Clinico-pathological Diagnosis of Transmissible Venereal Tumour with Hepatozoon canis and Babesia canis Infection in a Chippiparai Dog

Abstract

Background: The concurrent infection of tick borne haemoprotozoan diseases like B.canis, E.canis and H.canis were commonly recorded in breed dogs. There is paucity in recording the combined haemoprotozoan infection with neoplasms in the native breeds of Tamil Nadu. The current investigation was documented to study the clinico-pathological changes, diagnosis and treatment of the concomitant infection of Hepatozoon canis and Babesia canis along with transmissible venereal tumor in a native dog.Methods: This Clinical investigation was carried out during April’ 2019 for about a month. A male Chippiparai dog was presented to the Veterinary Clinical Complex, VCRI, Tirunelveli with history of mass and bleeding from the genital area. The impression cytology from the mass and the whole blood and serum samples were collected for the laboratory diagnosis.Result: The hematological examination showed marked anaemia and the blood smear revealed the presence of H.canis gamonts in neutrophils and B.canis piroplasm in red bloods cells. The serum biochemical values showed the elevation of alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine and reduction of total protein, albumin. The impression cytology revealed the presence of uniform sheets discrete round cells with punctuate vacuolation in the cytoplasm, confirmed the sexually transmitted venereal tumor.

Hepatozoon canis - An Insidious Pathogen and its Morphological Alterations in Chippiparai Dogs

“…The cytological study from the genital mass confirmed the presence of transmissible venereal tumour and the blood smear of the same dogs also had the gamonts in the neutrophils. In one Babesia canis co-infected anaemic dog and a dog with continuous bleeding in genital mass had severe reduction in haematological parameters were observed viz., reduction in haemoglobin, packed cell volume and red blood cells [3]. The blood smears of that case were diagnosed as concomitant infection of B. canis and H. canis (Figure 1).…”

“…In most of these cases, neutrophilic leucocytosis is recorded due to the concurrent infections [13]. To the best of author's knowledge, the morphological alterations of H. canis gamonts and the nucleus (Figure 3 and spleen [3]. In the solitary cases, only in one case there was mild elevation of ALT and ALP might be due to more severity in concentration of parasites and its multiplication [13].…”

“…The Chippiparai is a native hound group dog breed used mainly for hunting purpose of Southern parts of Tamil Nadu, India. The sturdy nature of the native dogs resists many parasitic diseases, but under stress due to excessive exercise, hunting, pregnancy and immune suppression due to steroidal drugs for other diseases, therapy for transmissible venereal tumour made the mongrels susceptible to the haemoprotozoan infection when the dogs is having tick infection [3].…”