Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Skin sores in cats from Central-west Brazil caused by leishmaniasis
By Headley, Selwyn Arlington et al.·Published in Veterinary parasitology, regional studies and reports·2019·Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Immunohistochemical characterization of cutaneous leishmaniasis in cats from Central-west Brazil.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
Two cats in Brazil were suffering from chronic skin sores on their noses and ears, which were initially thought to be cancer. However, tests showed that they actually had an infection caused by a parasite called Leishmania. This infection led to the skin lesions and also caused abnormal nail growth. The findings suggest that these types of skin problems in cats could be due to Leishmania infection rather than cancer, which is important for proper diagnosis and treatment.
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Abstract
Feline leishmaniasis (FeL) is an emerging infectious disease of cats caused by Leishmania infantum with global distribution. This study investigated the cause of chronic progressive cutaneous lesions in two cats from Central-west Brazil by using cytological, histopathologic, and immunohistochemical (IHC) analyses. Clinically, both cats had ulcerative cutaneous lesions at the nasal planum and ear resulting in a tentative diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Moreover, both cats had varying degrees of onychogryphosis. However, cytology revealed chronic inflammatory reactions associated with intralesional amastigotes; histopathology confirmed chronic ulcerative dermatitis associated with intralesional and intracytoplasmic parasitic organisms consistent with amastigotes of Leishmania spp. within histiocytes. The IHC assay demonstrated that the intralesional parasitic structures identified by cytology and histopathology were immunoreactive to antigens of Leishmania spp., confirming the participation of this infectious disease agent in the development of the cutaneous lesions of these cats. The observation of onychogryphosis must be highlighted, since this lesion is frequently observed in dogs with visceral leishmaniasis but is underreported in FeL. Collectively, the pathologic and IHC findings of the chronic cutaneous disease confirmed active infections due to Leishmania spp. in these cats. Additionally, FeL with associated lesions to the ear and nasal planum must be considered as differential diagnosis for SCC in cats.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31303238/