Disseminated opportunistic fungal disease in dogs: 10 cases (1982-1990)
Watt, P.R.; Robins, G.M.; Galloway, A.M.; O'Boyle, D.A.
Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 207(1): 67-70
1995
ISSN/ISBN: 0003-1488 PMID: 7601696 Document Number: 447062
Medical records of 9 German Shepherd dogs and 1 German Shepherd cross, in which fungal infection was diagnosed between 1982 and 1990, were reviewed. In each dog, infection was caused by a single species of fungus, either Aspergillus terreus, Penicillium sp., Paecilomyces sp., Chrysosporium sp., or Pseudallescheria boydii. The commonest clinical signs were neck or back pain (9 dogs), weight loss (7 dogs), anorexia (6 dogs), pyrexia (6 dogs), paresis (3 dogs), and paralysis (3 dogs). All dogs had evidence of multiple sites of discospondylitis. Urine sediment was examined in 6 dogs, and all 6 had fungal hyphae. Urine samples from these dogs produced a medium to heavy pure growth of fungi on Sabouraud's medium. Predisposing causes were not identified in any of the dogs. Four dogs were killed immediately after diagnosis because of paralysis or paresis. The other 6 dogs were treated: 4 of the 6 received itraconazole. One dog was killed for an unrelated problem after 21 months of treatment with itraconazole; 1 dog was still alive after 4 years of treatment with itraconazole. The other 4 dogs were killed because of eventual paralysis or paresis. It is suggested that German Shepherd dogs are predisposed to infection with opportunistic fungi, possibly because of a specific inability to mount an effective response.