Oral transmission of Trypanosoma evansi infection in a German Shepherd dog—a rare case report

A three-year-old male German Shepherd dog was presented to Referral Veterinary Polyclinic, Indian Veterinary Research Institute (RVP, IVRI), with a history of anorexia, progressive weight loss and relapsing fever for 15 days. Anamnesis revealed that the dog often attacked Nilgai and other wild anima...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Comparative clinical pathology 2022-04, Vol.31 (2), p.175-179
Main Authors: Sangeetha, S. G., Nehra, A. K., Raguvaran, R., Banerjee, P. S., Ram, Hira
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alkaline phosphatase
Anorexia
Blood
Case Report
Case reports
Creatinine
Dogs
Flagella
Hematology
Lymphadenopathy
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Oncology
Pathology
Polymerase chain reaction
Relapsing fever
Transaminase
Trypanosomiasis
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A three-year-old male German Shepherd dog was presented to Referral Veterinary Polyclinic, Indian Veterinary Research Institute (RVP, IVRI), with a history of anorexia, progressive weight loss and relapsing fever for 15 days. Anamnesis revealed that the dog often attacked Nilgai and other wild animals in the forest and consumed wild rabbit regularly. Clinical examination revealed pale oral and conjunctival mucous membranes, pyrexia (104.3 F) and popliteal lymphadenopathy. Haemato-biochemical examination revealed anaemia, increased alkaline phosphatase (ALP), serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine levels suggestive of multiple organ involvement. Oral mode of transmission of trypanosomiasis was suspected in this case and blood sample was subjected to staining and molecular techniques for confirmation. Giemsa stained blood smear revealed leaf-like haemoparasite with free flagella, subterminal kinetoplast and well-developed undulating membrane characteristic of Trypanosoma spp. Additionally, infection was further confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using two different sets of primers, namely, Tevans F2/R2 and Tryp1S/1R, targeting paraflagellar rod-2 (PFR-2) and internal transcribed spacer-1 (ITS-1) region, respectively. The dog was treated with diminazene aceturate with supportive therapy. Marked recovery in clinical signs and restoration of organ functions were noticed after completion of therapy.
ISSN:1618-565X
1618-5641
1618-565X
DOI:10.1007/s00580-022-03324-6