, Cesare, Pampurini, Fabrizio, Schaper, Roland, Drake, Jason, Crisi, Paolo Emidio, Russi, Ilaria, Ripamonti, Marco, Di Cesare, Angela
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abnormalities
Adults
angiostrongylosis
Angiostrongylus vasorum
Animals
Anorexia
Antigens
Blood diseases
clinical signs
Coagulation
Cough
Diarrhea
Differential diagnosis
Dogs
Dyspnea
Fever
Hematoma
Infections
Pathogenesis
Pictures
Pulmonary arteries
Respiration
Veins & arteries
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Summary:Canine angiostrongylosis by Angiostrongylus vasorum is increasingly reported in both enzootic and previously free areas. The complex pathogenesis of the disease makes the clinical workup challenging. Infected dogs show highly variable clinical pictures, characterized by subclinical to life-threatening general, cardio-respiratory, neurological and/or gastrointestinal signs. The present study reports the high variability of clinical pictures from 36 dogs across central and southern Italy that were naturally infected by A. vasorum. Of them, 23 (63.9%) presented at least one clinical sign, while 13 (36.1%) were subclinically infected and apparently healthy. Overall, 19 dogs (52.8%) showed cardiorespiratory signs, 14 (38.9%) had non-specific abnormalities, 2 (5.6%) presented coagulation disorders and 1 (2.8%) had a severe neurological condition. Importantly, four dogs presenting with clinical signs had neither cough nor dyspnea. These results underline that angiostrongylosis should be included in the differential diagnosis, even when dogs display only non-specific clinical signs. The proportion of apparently healthy dogs highlights the relevance of routine copromicroscopic and/or antigenic tests in enzootic areas to avoid the sudden onset of potentially life-threatening signs.
ISSN:2076-0817
2076-0817
DOI:10.3390/pathogens10111372