Dog in southern Brazil with pneumonia from Talaromyces and distemper

Abstract

The pathological and molecular findings associated with Talaromyces marneffei-induced pneumonia with concomitant infection by canine distemper virus (CDV) are described in a dog. The principal pathological alteration occurred in the lungs. Histopathology confirmed multifocal granulomatous pneumonia associated with numerous intralesional and intracellular septate fission cells consistent with T. marneffei. A molecular assay designed to amplify a partial fragment of the 18S rRNA gene of T. marneffei provided positive results from two fungal cultures derived from the lung. Sequencing and phylogenetic analyses confirmed the results of polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Furthermore, antigens of the CDV N protein were identified within the bronchial epithelium by immunohistochemistry and a PCR assay amplified the CDV N gene from hepatic and pulmonary fragments. Collectively, the pathological and molecular techniques confirmed a diagnosis of T. marneffei-induced pneumonia with concomitant infection by CDV. These findings represent the first description of pulmonary penicilliosis in the dog and extend the geographical niche of this emerging infectious pathogen. In this case, infection by CDV may have induced immunosuppression, which facilitated the development of pulmonary penicilliosis.