Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Unusual sheathed microfilariae found in dog needle biopsy
By P. Preena et al.·Published in Journal of Veterinary and Animal Sciences·2021·District Veterinary Centre, Kannur, Department of Animal Husbandry, Kerala, India, IN·View original on DOAJ →
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Original publication title: Unusual cytological finding of sheathed microfilariae in a fine needle aspirate: a case report
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 5-year-old mixed-breed dog was brought to the vet with swelling in the right front leg, chronic non-healing sores, and hair loss in the affected area. The vet performed a fine needle aspiration (a method to collect cells) and found unusual parasites called microfilariae, which are linked to a mosquito-borne infection known as filariasis. This finding helped confirm the diagnosis, allowing the vet to start the appropriate treatment for the infection. After beginning treatment, the dog's condition improved, and the swelling and sores began to heal.
People also search for: dog leg swelling treatment · dog skin sores causes · microfilariae in dogs
Abstract
Filariasis is a neglected mosquito-borne tropical parasitic disease with public health importance in tropical and subtropical countries. Canine filarial infections are caused by many nematode species such as Dirofilaria immitis, D. repens, Brugia pahangi, B. malayi and Acanthocheilonema reconditum (Satjawongvanit et al., 2019). Microfilariae of Brugia spp. are sheathed while those of others are non-sheathed (Ravindran et al., 2014). Canine filarial infections are highly endemic to the state of Kerala with the reports of prevalence of microfilaraemia ranging from 8.1 per cent in Thrissur district to very high prevalence of 42.68 per cent in Alappuzha district (Chirayath et al., 2017; Ravindran et al., 2014). The major clinical signs in dogs associated with circulating microfilariae are fever, anorexia, conjunctivitis, dermatitis, oedema of limb and scrotum (Tarello, 2011). The traditional methods for identification of the microfilariae are based on morphological microscopic observation of Giemsa stained peripheral blood smears. Despite the high prevalence of filarial infections in dogs, it is infrequent to find the microfilariae in fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in suspected cases of limb oedema. The demonstration of microfilariae in the aspirate or body fluids plays a pivotal role in diagnosis of the condition and institution of specific treatment modalities, especially in case of lymphatic filariasis (Panicker et al., 2012). In the present communication, a case of canine filarial infection with right forelimb oedema, chronic nonhealing ulcers and localized alopecia diagnosed based on fine needle aspiration cytology ( FNAC) is discussed
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Search related cases →Original publication on DOAJ: https://doi.org/10.51966/jvas.2021.52.1.92-94