Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with skin inflammation linked to unknown Toxoplasma-like parasite
By Dubey, J P et al.·Published in Veterinary parasitology·2003·Animal and Natural Resources Institute, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Dermatitis in a dog associated with an unidentified Toxoplasma gondii-like parasite.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 6-year-old female Great Dane from Brazil developed skin problems that were linked to an unidentified parasite similar to Toxoplasma gondii. Unfortunately, the dog passed away due to a chronic illness related to another organism. During examination, several parasites were found in the dog's skin lesions, but they did not match known types of Toxoplasma or other related parasites. This case highlights a new type of protozoan that can affect a dog's skin, but specific treatments were not mentioned.
People also search for: dog skin problems · Great Dane dermatitis · Toxoplasma-like parasite in dogs · dog skin infection treatment
Abstract
Protozoal dermatitis was diagnosed in a 6-year-old female Great Dane dog from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The dog died because of a chronic illness with an Ehrlichia-like organism. Numerous apicomplexan parasites were identified histologically in the section of dermal lesions. The protozoan reacted with Toxoplasma gondii polyclonal rabbit serum but not with Neospora caninum or Sarcocystis neurona antibodies. Ultrastructurally, the protozoa was not T. gondii because it had schizont-like structures with merozoites arranged around a prominent residual body, and the merozoites had several rhoptries with electron-dense contents; rhoptries in T. gondii tachyzoites are electron-lucent and a residual body is not found in groups of tachyzoites. This is the first report of unidentified T. gondii-like protozoa in the skin of a dog.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14519327/