Disseminated histoplasmosis in an African pygmy hedgehog

Abstract

Histoplasmosis can develop in a wide range of mammalian species. African pygmy hedgehogs are becoming increasingly popular as exotic pets, and vague signs of illness and splenomegaly are often attributed to hemolymphatic malignancies, which are somewhat common in this species. Practitioners should be aware that similar clinical signs may be associated with histoplasmosis in these animals. Although the hedgehog of this report was confined indoors, it originated from an area where histoplasmosis was endemic; this indicates that the disease should be included as a differential diagnosis for hedgehogs that develop vague signs of illness and are known to originate from such geographic regions.

Important Mycoses of Wildlife: Emphasis on Etiology, Epidemiology, Diagnosis, and Pathology—A Review: PART 1

“…Histoplasmosis is primarily a respiratory and systemic infection [ 82 , 85 ]. Natural infections of Histoplasma have been reported in captive and wild animals [ 84 , 86 , 87 ].…”

“…Clinicopathologic findings in African pygmy hedgehogs ( Atelerix albiventris ) with histoplasmosis included anemia, thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, hypoproteinemia, and hypoglycemia [ 87 ].…”

African Hedgehogs

“…65 Other causes include suboptimal environmental temperature, inanition due to inappropriate or novel foods, dental problems, and cage-mate competition. Examples include advanced meningeal lymphoma without neurologic signs, debilitating acariasis without evident pruritus, severe gastric ulceration without gastrointestinal signs, and extensive pneumonia without respiratory signs.…”

Histoplasmosis diseminada en una gacela dorca (Gazella dorcas neglecta) mantenida en condiciones de cautividad en España

“…En la India, Chandel y Kher 2 , describen un caso insólito de histoplasmosis en camellos (Camelus dromedarius). Se han publicado otros casos de histoplasmosis en perros en Japón 6 , en équidos en Etiopía 1,7 , y en erizo pigmeo 8 . Recientemente, en el Africam Safari, un espacio localizado en el estado de Puebla (México), Arely et al describen la infección natural por H. capsulatum de una mara o liebre de la Patagonia (Dolichotis patagonum) (datos no publicados), y en Guadalajara (Jalisco, México), Espinosa et al 9 describen la infección de un leopardo en cautiverio.…”