Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog in Northern California diagnosed with leishmaniasis infection
By Alonso, Flavio H et al.·Published in Veterinary clinical pathology·2021·Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Canine leishmaniasis in Northern California-A case report.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 3-year-old dog was brought to the vet after experiencing nosebleeds for a year and swollen lymph nodes. Tests showed that the dog had a type of leishmaniasis, a disease caused by a parasite, which was confirmed through a bone marrow sample. This case is notable because it's the first reported instance of canine leishmaniasis in California. The dog likely got the infection from its mother, who was from a region where the disease is common. Treatment options for leishmaniasis can vary, so it's important for pet owners to discuss preventive measures with their vet, especially if they have dogs from affected areas.
People also search for: dog nosebleeds causes · leishmaniasis in dogs treatment · swollen lymph nodes in dogs · puppy health risks from mother · dog diseases from travel
Abstract
A 3-year-old dog was referred to the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital of the University of California-Davis for further evaluation of episodes of epistaxis of 1-year duration and peripheral lymphadenopathy. The patient had a history of atopic dermatitis with no travel history outside of California. Hyperglobulinemia with a polyclonal gammopathy was noted on serum protein electrophoresis. Microscopic evaluation of a bone marrow aspirate sample revealed many free and intra-cellular amastigotes of Leishmania sp. that was further confirmed by qPCR as L infantum. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the first reported case of canine leishmaniasis in the state of California. The patient is believed to have been vertically infected from the dam who is from Serbia and remained subclinical until presentation. Because the clinical progression of leishmaniasis is variable, it is important that precautions be discussed with owners acquiring puppies with dams from endemic regions of leishmaniasis to prevent zoonotic exposure in states where competent vectors are present.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33745143/