Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Severe brain infection from calvarial oomycete in a dog
By Shmalberg, Justin et al.·Published in Open veterinary journal·2020·Department of Comparative, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Severe meningoencephalitis secondary to calvarial invasion offormain a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 6-year-old mixed-breed dog was brought to the vet with a 2-month history of a suspected fungal infection near her jaw that didn’t improve with surgery or medication. The vet found a large mass and performed tests that confirmed the presence of a rare fungus called forma. Initially, the dog was treated with steroids and hyperbaric oxygen therapy, but after four weeks, she developed serious neurological symptoms. Unfortunately, the situation worsened, and the dog was euthanized; postmortem tests showed that the infection had spread to her brain.
People also search for: dog fungal infection jaw · mixed-breed dog neurological symptoms · forma infection in dogs treatment
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The oomyceteformais an uncommon cause of severe dermal and subcutaneous infections in dogs with possible vascular invasion and other fatal sequelae. Infection within the central nervous system of affected dogs has not been previously reported. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 6-year-old spayed female mixed-breed dog was evaluated at a referral institution with a 2-month history of suspected fungal infection in the region of the right mandibular lymph node that was refractory to surgical resection and empiric medical therapy. Physical examination identified a 6-cm fluctuant subcutaneous mass caudoventral to the ramus of the right mandible and a second firm mass in the region of the right caudal maxilla. Lesional punch biopsies were submitted for fungal culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which subsequently identifiedformainfection. Initial treatment consisted of anti-inflammatory doses of prednisone and hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Four weeks following initial evaluation, the patient was presented with progressive neurological signs consistent with a forebrain lesion. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed soft-tissue, contrast-enhancing lesions ventral to the calvarium adjacent to the site of original surgical resection and throughout the brain. Humane euthanasia was elected, and postmortem examination was consistent with the extension of local disease from the right masseter muscle into the right ventral calvarium. Postmortem DNA sequencing confirmed the identity of the organism asforma. CONCLUSION: This is the first reported case of intracranial lagenidiosis in the dog. PCR distinguished this species from otherspecies and from oomycetes of other genera, such asand. Regional extension of cutaneous lagenidiosis should therefore be considered in cases with concurrent or spontaneous neurologic disease.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32426254/