Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Heart inflammation in 4 young dogs from canine distemper virus
By Kim, Dae Young et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc·2021·College of Veterinary Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Myocarditis caused by naturally acquired canine distemper virus infection in 4 dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Four puppies, aged 4 to 7 weeks, were brought in with heart problems caused by a naturally acquired infection of the canine distemper virus (CDV). They showed signs of myocarditis, which is inflammation of the heart muscle, along with other serious issues like pneumonia and liver damage. The presence of the virus in their hearts was confirmed through testing. Unfortunately, the outcome for these puppies was not detailed in the study, but it highlights the severe impact of CDV on young dogs.
People also search for: puppy heart problems · canine distemper virus symptoms · myocarditis in dogs treatment
Abstract
Canine distemper virus (CDV) has long been recognized as a cause of myocarditis; however, cases of myocarditis caused by naturally acquired CDV infection have been reported only rarely in dogs. We describe here our retrospective study of naturally acquired systemic CDV infection in 4 dogs, 4-7 wk old, that had myocarditis, with myocardial necrosis and fibrosis. One of the 4 dogs had intracytoplasmic eosinophilic inclusion bodies in cardiomyocytes. Other lesions included bronchointerstitial pneumonia (4 of 4), necrotizing hepatitis (2 of 4), splenic lymphoid necrosis (2 of 4), encephalitis (1 of 3; brain was not submitted in 1 case), and necrotizing gastroenteritis (1 of 4). The presence of CDV in the heart was confirmed by immunohistochemistry in all 4 dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33164720/