Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with Trypanosoma evansi infection after travel to Thailand
By Defontis, Myriam et al.·Published in Veterinary clinical pathology·2012·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Germany·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Canine Trypanosoma evansi infection introduced into Germany.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 9-year-old male Jack Russell Terrier who had traveled to Thailand was brought in due to ongoing tiredness, weight loss, and eye problems. Blood tests revealed a serious infection caused by a parasite called Trypanosoma evansi. Although the dog initially responded to treatment, he relapsed with severe neurological symptoms and sadly passed away 88 days later. This case highlights the risks of foreign diseases affecting pets that travel internationally, as treating this type of infection can be very difficult and often fatal.
People also search for: dog lethargy weight loss eye problems · Trypanosoma evansi infection in dogs · travel-related dog diseases
Abstract
A 9-year-old male Jack Russell Terrier with a history of travel to Thailand was presented with chronic lethargy, weight loss, unilateral anterior uveitis, pancytopenia, hyperglobulinemia, and proteinuria. Numerous trypomastigotes were found on a blood smear, and using molecular methods the parasite was identified as Trypanosoma evansi. After initial response to treatment, the dog experienced a relapse with central neurologic signs 88 days after initial presentation and died. Antibodies to T evansi were detected in both serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) using a card agglutination test (CATT/T evansi), and PCR analysis of CSF for T evansi was positive. Findings at necropsy included marked non-purulent meningoencephalitis. Chronic infection with T evansi in a dog that returned to Germany following international travel highlights the risk associated with introduction of foreign animal diseases to Europe and the possibility of these infections becoming endemic. Detection of chronic infection and curative therapy of trypanosomiasis are challenging, and infection is usually fatal in the dog.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22954298/