Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with Bordetella brain infection causing fever and neck pain
By Rylander, Helena et al.·Published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science·2022·View original on Crossref →
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 We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above.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: Case Report: Bordetella bronchiseptica Meningoencephalomyelitis in a Dog
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 15-month-old male neutered Wirehaired Pointer mixed-breed dog was brought to the vet with a fever and neck pain. After testing, the vet found that the dog had a bacterial infection in the brain and spinal cord caused by Bordetella bronchiseptica, which is often associated with kennel cough. The dog was treated with a low dose of prednisone for inflammation and doxycycline for a year. Over several months, the dog's condition improved significantly, and he was able to walk again fully after about seven months.
People also search for: dog fever neck pain treatment · Bordetella bronchiseptica in dogs · dog meningitis recovery time
Abstract
A 15-month-old male neutered Wirehaired Pointer mixed-breed dog presented with fever and cervical pain. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis showed neutrophilic pleocytosis with intracellular bacteria, and culture of CSF grew Bordetella bronchiseptica. The patient became non-ambulatory 3 days after CSF collection. He was treated with low-dose prednisone for 3.5 months and doxycycline for 1 year. Recheck CSF analysis 1 month after diagnosis showed reduction of inflammation and 3 months after diagnosis revealed only increased protein. The patient improved neurologically over several months and was weakly ambulatory 5 months and fully ambulatory 7 months after diagnosis. Whole genome sequencing of the bacterial isolate and a live modified intranasal vaccine similar to the one the dog had been vaccinated with 7 weeks before diagnosis was similar but not an exact match. Bacterial meningitis should be considered, and culture of CSF is recommended, in cases of neutrophilic pleocytosis of CSF.
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 Crossref: https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2022.852982