Parasites, Hosts and Diseases

The Korea Society for Parasitology and Tropical Medicine (대한기생충학·열대의학회)
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First Case of Canine Infection with Hepatozoon canis (Apicomplexa: Haemogregarinidae) in the Republic of Korea

  • Received : 2016.04.04
  • Accepted : 2016.11.11
  • Published : 2017.10.31
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Abstract

This report describes a dog infected with Hepatozoon canis, the first canine infection in the Republic of Korea. A 2-year-old intact male Maltese dog presented with anorexia and depression. Physical examinations revealed mild dehydration and hyperthermia ($39.8^{\circ}C$), and blood analysis showed pancytopenia. Diff-Quik staining of blood smear specimens showed the presence of ellipsoidal shaped structures (gamonts of H. canis) within a small number of neutrophils. Real-time PCR analysis using whole blood confirmed infection by H. canis. The clinical condition of the dog improved after symptomatic treatment and administration of doxycycline. Although a molecular epidemiologic survey in Korea showed H. canis infection of dogs, to our knowledge this is the first report of a dog infection in Korea molecularly shown to be H. canis.

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References

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