Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Muscle damage in Brazilian dogs with Hepatozoon infection and gene
By Paludo, Giane R et al.·Published in Parasitology research·2005·Faculdade de Agrononomia e Medicina Veteriná, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Hepatozoon spp.: pathological and partial 18S rRNA sequence analysis from three Brazilian dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Three dogs in Brazil were found to have a parasitic infection called hepatozoonosis, which was confirmed by examining their blood. They showed signs of muscle damage and degeneration when muscle samples were analyzed. Although the typical cysts associated with one type of this parasite were not found, the genetic analysis showed that the parasites were very similar to a strain previously identified in Japan. Further studies are needed to understand the different types of this parasite affecting dogs.
People also search for: dog muscle weakness hepatozoonosis · symptoms of hepatozoon infection in dogs · treatment for dog muscle degeneration
Abstract
Molecular and histopathological studies were carried out on samples from three Brazilian dogs with persistent hepatozoonosis parasitemia. Canine hepatozoonosis was confirmed by finding gametocytes in blood smears. Histopathological examination of skeletal muscle biopsy revealed muscle degeneration and atrophy, and degenerating/regenerating myofibers, similar to the muscle degeneration caused by Hepatozoon americanum . However, the large cystic structures typical of H. americanum were not observed in muscle biopsies from these dogs. Partial 18S rRNA sequences amplified by PCR from the three Brazilian samples demonstrated closest similarity to the Hepatozoon sp. Fukuoka described in Japan (>99% identity). These results indicate that both additional clinical cases and genes need examination in order to determine the phylogenetic relatedness among canid Hepatozoon species.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15988602/