Retrospective Analysis of Central Nervous System Diseases in Dogs, with Special Focus on Non-Suppurative Encephalomyelitis (1962–2022)
2025
Inga Marie Nägler | Adnan Fayyad | Christina Puff | Wolfgang Baumgärtner | Peter Wohlsein
Studies spanning decades provide important information about the epidemiology and occurrence of a broad range of diseases that affect the central nervous system (CNS) of dogs. This study analyzed records and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) CNS tissue samples from necropsied dogs with neuropathologic changes between 1962 and 2022. A total of 134,854 animals, including 20,117 dogs, were submitted for necropsy during this time span. Of these dogs, 2646 displayed alterations of the CNS. Degenerative and non-suppurative inflammatory lesions were the most common changes, accounting for 35.6% and 28.6%, respectively. Vascular diseases, neoplasms, congenital malformations, and suppurative inflammation represented 13.8%, 8.6%, 7.2%, and 5.4% of cases, respectively. Morbillivirus canis, the agent of canine distemper, was the most commonly diagnosed. The second most commonly detected virus, varicellovirus suidalpha1, the agent of pseudorabies, occurred almost exclusively between the mid-1970s and 1990s. Other pathogens, including Lyssavirus rabies, canine herpes virus, tick-borne encephalitis virus, apicomplexan parasites, such as Neospora caninum and Toxoplasma gondii, as well as fungal and other parasitic infections, were less frequently diagnosed. Interestingly, 47.6% of cases with non-suppurative inflammation remained etiologically undetermined. This study provides insights into the epidemiology of canine neurotropic infections and shows the value of FFPE material for investigations of past disease outbreaks.
Show more [+] Less [-]AGROVOC Keywords
Bibliographic information
This bibliographic record has been provided by Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute