Angiostrongylus vasorum infection in 23 dogs (1999–2002)

Abstract

Angiostrongylosis was diagnosed in 23 dogs presenting to the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals between June 1999 and August 2002. The animals' clinical records were reviewed retrospectively and certain risk factors were compared with a control population of 3407 dogs. Twenty-two of the 23 dogs were from south-east England and dogs from Surrey (n=8) were significantly overrepresented. There were also significantly more Cavalier King Charles spaniels (n=5) and Staffordshire bull terriers (n=5) among the affected dogs than in the control group. The median age of affected dogs was 10 months (range five to 90 months). The most common presenting signs were cough (65 per cent), dyspnoea (43 per cent), haemorrhagic diathesis (35 per cent) and collapse (26 per cent). Four dogs were thrombocytopenic and eight had significant prolongations in prothrombin time and/or activated partial thromboplastin time. Thoracic radiographs were abnormal in 18 of 19 dogs. A variety of changes were observed, the most typical being a patchy alveolar-interstitial pattern affecting the dorsocaudal lung fields. Angiostrongylus vasorum larvae were found in seven of 10 bronchoalveolar lavage specimens and 19 of 19 faecal samples. Three dogs died shortly after admission to the hospital. The remainder were successfully treated with fenbendazole at a dose of 50 mg/kg for five to 21 days. A vasorum should now be considered endemic to south-east England.

Pathological Findings in Dogs Naturally Infected with Angiostrongylus Vasorum in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

“…However, presenting clinical signs can be quite variable and include anorexia, stunted growth, weight loss, weakness, depression, vomiting, collapse, lameness, subcutaneous swelling, bleeding disorders, hypercalcemia, disseminated intravascular coagulation, and neurological signs. 1,4,8,11,12,16,21,24,27,35,36 Unfortunately, in the present study the authors were unable to assess the dogs antemortem, and clinical histories in 6 of 7 infected dogs were not available. Thus, the severity of clinical signs resulting from the pathological changes observed could not be correlated to clinical disease.…”

First report of a fatal autochthonous canine Angiostrongylus vasorum infection in Belgium

“…The present case was characterized by major neurological signs associated with very mild respiratory signs. A minor proportion (approximately 4%) of A. vasorum infected dogs presents neurological disorders [20][21][22]. This central nervous system implication would result primarily from hemorrhages in the CNS induced by coagulation disturbances or alternatively by migrating larvae [22,23].…”

Combined Serological Detection of Circulating Angiostrongylus vasorum Antigen and Parasite-specific Antibodies in Dogs from Hungary

“…The adult parasite lives in the pulmonary arteries and right cardiac ventricle of dogs, foxes and other wild carnivores, which are infected through the ingestion of obligatory intermediate hosts (snails or slugs) (Guilhon and Bressou 1960;Guilhon and Cens 1973) or paratenic hosts (Bolt et al 1993) containing the infectious third stage larvae. Clinical signs in dogs most frequently include respiratory signs such as coughing and dyspnoea, but a broad range of further signs indicating coagulopathies or neurological dysfunctions (Chapman et al 2004;Staebler et al 2005;Wessmann et al 2006;Koch and Willesen 2009), may be the signs most obvious to clinicians and animal owners. This variability and the fact that the disease is often in an advanced stage when noticed by the animal owners make the diagnosis of A. vasorum infections challenging but important: the sooner an appropriate anthelmintic treatment is initiated, the better for the clinical recovery of the dogs and limitation of damage, especially to lung tissues (Dennler et al 2011;Schnyder et al 2009).…”