Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Genital lesions in female dogs with Leishmania chagasi infection
By Silva, Fabiana L et al.·Published in Veterinary parasitology·2008·Departamento de Clí, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Genital lesions and distribution of amastigotes in bitches naturally infected with Leishmania chagasi.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of female dogs with and without symptoms of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CanL) were examined for genital lesions and the presence of the Leishmania parasite. The study found that all the infected dogs showed some signs of vulvar dermatitis, which is inflammation of the vulva, but only a few had the parasite present in their tissues. Interestingly, the findings suggest that Leishmania chagasi does not specifically target the genital area in female dogs, unlike what has been observed in male dogs. Overall, the results indicate that while there are some changes in the genital area, the parasite may not be as focused there in females.
People also search for: dog vulvar dermatitis treatment · canine leishmaniasis symptoms · female dog genital lesions
Abstract
Recent reports indicate that Leishmania chagasi has tropism to the male canine genital system, which is associated with shedding of the organism in the semen, supporting the hypothesis of venereal transmission. The aim of this study was to describe the lesions and assess parasite load in the genital system of bitches with canine visceral leishmaniasis (CanL). Symptomatic (n=5) and asymptomatic (n=5) bitches seropositive for CanL were randomly selected at the Center for Zoonosis Control (Belo Horizonte, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil). Five serologically negative, healthy, adult bitches also from the CZC were used as controls. Samples from genital organs (vulva, vagina, cervix, uterine body, uterine horns, uterine tubes, and ovaries), liver, and spleen were histologically evaluated and processed for immunodetection of Leishmania sp., and PCR. The most significant histological change was a mild to moderate vulvar dermatitis, characterized by a histio-plasma-lymphocytic infiltrate. This change was detected in all asymptomatic, four symptomatic, and three uninfected control bitches. In one symptomatic and one asymptomatic bitch intracytoplasmic amastigotes were observed within macrophages in the inflammatory infiltrate. Samples from all the segments of the genital tract were positive in at least one infected animal, in the absence of detectable amastigotes in the tissue. These findings support the notion that L. chagasi does not have genital tropism in the bitch, which is in contrast to our previous findings in naturally infected male intact dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18006233/