Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat with skin nodules diagnosed with Toxoplasma-like infection
By Little, Liz et al.·Published in Veterinary clinical pathology·2005·Department of Pathobiology, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Toxoplasma gondii-like organisms in skin aspirates from a cat with disseminated protozoal infection.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
An 8-year-old male domestic shorthair cat was brought to the vet after showing signs of lethargy, not eating, skin nodules, coughing, and vomiting for three days. Blood tests revealed several issues, including low red blood cells and platelets. The vet found unusual protozoal organisms in the cat's skin nodules, which were similar to Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite that can cause serious infections. This case is notable because it’s the first time such an infection has been identified in skin samples from a cat. Unfortunately, the abstract does not provide information on the treatment or outcome for this cat.
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Abstract
An 8-year-old, male domestic shorthair cat was referred to the Matthew J. Ryan Veterinary Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania with a 3-day history of lethargy, inappetance, hyperemic skin nodules, coughing, and vomiting. Laboratory results included nonregenerative anemia, lymphopenia, thrombocytopenia, hypoalbuminemia, hyponatremia, and increased alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase activities. Cytology of the skin nodules revealed many spindle- to crescent-shaped protozoal organisms, with morphology consistent with Toxoplasma gondii or Neospora caninum. Gross necropsy, histopathologic, immunohistochemical, and transmission electron microscopic findings confirmed a systemic protozoal infection; however, the organism exhibited characteristics of both N caninum and T gondii. Diagnosis of a T gondii-like infection was based on internal structures of the organism and positive reaction to rabbit polyclonal antibodies to T gondii. Reports of toxoplasmic dermatitis are rare in the cat and dog, and this is the first reported diagnosis of T gondii-like protozoa in skin aspirates.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15902669/