An atypical Toxoplasma gondii genotype in a rural Brazilian dog co-infected with Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis

Rev Soc Bras Med Trop. 2015 Mar-Apr;48(2):224-7. doi: 10.1590/0037-8682-0284-2014.

Abstract

Toxoplasmosis and leishmaniasis are two worldwide zoonoses caused by the protozoan parasites Toxoplasma gondii and Leishmania spp., respectively. This report describes the clinical and laboratorial findings of a co-infection with both parasites in a 4-year-old female dog suspected of ehrlichiosis that presented anemia, thrombocytopenia, hypoalbuminemia, hyperglobulinemia, tachyzoite-like structures to the lung imprints, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) results positive for T. gondii (kidney, lung, and liver) and Leishmania spp. Co-infection with Toxoplasma gondii and Leishmania braziliensis was confirmed by sequencing; restriction fragment length polymorphism-polymerase chain reaction (RFLP-PCR) confirmed an atypical T. gondii genotype circulating in dogs that has been reported to cause human congenital toxoplasmosis.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Coinfection / parasitology
  • Coinfection / veterinary
  • DNA, Protozoan
  • Dog Diseases / diagnosis
  • Dog Diseases / parasitology*
  • Dogs
  • Female
  • Genotype
  • Leishmania braziliensis / genetics*
  • Leishmaniasis / diagnosis
  • Leishmaniasis / parasitology
  • Leishmaniasis / veterinary*
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction / veterinary
  • Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length
  • Toxoplasma / genetics*
  • Toxoplasmosis, Animal / diagnosis
  • Toxoplasmosis, Animal / parasitology*

Substances

  • DNA, Protozoan