[A case of alveolar hydatid disease in a dog: domestic animals as rare incidental intermediate hosts for Echinococcus multilocularis].
A 2-years old male Labrador retriever dog was presented with intermittent therapy-resistant diarrhoea, accompanied by vomiting, inappetence, apathy, and mild fever. The blood analysis showed an anaemia, neutrophilia, eosinophilia, and increased liver enzymes. Abdominal palpation was slightly painful. X-rays and echography revealed a severely enlarged liver with multiple cavernous structures. Histopathologic examination of liver biopsies showed a severe chronic granulomatous hepatitis with numerous parasitic cysts. Morphology of the cysts was compatible with the metacestode stage of Echinococcus multilocularis. The dog was only 2-years old at the time of diagnosis. Although alveolar hydatid disease of the liver is rare in dogs, it should be envisaged as a possible differential diagnosis in cases of space-occupying processes in the liver, even in young animals, as the incubation period of this disease in the dog can be considerably shorter than in humans.
Heier
A
A
Universität Zürich.
Geissbühler
U
U
Sennhauser
D
D
Scharf
G
G
Kühn
N
N
D000818:Animals; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000473:pathology; D004285:Dogs; D004443:Echinococcosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D048210:Echinococcus multilocularis / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D008099:Liver / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D011859:Radiography; D014463:Ultrasonography