Canine hepatozoonosis in a 4 month old intact male german shepherd dog in Ibadan, South West Nigeria: A case report

Authors

  • J. O. Adejinmi Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Parasitology, University of Ibadan
  • O. O. Falohun Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Parasitology, University of Ibadan
  • E. T. Onyiche Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Parasitology, University of Ibadan
  • J. O. Awoyomi Department of Veterinary Public Health and Reproduction, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta
  • I. L. Usende Department of Veterinary Anatomy, University of Ibadan
  • S. T. Ogundare Sahel Veterinary Services, Abuja
  • O. O. Obebe Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Parasitology, University of Ibadan
  • O. B. Akinlabi Department of Veterinary physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology

Keywords:

Hepatozoon canis; Rhipicephalus sanguineus; Hematology; Serum Biochemistry; Dog; Nigeria

Abstract

Hepatozoonosis is caused by an apicomplexan haemoparasites of the genus Hepatozoon, which are closely related to Plasmodium spp. and piroplasms. A four month old intact male German shepherd dog was presented to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Ibadan, South west Nigeria with history of anorexia for a week and lethargy. All the necessary deworming and vaccination were up to date. Blood sample was collected for haematology and serum biochemistry as well as ticks from the body for identification. Hepatozoon canis gamonts were detected in peripheral blood smears of the dog stained with Giemsa.  The tick was identified as   Rhipicephalus sanguineus. Hematology revealed moderate anaemia, leucocytosis characterized by moderate neutrophilia without left shift and a moderate lymphocytosis. Serum biochemistry showed hypoalbuminaemia, hyperglobulinaemia and mild hyponatremia. The dog was successfully managed and recovery was completed by 4th week post treatment. The client was educated on the prevention of tick borne infections by periodic fumigation of the environment as well as regular acaricide tick bath and grooming of dog.

References

Assarasakorn, S.A., Niwetpathomwat, S., Techangamsuwan, S., Suvarnavibhaja, A., 2006. A retrospective study of clinical hematology and biochemistry of canine hepatozoonosis on hospital populations in Bangkok, Thailand. Comp. Clin. Pathol., 15, 107-109.

Baneth, G.J., Barta, R.D., Martin, S., Macintire, D.K., Vincent-Johnson, N., 2000. Genetic and antigenic evidence supports the separation of Hepatozoon canis and Hepatozoon americanum at the species level. J. Clin. Microbiol., 38, 1298-1301.

Baneth, G.J., Harmelin, A., Presentey, B.Z., 1995. Hepatozoon canis infection in two dogs. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc., 206, 1891-1894.

Baneth, G.J., Mathew, S., Shkap, V., Macintire, D.K., Barta, J.R., Ewing, S.A., 2003. Canine hepatozoonosis: two disease syndromes caused by separate Hepatozoon spp. Trend. Parasitol., 19, 27-31.

Baneth, G.J., Samish, M., Alekseev, E., Aroch, I., Shkap, V., 2001. Transmission of Hepatozoon canis to dogs by naturally-fed or percutaneously-injected Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks. J. Parasitol., 87, 606-611.

Baneth, G.J., Samish, M., Shkap, V., 2007. Life cycle of Hepatozoon canis (Apicomplexa: Adeleorina: Hepatozoidae) in the tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus and domestic dog (Canisfamiliaris). J. Parasitol., 93, 283-299.

Baneth, G.J., Weigler, B., 1997. Retrospective case-control study of hepatozoonosis in dogs in Israel. J. Vet. Intern. Med., 11, 365-370.

Gavazza, A., Bizzeti, M., Papini, R., 2003. Observations on dogs found naturally infected with Hepatozoon canis in Italy. Rev. Med. Vet., 154, 565-571.

Gondim, L.F.P., Konyagawa, A., Alencar, N.X., Biondo, A.W., Takahira, R.F., Franco, S.R.V., 1998. Canine hepatozoonosis in Brazil: description of eight naturally occurring cases. Vet Parasitol 74, 319-323.

Hervás, J.L., Carrasco, J.C., Gomez-Villamandos, J.C., Mendez, A., Sierra, M.A., 1995. Acute fatal hepatozoonosis in a puppy : histopathological and ultrastructural study. Vet. Rec., 137, 518-519.

Ivanov, A., Kanakov, D., 2003. First case of canine hepatozoonosis in Bulgaria. 6, 1,43-46, 2003.

Murata, T., Shiramizu, K., Hara, Y., Inoue, M., Shimoda, K., Nakama, S., 1991. First case of Hepatozoon canis infection of a dog in Japan. J. Vet. Med. Sci., 53, 1097-1099.

Panciera, R.J., Ewing, S.A., Mathew, J.S., et al., 1999. Canine hepatozoonosis: comparison of lesions and parasites in skeletal muscle of dogs experimentally or naturally infected with Hepatozoon americanum. Vet. Parasitol., 82, 261–272.

Soulsby, E.J.L., 1982. Helminths, Arthropod and Protozoa of Domesticated Animals. 7th Edn. London. Bailliere Tindall., pp. 469–495.

Vincent-Johnson, N., Macintire, D.k., Baneth, G., 1997. Canine hepatozoonosis : pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment. Comp. Cont. Educ. Pract. Vet., 119, 51-65.

Wall, R., Shearer, W., 1997. Veterinary Entomology. Arthropod Ectoparasites of Veterinary Importance. Chapman and Hall, London pp. 1 – 420.

Downloads

Published

2014-09-29

How to Cite

O. Adejinmi, J., O. Falohun, O., T. Onyiche, E., O. Awoyomi, J., L. Usende, I., T. Ogundare, S., O. Obebe, O., & B. Akinlabi, O. (2014). Canine hepatozoonosis in a 4 month old intact male german shepherd dog in Ibadan, South West Nigeria: A case report. Scientific Journal of Veterinary Advances, 3(9), 96-100. Retrieved from http://sjournals.com/index.php/sjva/article/view/1435

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 9 (2014): September

Section

Case Report

License

Copyright (c) 2014 J. O. Adejinmi, O. O. Falohun, E. T. Onyiche, J. O. Awoyomi, I. L. Usende, S. T. Ogundare, O. O. Obebe, O. B. Akinlabi

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.