Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with chronic bloody diarrhea diagnosed with Prototheca zopfii
By Ribeiro, Márcio Garcia et al.·Published in Research in veterinary science·2009·Department of Veterinary Hygiene and Public Health, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of Prototheca zopfii in a dog with enteric signs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
An 8-year-old male mixed breed dog was brought in with chronic bloody diarrhea, loss of appetite, and weight loss. Tests revealed he had an infection caused by a type of algae called Prototheca zopfii. After confirming the diagnosis through various lab tests, the dog received treatment for this unusual infection. Fortunately, the treatment was successful, and the dog showed improvement in his symptoms.
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Abstract
This is a case report of enteric protothecosis caused by Prototheca zopfii in an eight-year-old male mixed breed dog with a history of chronic bloody diarrhea, loss of appetite and weight loss. Algae were isolated from rectal scrapings in defibrinated sheep blood agar and dextrose Sabouraud agar. Cytological evaluation showed the presence of globular and cylindrical organisms with a defined capsule and variable number of endospores, characteristic of the genus Prototheca, in the rectum of the animal. Scanning electron microscopy of P. zopfii strains at different development stages confirmed the diagnosis of algal infection. Molecular identification using a conserved 18S rDNA gene sequence determined that the strain belonged to genotype 2. This report describes success on treatment of canine protothecosis, diagnosed based on clinical, cytological, microbiological, scanning electron microscopy and genotypical findings.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19520405/