BackgroundDisseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) is an acquired disorder characterized by the activation of intravascular coagulation and excessive fibrin formation. It always occurs in association with other clinical conditions, including parasitic diseases. DIC has been described as a unusual complication in human and canine visceral leishmaniasis.Case presentationDIC was found in a seven-year-old male mongrel dog naturally infected by Leishmania (Leishmania) chagasi. Haemostasis parameters demonstrated changes in primary and secondary haemostasis and fibrinolysis.ConclusionDIC is a unusual condition described in canine visceral leishmaniasis and it seems to be associated with several immunological and pathological mechanisms involved in the disease.

SPOROTRICHOSIS is a subcutaneous mycosis caused by the dimorphic fungus Sporothrix schenckii. In domestic cats, sporotrichosis is characterised by the presence of ulcerated and nodular cutaneous lesions, which may be disseminated (Rippon 1988).The treatment of feline sporotrichosis is difficult and represents a challenge to veterinarians (Barros and others 2004) since there are few therapeutic options and the drugs used may have adverse effects (Welsh 2003). Itraconazole is effective and safe when compared to other oral antifungal agents, and is therefore the drug of choice for the treatment of the disease (Sykes and others 2001), especially in situations in which cost is not a limiting factor (Morris-Jones 2002). Local hyperthermia has been used as an alternative treatment for human patients with cutaneous or lymphocutaneous lesions (Hiruma and others 1987, Haruna and others 2006). However, there are no reports regarding the use of local hyperthermia in cases of feline sporotrichosis. This short communication describes a case of localised cutaneous sporotrichosis in a domestic cat that was treated with local hyperthermia.A seven-month-old neutered female crossbred cat, weighing 3·0 kg, was presented to the authors' laboratory with a clinical suspicion of sporotrichosis. Clinical examination revealed the presence of a single ulcerated cutaneous lesion with well-defined borders, measuring 0·7 cm in diameter, in the left lateral thoracic region, and swelling of the axillary lymph node on the same side. According to the owner, the lesion had become apparent approximately three months earlier.A sample of secretion from the lesion was collected for cytopathological analysis and mycological culture. Slides containing the impression of the secretion were stained with Giemsa; microscopic examination revealed the presence of oval and fusiform leveduriform structures. S schenckii was isolated and identified by mycological culture (Rippon 1988). Routine mycological examination consisted of seeding the sample on to Sabouraud's dextrose agar and mycobiotic agar (Difco), which was incubated at 25°C and observed for fungal growth for four weeks. Suspected isolates were subcultured on potato dextrose agar (Difco) at 25°C for macroscopic and microscopic morphological analysis, and dimorphism was demonstrated by conversion to the yeast-like form on brain heart infusion agar (Difco) at 37°C.

Cat scratch disease is a zoonosis caused by Bartonella species, transmitted to humans through scratches or bites from infected cats and via direct contact with infected feces. Sporotrichosis, caused by the fungal complex Sporothrix, is transmitted by traumatic inoculation of the fungus. Cats are important in zoonotic transmission. Serum samples from 112 domestic cats with sporotrichosis and 77 samples from healthy cats were analyzed by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA), using the commercial kit Bartonella henselae IFA IgG (Bion). The presence of antibodies against feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) core antigens was detected using the commercial kit Snap Combo FIV-FeLV (Idexx). The group of animals with sporotrichosis contained 93 males with a median age of 22 months, eight (7.1%) of which were positive for FIV and 15 (13.4%) for FeLV. The group of animals without sporotrichosis contained 36 males with a median age 48 months, 10 (13.0%) of which were positive for FIV and eight (10.4%) for FeLV. Of the 112 cats with sporotrichosis and 77 cats without mycosis, 72 (64.3%) and 35 (45.5%), respectively, were IFA reactive. No association was found between age, sex, FIV/FeLV and the presence of antibodies to Bartonella species. The results suggest that the study population can be considered a potential source of zoonotic infection for both diseases.