Protothecosis in Dogs: A Narrative Review.

Protothecosis is a rare and unusual disease that affects both humans and animals, including dogs. The causative agents are unicellular, achlorophyllous, "yeast-like" microalgae of the genus Prototheca (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta). Although usually saprophytic, Prototheca may, under conditions of immunologic compromise, become pathogenic and even lethal to the host.

Evaluation of oclacitinib maleate and prednisolone combined therapy for the control of atopic dermatitis in dogs: A controlled clinical trial.

Background: Canine atopic dermatitis (cAD) is a chronic inflammatory and pruritic dermatopathy requiring a multimodal therapeutic approach.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness, safety and cost of oclacitinib and prednisolone treatment in dogs with AD.

Animals: Twenty-three client-owned dogs with cAD.

Application of Principal Component Analysis as a Prediction Model for Feline Sporotrichosis.

Sporotrichosis is a worldwide zoonotic disease that is spreading and causing epidemics in large urban centers. Cats are the most susceptible species to develop the disease, which could cause significant systemic lesions. The aim was to investigate and to identify predictive indicators of disease progression by correlations between the blood profile (hematological and biochemical analytes) and cutaneous lesion patterns of 70 cats diagnosed with .

Comparative study of a commercial formula containing natural antimicrobials versus oral cephalexin or topical chlorhexidine-miconazole therapies for treating superficial pyoderma in dogs.

Background: Chronic and recurrent pyoderma in dogs is driving a growing interest in natural antimicrobial products that offer minimal adverse effects and avoid antibiotic resistance.

Objectives: Evaluate the safety and efficacy of dermatological products with antimicrobial peptides and plant extracts, comparing them to chlorhexidine + miconazole and cephalexin therapy for superficial pyoderma in dogs.

Materials And Methods: Forty-five dogs with superficial pyoderma underwent clinical, cytopathological and microbiological diagnosis, and were randomly assigned to Group 1 (G1) treated with shampoo (two weekly baths) and lotion (twice daily on the affected areas) containing natural antimicrobials; Group 2 (G2) treated with two weekly baths using a therapeutic shampoo containing 2% chlorhexidine and 2.

Genotyping and drug susceptibility profiling of Prototheca sp. strains isolated from cases of protothecosis in dogs.

Background: Protothecosis in dogs is a rare, yet emerging disease, distinguished by its often-aggressive clinical course and high fatality rate. Our study was conducted to enhance treatment protocols for affected dogs by better understanding the genetic diversity and drug resistance patterns of Prototheca species.

Objectives: To identify species and drug susceptibility profiles of an international collection of 28 Prototheca strains isolated from cases of protothecosis in dogs.

Immunoexpression of IL-33 in the different clinical aspects of canine atopic dermatitis.

Canine atopic dermatitis (CAD) is a chronic and inflammatory skin condition with a multifaceted origin, involving genetic factors, skin barrier abnormalities, immune responses, and hypersensitivity to various allergens. Interleukin 33 (IL-33), released by keratinocytes upon cellular injury, plays a crucial role in atopic dermatitis pathogenesis by inducing Th2 lymphocyte-mediated immune responses. This study aimed to evaluate IL-33 expression in dogs with atopic dermatitis and compare it to a control group.

Molecular identification and antimicrobial resistance pattern of Nocardia isolated from 14 diseased dogs and cats.

Nocardia are ubiquitous, saprophytic and opportunistic bacteria. They cause a set of pyogenic clinical infections in animals and humans, particularly immunocompromised patients, mostly affecting the skin and respiratory tract, with refractoriness to conventional therapy. The most descriptions of nocardial infections in companion animals involve case reports, and there are scarce case series studies focused on canine and feline nocardiosis in which diagnosis has been based on molecular techniques.

Ocular lesions in cats diagnosed with systemic sporotrichosis.

Objectives: To describe the most common ocular lesions and demonstrate the frequency of ophthalmic involvement in a group of cats with systemic sporotrichosis.

Animals Studied: Two hundred seventy-four cats diagnosed with systemic sporotrichosis. The inclusion criteria included previous positive cytopathological examination, histopathological examination, or fungal culture.

Combined prick and patch tests for diagnosis of food hypersensitivity in dogs with chronic pruritus.

Background: Previous studies have shown that patch testing with food extracts can assist formulation of elimination diets (ED) in human patients with suspected adverse food reactions (AFR). Little is known about the use of these tests in dogs.

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of a combination of prick and patch testing in current protocols, and food challenge (FC) tests in dogs with AFR.

Cellulitis-related Rhodococcus equi in a cat harboring VAPA-type plasmid pattern.

Rhodococcus equi is a well-known intracellular facultative bacterium that is opportunistic in nature, and a contagious disease-causing agent of pyogranulomatous infections in humans and multihost animals. Feline rhodococcosis is an uncommon or unnoticed clinical condition, in which the organism is usually refractory to conventional antimicrobial therapy. The pathogenicity of the agent is intimately associated with plasmid-governed infectivity, which is attributed to the presence of plasmid-encoded virulence-associated proteins (Vap).

and Antifungal Activity of Buparvaquone against .

Sporotrichosis has become an important zoonosis in Brazil, and is the primary species transmitted by cats. Improvement of animal treatment will help control and limit the spread and geographic expansion of sporotrichosis. Accordingly, buparvaquone, an antiprotozoal hydroxynaphthoquinone agent marketed as Butalex, was evaluated and against feline-borne isolates of .

Guideline for the management of feline sporotrichosis caused by Sporothrix brasiliensis and literature revision.

We herein present a Brazilian guideline for the management of feline sporotrichosis, a mycosis caused by Sporothrix brasiliensis. This guideline is an effort of a national technical group organized by the Working Group on Sporothrix and Sporotrichosis of the International Society for Human and Animal Mycology (ISHAM). This publication intends to provide information on clinical-epidemiological aspects of this zoonosis, as well as a literature revision.

Uncommon mandibular osteomyelitis in a cat caused by Nocardia africana.

Background: Nocardiosis is an unusual infection in companion animals characterized by suppurative to pyogranulomatous lesions, localized or disseminated. Cutaneous-subcutaneous, pulmonary and systemic signs are observed in feline nocardiosis. However, osteomyelitis is a rare clinical manifestation in cats.

Paracoccidioidomycosis in a dog: case report of generalized lymphadenomegaly.

Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is a severe systemic mycosis, endemic in Latin America and highly prevalent in Brazil, where it ranks eighth as a mortality cause among infectious and parasitic diseases in humans. The disease in animals has been little explored. It is observed that armadillos can harbor the fungus at high frequencies, although the active disease has not been well documented in this wild mammal.

[Allochthonous cases of canine visceral leishmaniasis in Paraná, Brazil: epidemiological implications].

The south region is the only area in Brazil that does not present autochthonous cases of visceral leishmaniasis (VL), however, in the state of Paraná, dogs and humans have been found showing a VL compatible clinical profile. In view of this problem, the present work aimed at isolating and identifying the parasite and determining the cases autochthony. All animals clinically suspect of VL were clinically evaluated, and had samples of their blood collected for hemoculture (NNN culture medium), serology, PCR and RAPD-PCR, hemogram, and biochemical assays.

Cryptococcus neoformans Isolated from Passerine and Psittacine bird excreta in the state of Paraná, Brazil.

Cryptococcus neoformans is an opportunistic basidiomycete yeast that causes life-threatening infections as meningoencephalitis primarily in immunocompromised hosts, generally associated with AIDS. The source of this organism is mainly pigeon excreta; however, other avian species' excreta are implicated as a source of this yeast. The occurrence of C.