Successful Treatments and Management of A Case of Canine Melioidosis

Abstract

This communication presents a successful story of an attempt to treat and manage a case of canine melioidosis, a severe tropical disease caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei. A 10-year-old dog was trapped with barbed wires, causing an infected wound around its neck and back, which was later diagnosed as severe melioidosis. The dog was treated based on a modified human protocol. Intravenous meropenem injections (20 mg/kg twice daily) were given for 14 days to prevent death from sepsis prior to treatment with oral sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (25 mg/kg twice daily) for 20 weeks to eliminate the bacteria. Canine melioidosis is an unusual infection in dogs, even in Thailand where melioidosis is highly endemic. This successful case management was solely based on proper diagnosis and appropriate treatments.

Seroprevalence of melioidosis and its association with blood profiles and pathogens in sheltered dogs in southern Thailand

“…Anemia and leukocytosis have previously been reported in dogs with melioidosis [20] but not in our study. This difference can be attributed to the fact that the dogs in our study had asymptomatic infections, characterized by normal appetite and absence of clinical signs.…”

“…According to the results of this study, approximately 6% of the tested dogs showed seropositivity for B. pseudomallei. It is worth noting that canine melioidosis has been documented in only three articles, encompassing a total of five dogs, and two of these studies (involving two dogs) featured canine cases from Thailand [20][21][22]. However, PLT may play an important role in B. pseudomallei infection because thrombocytopenia has been previously reported in one dog with melioidosis [20] and in 31% of human patients [32,33].…”

“…It is worth noting that canine melioidosis has been documented in only three articles, encompassing a total of five dogs, and two of these studies (involving two dogs) featured canine cases from Thailand [20][21][22]. However, PLT may play an important role in B. pseudomallei infection because thrombocytopenia has been previously reported in one dog with melioidosis [20] and in 31% of human patients [32,33]. Patients with severe symptoms of melioidosis have significantly lower PLT counts than those with less severe disease [32,33].…”

“…Most studies on melioidosis primarily focus on human and livestock cases [12,[14][15][16][17][18][19], often neglecting companion animals such as dogs [20][21][22], which are the most popular companion animals [23]. It should be noted, however, that dogs may develop melioidosis in contact with contaminated soil or water, especially in endemic areas, and may transmit it to their owners.…”

“…At present, there is a very limited report of canine melioidosis worldwide, and no epidemic study has been conducted to date [20][21][22]. This study aimed to estimate the seroprevalence of melioidosis in sheltered dogs in southern Thailand and to determine whether the disease is associated with blood chemistry, hematology, or blood pathogen infection.…”