• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.403-406
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• 2014

A 6-year-old female Maltese (body weight, 3.1 kg) without clinical signs was referred for further evaluation of the cause of cardiac murmur. Thoracic radiography revealed right-sided cardiomegaly. Echocardiography showed marked hypertrophic remodeling of the right ventricular free wall and an anomalous muscular bundle and fibrous nodule near the subinfundibular portion of the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT), indicating a double-chambered right ventricle (DCRV). The turbulent flow from the anomalous muscular bundle to the main pulmonary artery was 4.6 m/sec, in addition to the tricuspid valvular regurgitation of 4.4 m/sec and main pulmonary artery flow of 1.1 m/sec. The dog is receiving atenolol (0.5 mg/kg) to minimize the deleterious cardiac effects of the high afterload, even though she remains asymptomatic. This report describes a case of DCRV, a rare congenital heart disease in dogs in South Korea.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.11-19
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• 2018

In Brazil, visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is expanding and becoming urbanized, especially in non-endemic areas such as the State of Rio Grande do Sul. Considering that infected dogs are the main reservoir for zoonotic VL, this study evaluated the prevalence of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) in the metropolitan area of Porto Alegre, a new area of expansion of VL in Brazil. Serum and plasma from 405 asymptomatic dogs from the municipalities of Canoas (n=107), $S\tilde{a}o$ Leopoldo (n=216), and Novo Hamburgo (n=82) were tested for CVL using immunochromatographic ($DPP^{(R)}$) and ELISA $EIE^{(R)}$ assays (2 assays officially adopted by the Brazilian government for the diagnosis of CVL) and real-time PCR to confirm the results. There was no agreement among serological and real-time PCR results, indicating that the Leishmania infection in asymptomatic animals with low parasite load, confirmed by negative parasitological tests (smears and parasite culture), need to be evaluated by molecular methods. The prevalence of LVC in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre, confirmed by real-time PCR was 4% (5.6% in Canoas and 4.6% in $S\tilde{a}o$ Leopoldo). The use of molecular method is essential for accurate diagnosis of CVL, especially in asymptomatic dogs in non-endemic areas.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.65-69
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• 2016

A 10-year-9-month-old spayed female Shih Tzu was presented with ocular discharge and corneal opacity to Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital of Seoul National University. Complete ophthalmic examination revealed bilateral keratoconjunctivitis sicca accompanied by the severe corneal neovascularization and edema in the right eye (OD). Ultrasound biomicroscopy incidentally showed an iridociliary mass located at 6~7 o'clock in the OD. No evidence of metastasis was observed on thoracic and abdominal radiography. Enucleation was selected and performed on the OD, considering the risk of metastasis or recurrence. Non-invasive and pigmented iridociliary adenoma was confirmed on histopathological evaluation.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.241-244
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• 2008

This study examined the prevalence of Brucella spp. and Leptospira interrogans in 360 clinically healthy dogs using multiplex nested PCR. Four dogs (1.1%, 2 females and 2 males) tested positive to Brucella spp. by multiplex nested PCR. Fifty nine (16.4%, 31 females and 28 males) of 360 dogs tested positive L. interrogans. In 1 and 2 of the samples that tested positive to Brucella spp. and L. interrogans, the partial sequences of the virB1 and 16S rRNA genes were identified by direct sequence analysis, respectively. In conclusion, prevalence of Brucella spp. and L. interrogans by multiplex nested PCR revealed low and high, respectively. Multiplex nested PCR is can be useful for early detection of Brucella spp. and L. interrogans in the canine blood from asymptomatic dogs.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.477-481
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• 2015

Giardia is a major public health concern and considered as reemerging in industrialized countries. The present study investigated the prevalence of giardiosis in 202 sheltered dogs using PCR. The infection rate was 33.2% (67/202); Gyeongsangbuk-do and Daejeon showed 25.7% (39/152, P<0.0001) and 56% (28/50), respectively. The prevalence of infected female dogs (46.7%, P<0.001) was higher than in male dogs (21.8%). A higher prevalence (43.5%, P<0.0001) was observed in mixed breed dogs than purebred (14.1%). Although most of the fecal samples collected were from dogs of ${\geq}1$ year of age which showed only 27.4% positive rate, 61.8% (P<0.001) of the total samples collected from young animals (<1 year of age) were positive for G. intestinalis. A significantly higher prevalence in symptomatic dogs (60.8%, P<0.0001) was observed than in asymptomatic dogs (23.8%). Furthermore, the analysis of nucleotide sequences of the samples revealed that G. intestinalis Assemblages A and C were found in the feces of dogs from Gyeongsangbuk-do and Daejeon. Since G. intestinalis Assemblage A has been known to infect humans, our results suggest that dogs can act as an important reservoir of giardiosis in Korea. Hence, hygienic management should be given to prevent possible transmission to humans.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.145-152
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• 2019

Canine vector-borne diseases (CVBDs) are transmitted by different groups of hematophagous arthropod vectors that are distributed worldwide and can cause significant health problems for dogs. The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the prevalence of selected CVBD pathogens in rural outdoor dogs based on prevention status. Between June 2017 and February 2019, blood samples were collected from 343 clinically healthy rural dogs composing two different groups: systematically managed dogs (SMD; n=92) and personally managed dogs (PMD; n=251). Vaccination and preventive medications were applied strictly following the programmed schedule for the SMD group; in contrast, in the PMD group, they were applied only when requested by the dog owners. Serological and molecular assessments showed that significantly more dogs in the PMD group were infected with B. gibsoni (P<0.001) and D. immitis (P=0.001) than those in the SMD group. These findings suggest that the regular use of preventive medications and environmental controlling efforts contribute to reducing the prevalence of CVBD pathogen infections. In addition, dogs infected with certain kinds of CVBD pathogens could remain asymptomatic, suggesting that continuous monitoring and periodic preventive treatment should be conducted even for clinically healthy dogs.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.60 no.4
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• pp.289-293
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• 2022

Blastocystis is a genus of unicellular heterokont parasites belonging to a group of organisms known as Stramenopiles, which includes algae, diatoms, and water molds. Blastocystis includes several species that habitat in the gastrointestinal tracts of organisms as diverse as humans, farm animals, birds, rodents, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and cockroaches. It is important to public health and distributed globally, but its prevalence in dogs in Korea has not been reported to date. Here, we collected 787 canine fecal samples and assessed Blastocystis infection by age, sex, region, season, and diarrhea symptoms. We determined Blastocystis subtypes using phylogenetic analyses based on 18S rRNA gene sequences. We identified, 10 Blastocystis positive samples (1.3%). A higher proportion of infected dogs was asymptomatic; however, infection rates did not significantly differ according to region, age, sex, and season. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the Blastocystis sp. identified belonged to 4 subtypes (STs), ST1, ST5, ST10, and ST14, thus revealed the genetic diversity of Blastocystis sp. in dogs Korean. This is first report on the presence of Blastocystis sp. in dogs Korean. This study revealed a lower infection rate than expected and differed from previous studies in STs. Further studies are warranted to observe the national infection status of Blastocystis in dogs and the genetic characteristics of this genus.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.21-26
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• 2014

Dirofilaria immitis (heartworm) infections affect domestic dogs, cats, and various wild mammals with increasing incidence in temperate and tropical areas. More sensitive antibody detection methodologies are required to diagnose asymptomatic dirofilariasis with low worm burdens. Applying current transcriptomic technologies would be useful to discover potential diagnostic markers for D. immitis infection. A filarial homologue of the mammalian translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP) was initially identified by screening the assembled transcriptome of D. immitis (DiTCTP). A BLAST analysis suggested that the DiTCTP gene shared the highest similarity with TCTP from Loa loa at protein level (97%). A histidine-tagged recombinant DiTCTP protein (rDiTCTP) of 40 kDa expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) showed immunoreactivity with serum from a dog experimentally infected with heartworms. Localization studies illustrated the ubiquitous presence of rDiTCTP protein in the lateral hypodermal chords, dorsal hypodermal chord, muscle, intestine, and uterus in female adult worms. Further studies on D. immitis-derived TCTP are warranted to assess whether this filarial protein could be used for a diagnostic purpose.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.477-480
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• 2015

A total number of 100 fecal samples were examined for the presence of Giardia intestinalis infection in dogs using a Giardia ELISA kit (SNAP$^{(R)}$ test, IDEXX Laboratories, Inc., Westbrook, ME). 49 males and 51 females were examined for a G. intestinalis infection in Daejeon and Chungnam area of South Korea. The overall positive rate of G. intestinalis infection was 12.00%. G. intestinalis infection resulted to be more prevalent in males (12.24%) than in females (11.76%), and in symptomatic dogs (18.18%) than in asymptomatic dogs (11.54%). There were no significant differences between the two groups. 19.60% being found in the < 2-year-old group, 4.08% in the over 2 year-old group. $X^2$ analysis revealed a significantly higher prevalence (p < 0.05) in the < 2-year-old group than in the other, and a significantly higher prevalence in dogs kept in a shared kennel (36.00%, p < 0.001). This study is the first survey of G. intestinalis infection prevalence in South Korea according to life style (particularly between dogs kept in a shared kennel and that of dogs kept separately) using an ELISA kit, and this study is expected to provide a useful reference for clinicians and breeders.