Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Clinicopathologic signs linked to Bartonella infection in dogs
By Pérez Vera, Cristina et al.·Published in Comparative immunology, microbiology and infectious diseases·2013·College of Veterinary Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: An unmatched case controlled study of clinicopathologic abnormalities in dogs with Bartonella infection.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with Bartonella infection, a type of bacteria often spread by fleas or ticks, showed signs of weight loss and low protein levels in their blood. The study compared these dogs to others without the infection but suspected of having similar tick-borne diseases. While both groups had similar health issues, the Bartonella-infected dogs were more likely to have lost weight and had lower protein levels. Treatment for these infections typically involves antibiotics, which can help improve their condition.
People also search for: dog weight loss causes · Bartonella infection treatment in dogs · symptoms of tick-borne diseases in dogs
Abstract
We compared clinicopathologic findings in dogs with Bartonella infection to Bartonella spp. negative dogs suspected of a vector-borne disease. Cases (n=47) and controls (n=93) were selected on the basis of positive or negative enrichment culture PCR results, respectively. Signalment, clinicopathologic findings and treatments were extracted from medical records. DNA sequencing identified Bartonella henselae (n=28, 59.6%), Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii (n=20, 42.6%), Bartonella koehlerae (n=3, 6.4%), Bartonella volans-like (n=3, 6.4%) and Bartonella bovis (n=1, 2.1%). There were no significant differences in age, breed, size, sex or neuter status between cases and controls. Dogs infected with Bartonella sp. often had a history of weight loss [OR=2.82; 95% CI: 1.08-7.56] and were hypoglobulinemic [OR=4.26; 95% CI: 1.31-14.41]. With the exception of weight loss and hypoglobulinemia, clinicopathologic abnormalities in Bartonella-infected dogs in this study were similar to dogs suspected of other vector-borne infections.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23683861/