Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog develops anemia and low platelets after massive bee stings
By Nair, Rajeev et al.·Published in Veterinary clinical pathology·2019·Department of Biomedical Sciences·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Hemolytic anemia, spherocytosis, and thrombocytopenia associated with honey bee envenomation in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 14-month-old male Belgian Malinois from St. Kitts was brought in after being stung by a large number of honey bees. The dog showed symptoms of severe anemia, low platelet counts, and other blood issues shortly after the stings. Fortunately, after receiving glucocorticoids and supportive care, the dog made a full recovery. This case highlights the serious effects that bee stings can have on dogs, particularly in cases of massive envenomation.
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Abstract
This case report describes a massive honey bee envenomation in a 14-month-old male Belgian Malinois dog from St. Kitts, West Indies. Acute and delayed onsets of hemolytic anemia, echinocytosis, spherocytosis, thrombocytopenia, hemoglobinemia, and hemoglobinuria developed following envenomation. The dog recovered after treatment with glucocorticoids and supportive therapy. Spherocytosis, hemolysis, and thrombocytopenia in patients with massive bee envenomation are likely due to the direct toxic effects of the primary components of bee venom, melittin and phospholipase A(PLA). Mellitin causes hemolysis by forming large pores in erythrocytes resulting in leakage of hemoglobin and also causes spectrin stiffening and resultant echinocyte and spherocyte formation. Melittin also stimulates PLA, a hydrolase that causes echinocytosis and spherocytosis, in vivo and in vitro, and mitochondrial breakdown in platelets. However, delayed manifestations could be attributed to immune-mediated mechanisms from the generation of antibodies against damaged erythrocytes and platelet membrane proteins.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31228292/