Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Neurological disease after distemper vaccine in Border Collie cross
By Fairley, R A et al.·Published in New Zealand veterinary journal·2015·a Gribbles Veterinary Pathology·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Post-vaccinal distemper encephalitis in two Border Collie cross littermates.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Two Border Collie cross littermates, a 4.5-month-old male and a 16-month-old female, developed serious neurological symptoms after receiving their distemper vaccinations. The younger dog showed aggression and seizures, while the older dog had excessive drooling and a dropped jaw, quickly becoming unresponsive. Both dogs were diagnosed with post-vaccinal canine distemper, a rare reaction to the vaccine. Unfortunately, the condition was severe, and the dogs exhibited significant brain inflammation linked to the distemper virus.
People also search for: Border Collie seizures after vaccination · dog aggression post-vaccine · distemper vaccine side effects in dogs
Abstract
CASE HISTORY: One 4.5-month-old male Border Collie cross presented with aggression and seizures in October 2006. A 16-month-old, female, spayed Border Collie cross presented with hypersalivation and a dropped jaw and rapidly became stuporous in September 2007. The dogs were littermates and developed acute neurological signs 5 and 27 days, respectively, after vaccination with different modified live vaccines containing canine distemper virus. HISTOPATHOLOGICAL FINDINGS: Sections of brain in both dogs showed evidence of encephalitis mainly centred on the grey matter of brainstem nuclei, where there was extensive and intense parenchymal and perivascular infiltration of histiocytes and lymphocytes. Intra-nuclear and intra-cytoplasmic inclusions typical of distemper were plentiful and there was abundant labelling for canine distemper virus using immunohistochemistry. DIAGNOSIS: Post-vaccinal canine distemper. CLINCIAL RELEVANCE: Post-vaccinal canine distemper has mainly been attributed to virulent vaccine virus, but it may also occur in dogs whose immunologic nature makes them susceptible to disease induced by a modified-live vaccine virus that is safe and protective for most dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25120026/