Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with chronic bone infection from Blastomyces fungus in leg
By Marcellin-Little, D J et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·1996·Department of Companion Animal and Special Species Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Chronic localized osteomyelitis caused by atypical infection with Blastomyces dermatitidis in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 4-year-old male Golden Retriever was brought to the vet because he was limping and not putting weight on his right hind leg due to wounds on his ankle. After initial treatments for arthritis and a bone infection, his lameness continued. Eventually, tests revealed he had a rare fungal infection called blastomycosis. The affected leg was amputated, and he did not need additional antifungal medication. Ten months later, he was healthy and showed no signs of the infection.
People also search for: dog limping after injury · Golden Retriever bone infection · blastomycosis treatment in dogs
Abstract
A 4-year-old male Golden Retriever was evaluated because of chronic non-weight-bearing lameness of the right hind limb associated with penetrating tarsal wounds. Arthritis of the tarsal joint and osteomyelitis of the talus were initially evident. Tarsal arthrodesis was performed 7 months after initial injury, but the lameness persisted. Ten months later, blastomycosis was diagnosed on the basis of results of histologic examination of bone biopsy specimens and serologic tests. No other site of involvement was detected. The limb was amputated, and Blastomyces dermatitidis was isolated from the affected bone. Adjuvant antifungal treatment was not given. Ten months after amputation, the dog was in good health, and the antibody titer for B dermatitidis was low, indicating resolution of the infection. Localized bone infection with B dermatitidis is rare in dogs. In this dog, it was believed that blastomycosis was contracted through direct inoculation of the organism, because the lesion was associated with puncture wounds and other sites of involvement were not found.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8944801/