Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with chronic cough had tuberculosis and caseous mucus in airway
By Bauer, Natali B et al.·Published in Veterinary clinical pathology·2004·Department of Veterinary Pathology·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Calcospherite-like bodies and caseous necrosis in tracheal mucus from a dog with tuberculosis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 3-year-old Wirehaired Fox Terrier was brought to the vet for a chronic cough that had lasted for 8 months. Tests revealed a severely dilated bronchus filled with thick white mucus, and further examination showed signs of tuberculosis, including the presence of bacteria called Mycobacterium bovis. Unfortunately, the dog had significant lung damage and granulomas (clusters of immune cells) in various organs. This case highlights a rare instance of tuberculosis in dogs, which is similar to what can be seen in humans, but the dog did not recover.
People also search for: dog chronic cough treatment · Wirehaired Fox Terrier tuberculosis · dog lung infection symptoms
Abstract
A 3-year-old Wirehaired Fox Terrier was presented to the University Veterinary Hospital, University College Dublin, for evaluation of chronic cough of 8-months duration. Bronchoscopy showed a severely dilated collapsed left principal bronchus filled with highly viscous white mucus. Cytologically, globular lipid-like material and round concentrically laminated crystalline structures were evident within the proteinaceous mucus. These findings resembled the calcospherites and granular caseous debris often observed in human tuberculous patients. A Ziehl-Neelsen-stained cytocentrifuged preparation of material obtained by bronchoalveolar lavage revealed a few acid-fast rods within macrophages, suggestive of tuberculosis. At necropsy, granulomas with caseous necrosis were present in the lung parenchyma, bronchial and mediastinal lymph nodes, liver, pancreas, and mesentery. Granulomas were adherent to both kidney capsules and to the diaphragm. Histologically, there was evidence of mild calcification within caseous granulomas, which was confirmed by von Kossa's stain. Using Ziehl-Neelsen stain, acid-fast rods were identified within granulomas; bacterial culture was positive for Mycobacterium bovis. The cytologic findings in this case have not been reported previously in dogs and demonstrate a possible correlation between tuberculosis and calcospherite-like bodies with caseous, globular material in bronchial mucus, similar to that described in human patients.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15334354/