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Volume 29, Number 7—July 2023
Dispatch

Cutaneous Pythiosis in 2 Dogs, Italy

Andrea PeanoComments to Author , Anna Rita Molinar Min, Alessandra Fondati, Erica Romano, Chiara Brachelente, Ilaria Porcellato, Andrea Amore, and Mario Pasquetti
Author affiliations: Università di Torino, Turin, Italy (A. Peano, A.R. Molinar Min, M. Pasquetti); Veterinaria Trastevere, Rome, Italy (A. Fondati); Ospedale Veterinario Gregorio VII, Rome (E. Romano); Università degli Studi di Perugia, Perugia, Italy (C. Brachelente, I. Porcellato); Ambulatorio Veterinario Cassia, Cesano, Italy (A. Amore)

Main Article

Table

Anamnesis, clinical history, and manifestations in 2 dogs with cutaneous pythiosis, Italy*

Characteristics Case 1 Case 2
Date of referral visit
 October 2022
 January 2023
Breed and age
 4-year-old neutered female German Shepherd dog
 3-year-old male German Shepherd dog
Life habitat
 Dog lived in apartment and periodically swam in the Treja river near home (Rome province) and Lake Bracciano (32 km northwest of Rome), especially during hotter months.
 Dog lived in a house with another dog (adult Cane Corso without signs of disease) and had outdoor access to a garden. The dog regularly swam in Lake Bracciano.
Travel history
 In summer 2019 and 2020, the dog was taken to northwest Italy (Trentino area), where it occasionally swam in mountain lakes. The dog was never outside of Italy before onset of skin problems.
The dog was never outside of Italy before onset of skin problems.
History of skin problems
 Since October 2020, several subcutaneous masses, occasionally ulcerated, developed in different body areas and were surgically removed on different occasions. The last intervention was in May 2022 to remove a large mass on the tail base. A caudectomy was necessary because of massive involvement of tail tissue. Several histopathological evaluations over time showed roughly the same pattern of chronic pyogranulomatous dermatitis and panniculitis involving mastocytes, eosinophils, and neutrophils. Infectious organisms were never reported. The dog was treated with different antimicrobial drugs, glucocorticoids, and cyclosporine, which had no or only partial effect on disease evolution.
 In November 2022, an abscess formed on the flexor face of the left elbow and was incised to look for a foreign body (not found). The dog was treated with cephalexin and prednisone, then with clindamycin and prednisone, but showed no response. New lesions developed in other body areas.
Clinical manifestations at referral visit 2 large masses (≈10 cm × 12 cm × 10 cm) on the left axilla and right flank; a 3rd smaller mass with a small ulcer on the first digit of the left forelimb. Multiple dermal and subcutaneous papules and plaques of variable size, some with fistulae yielding serosanguineous exudate.

*Clinical manifestations are shown for both dogs (Figure 1).

Main Article

Page created: May 17, 2023
Page updated: June 20, 2023
Page reviewed: June 20, 2023
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