Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Enterococcus brain infection causing neurological signs in a dog
By Bridget Harvey et al.·Published in The Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association·2021·View original on Semantic Scholar →
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Original publication title: Enterococcus spp. Meningoencephalitis, Ventriculitis, and Hypophysitis in a Dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 13-year-old spayed female Yorkshire terrier was brought to the vet because she was acting dull, not eating, and had signs of gastrointestinal bleeding. Despite treatment, her condition worsened, and she developed neurological symptoms. Sadly, the dog was euthanized after three days in the hospital, and a necropsy revealed severe brain inflammation caused by a rare infection from Enterococcus bacteria. This type of infection is unusual in dogs, and it highlights the need for specific antibiotics if it occurs in the future.
People also search for: dog dullness and not eating · Yorkshire terrier neurological symptoms · Enterococcus infection in dogs
Abstract
A 13 yr old spayed female Yorkshire terrier was hospitalized for a dull mentation, anorexia, presumptive gastroenterocolitis, and a suspected gastrointestinal bleed with melena. Despite supportive therapy, the patient's clinical signs persisted. Throughout hospitalization, the patient became progressively dull to stuporous with a progressive hypernatremia. On day 3 of hospitalization, the patient acutely developed neurological signs with a neuroanatomical localization consistent with a process at the caudal cranial fossa. Per the owner's wishes, the patient was euthanized with necropsy performed. Histo-pathology revealed a suppurative meningoencephalitis, ventriculitis, hypophysitis, otitis interna, and an ulcerative pharyngitis. Aerobic culture collected from the area of the pituitary gland grew an Enterococcus spp. Enterococcal meningoencephalitis is rare in humans but has not been reported in veterinary medicine. In future cases of canine bacterial meningitis, Enterococcus spp. should be considered. Because of the inherent resistance patterns of Enterococcus spp., targeted antibiotic selection would be required for treatment.
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Search related cases →Original publication on Semantic Scholar: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/34606588