Spontaneous and experimental coccidioidomycosis in dogs

Abstract

It is studied in the present work, the pathological-anatomy of the spontaneus and experimental coccidioidomycosis in dogs. It was studied in 5 cases with natural illness observed in Guatemala and 10 in experimental conditions, of which 7 were inoculated in the pleural cavity with suspention of artrospora of Coccidioides immitis in physiologyc solution and 3 were put to live for 6 months with the ones experimentaly inoculated. Of the last ones, one was infected. In this work it is described the macro and microscopic lesions of the coccidioidomycosis in natural and experimental conditions. It is discussed the relative aspects of the lesions, the difficulty of diagnosis in the spontaneus cases, ways of infection and dissemination of the spore in the experimental cases, and also the ethiopathogenesis of the glomerulonefritis which are observed in the dogs with coccidioidomycosis, admiting a mechanism of hypersensibility. It is assumed that the cells of the pleural-mesotelium can present phagocytic prosperties, a thing that has to be confirmed in future investigations. Also there is a suggestion that these cells take the spore to the pulmonar tissue whereby the infection disseminates itself through the lympho-hematogenic vessels. It is confirmed that the respiratory system is the principal way of this mycosis though the skin can also be the infection way of the disease. Finally the existence of the coccidioidomycosis is confirmed and one concludes that Guatemala must be considered an endemic zone.