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Toxoplasma gondii and Alternaria sp.: An Original Association in an Immunosuppressed Dog with Persistent Skin Lesions.

Radu BlagaVirginie FabresVincent LeynaudJean-Jacques FontaineEdouard Reyes-GomezAmaury BriandOdile CrosazIsabelle LagrangeAmandine BlaizotDelphine Le RouxVeronica Risco CastilloPavlo MaksimovJacques GuillotJens Peter TeifkeGereon Schares
Published in: Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) (2023)
Dogs and cats may suffer from a variety of diseases, mainly immune mediated, that require the administration of immunosuppressive drugs. Such therapies can cause adverse effects either by the toxicity of the drugs or as a consequence of immune suppression and associated opportunistic infections. Here we present an, yet unknown, association of Toxoplasma gondii and Alternaria fungus, within cutaneous lesions in a dog under long-term immunosuppressive therapy. The diagnosis of such infections is laborious and not obvious at first glance, since the clinical signs of cutaneous toxoplasmosis, neosporosis or alternariosis are not specific. A further laboratory confirmation is needed. Therefore, we currently recommend that dogs and cats should undergo serologic testing for toxoplasmosis or neosporosis prior to immunosuppressive therapy and a regular dermatological evaluation during the immunosuppressive therapy.
Keyphrases
  • toxoplasma gondii
  • mesenchymal stem cells
  • soft tissue