Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with breathing trouble and cough caused by Onchocerca tracheal
By Papaioannou, N et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary medicine. A, Physiology, pathology, clinical medicine·2004·Department of Pathology·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Obstructive, granulomatous tracheitis caused by Onchocerca sp. in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 3-year-old spayed female dog was brought to the vet because she was having trouble breathing and coughing. X-rays showed that her trachea (the windpipe) was severely narrowed. Unfortunately, she died during a severe breathing episode. A post-mortem examination revealed that her trachea was blocked due to chronic inflammation caused by a type of worm called Onchocerca. This case is unusual because Onchocerca infections typically cause eye problems in dogs, not breathing issues.
People also search for: dog coughing and breathing problems · Onchocerca infection in dogs · dog trachea obstruction symptoms
Abstract
A 3-year-old spayed female dog was admitted with a history of episodes of dyspnoea and coughing. Severe tracheal stenosis was found on radiography. The dog died during an episode of refractory dyspnoea. Necropsy revealed an obstruction of the thoracic part of the trachea because of a chronic granulomatous inflammation protruding into the tracheal lumen. Histological examination revealed nematodes, which were identified as Onchocerca sp. according to their morphological characteristics. In contrast to the common ocular manifestation in dogs, obstructive tracheitis caused by Onchocerca infection has not been reported before.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15533118/