Disorders in blood circulation as a probable cause of death in dogs infected with Babesia canis
Published Online: Jul 05, 2021
Page range: 277 - 285
Received: Jan 18, 2021
Accepted: Jun 16, 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jvetres-2021-0036
Keywords
© 2021 W. Zygner et al. published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.
Introduction
The purpose of the study was to investigate post-mortem changes in dogs infected with
Material and Methods
Cadavers of six dogs that did not survive babesiosis were collected. Necropsies were performed and samples of various organs were collected for histological examination.
Results
Necropsies and histological examinations revealed congestion and oedemata in various organs. Most of the dogs had ascites, hydrothorax or hydropericardium, pulmonary oedema, pulmonary, renal, hepatic, and cerebral congestion, and necrosis of cardiomyocytes.
Conclusion
These results suggested disorders in blood circulation as the most probable cause of death. However, the pulmonary inflammatory response and cerebral babesiosis observed in some of these dogs could also be considered possible causes of death. This study also showed a possible role for renal congestion in the development of renal hypoxia and azotaemia in canine babesiosis.