Rangelia vitalii infection in a dog from São Paulo city, Brazil: case report

Abstract

Canine rangeliosis is an extravascular hemolytic disease caused by the protozoan Rangelia vitalii, which is transmitted by ticks of the species Amblyomma aureolatum. Te most common clinical signs are apathy, hyperthermia and spontaneous bleeding. Anemia and thrombocytopenia are the most common hematological fndings. Tis work reports a clinical case of canine Rangeliosis treated at a private veterinary hospital, in São Paulo city in 2017. A dog was treated at a veterinary hospital in the north of São Paulo, with progressive weight loss, apathy and tail injury. Anemia and thrombocytopenia were observed on the hemogram. Rangelia vitalii DNA was detected in animal blood by real-time PCR (qPCR). In addition to the supportive treatment, doxycycline and subcutaneous imidocarb applications were used. Te sample collected afer treatment with the antibiotic continued to present protozoal DNA. Te disease should be considered as a diferential diagnosis and there is a great need for further studies about the therapy used.

Molecular evaluation of piroplasms and hematological changes in canine blood stored in a clinical laboratory in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro

“…Although this species is the one most widely reported in Brazil, other piroplasms have been identified infecting domestic dogs in this country, which are more pathogenically aggressive, such as Babesia gibsoni in the south (Trapp et al, 2006) and Rangelia vitalii in different states in the south and southeast regions of Brazil (Soares et al, 2011;Silva et al, 2019), including cities in the mountain region of the state of Rio de Janeiro (Lemos et al, 2017). Other species and even other genera that are not expected to infect domestic dogs have also been detected through molecular techniques.…”