Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat with leukemia died from severe lung toxoplasmosis in Brazil
By Pena, Hilda Fátima de Jesus et al.·Published in Revista brasileira de parasitologia veterinaria = Brazilian journal of veterinary parasitology : Orgao Oficial do Colegio Brasileiro de Parasitologia Veterinaria·2017·Departamento de Medicina Veteriná·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Fatal toxoplasmosis in an immunosuppressed domestic cat from Brazil caused by Toxoplasma gondii clonal type I.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A domestic cat in Brazil showed severe breathing problems and sadly died just three days later. The cat had a serious infection caused by Toxoplasma gondii, which is a parasite, and was also infected with feline leukemia virus (FeLV). During the examination after death, the cat's lungs showed significant damage, and tests confirmed the presence of the parasite. This case highlights a rare and severe form of toxoplasmosis linked to a specific strain of the parasite in a cat with a weakened immune system. Unfortunately, the cat did not survive despite the findings.
People also search for: cat breathing problems · feline leukemia virus symptoms · toxoplasmosis in cats treatment
Abstract
The objective of the study was to report on a fatal case of feline toxoplasmosis with coinfection with the feline leukemia virus (FeLV). A domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus) presented intense dyspnea and died three days later. In the necropsy, the lungs were firm, without collapse and with many white areas; moderate lymphadenomegaly and splenomegaly were also observed. The histopathological examination showed severe necrotic interstitial bronchopneumonia and mild necrotic hepatitis, associated with intralesional cysts and tachyzoites of Toxoplasma gondii that were positive by anti-T. gondii immunohistochemical (IHC) evaluation. The bone marrow showed chronic myeloid leukemia and the neoplastic cells were positive by anti-FeLV IHC evaluation. DNA extracted from lungs was positive for T. gondii by PCR targeting REP-529. T. gondii was characterized by PCR-RFLP and by the microsatellites technique. ToxoDB-PCR-RFLP #10, i.e. the archetypal type I, was identified. Microsatellite analysis showed that the strain was a variant of type I with two atypical alleles. This was the first time that a T. gondii clonal type I genotype was correlated with a case of acute toxoplasmosis in a host in Brazil.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28746448/