Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Massive pentastomiasis infection in a Schnauzer dog
By Brookins, M D et al.·Published in Veterinary pathology·2009·Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathology, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Massive visceral pentastomiasis caused by Porocephalus crotali in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 5-year-old male Schnauzer was found to have a serious infection caused by a type of parasite called Porocephalus crotali, which is usually found in snakes. The dog showed no specific symptoms, but during a necropsy (an examination after death), numerous parasites were discovered in various organs, including the lymph nodes, liver, and lungs. This case is particularly rare, as this type of parasite has only been reported in dogs once before. Unfortunately, the outcome for this dog was not mentioned, but the findings highlight the importance of recognizing unusual infections in pets.
People also search for: dog parasite infection symptoms · Schnauzer health issues · rare dog diseases · what is pentastomiasis in dogs · dog lung infection treatment
Abstract
The testes of a 5-year-old, male, crossbred Schnauzer dog were the indicator organs for detection of massive pentastomiasis. Necropsy revealed numerous additional encysted parasites within the mesenteric lymph nodes, omentum, liver, sub-serosa of the small and large intestines, mesentery, and lungs. The nymphs had a pseudosegmented body, containing large eosinophilic glands and a chitinous cuticle with characteristic pores. Their hook configuration was consistent with that of Porocephalus. A pentastomid-specific 18S rRNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was designed and used to amplify template for sequencing. The sequence of the PCR product was 99.7% homologous with the reference sequence for P. crotali. This pentastomid parasite has been reported in North American snakes of genera Crotalus and Agkistrodon. Mammals are intermediate hosts, and snakes are the definitive hosts. Porocephalus crotali has been reported in dogs only once, and molecular methods have not been used previously to identify the species in clinical pentastomiasis.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19176495/