Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Spirocercosis infection rates in owned and stray dogs in Grenada
By Chikweto, A et al.·Published in Veterinary parasitology·2012·School of Veterinary Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Spirocercosis in owned and stray dogs in Grenada.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study found that 8.8% of owned dogs and 14.2% of stray dogs in Grenada had a parasitic infection called spirocercosis, caused by Spirocerca lupi. Symptoms included severe esophageal inflammation and, in some cases, complications like ruptured blood vessels and abnormal growths. Stray dogs were more affected than owned dogs, with some suffering from serious issues like spondylitis (spine inflammation) and even cancer. This research highlights the importance of monitoring for this infection in dogs, especially in tropical areas.
People also search for: dog esophagus problems · spirocercosis in dogs · dog spine inflammation treatment · stray dog health issues · dog cancer symptoms
Abstract
The aim of this retrospective study was to estimate the prevalence of Spirocerca lupi and its associated lesions in owned and stray dogs in Grenada. During 2001-2011 necropsies were carried out on 1022 owned and 450 stray dogs at the pathology diagnostic laboratory, School of Veterinary Medicine, St. George's University, Grenada. Lesions due to S. lupi characterized by focal to multifocal granulomatous esophagitis with aneurysms, mineralized plaques and nodules in the adjacent thoracic aorta were found in 90 (8.8%; 95% confidence interval, 7.1-10.5%) of owned dogs and 64 (14.2%; 95% CI, 11.2-17.6%) of stray dogs. Stray dogs were significantly more affected by spirocercosis than owned dogs (p=0.0022). Of the 90 owned dogs with spirocercosis, 3 dogs had aberrant migration to the thoracic vertebral column with resultant spondylitis; 1 dog each had aberrant migration involving the stomach and the lung. Two dogs had ruptured aorta with hemothorax. Among the 64 stray dogs with spirocercosis, one dog had an esophageal granuloma that transformed into a fibroblastic osteosarcoma; spondylitis due to aberrant migration of S. lupi and hypertrophic osteopathy. We report spirocercosis for the first time in the dogs from a tropical island of Grenada.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22841904/