<i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> and <i>Alternaria</i> sp.: An Original Association in an Immunosuppressed Dog with Persistent Skin Lesions
Radu Blaga,
Virginie Fabres,
Vincent Leynaud,
Jean-Jacques Fontaine,
Edouard Reyes-Gomez,
Amaury Briand,
Odile Crosaz,
Isabelle Lagrange,
Amandine Blaizot,
Delphine Le Roux,
Veronica Risco Castillo,
Pavlo Maksimov,
Jacques Guillot,
Jens Peter Teifke,
Gereon Schares
Affiliations
Radu Blaga
Anses, INRAE, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, Laboratoire de Santé Animale, BIPAR, F-94700 Maisons-Alfort, France
Virginie Fabres
Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, CHUVA, Unité de Médecine, F-94700 Maisons-Alfort, France
Vincent Leynaud
Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, CHUVA, Unité de Médecine, F-94700 Maisons-Alfort, France
Jean-Jacques Fontaine
Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, BioPôle, Laboratoire d’anatomo-cytopathologie, F-94700 Maisons-Alfort, France
Edouard Reyes-Gomez
Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, BioPôle, Laboratoire d’anatomo-cytopathologie, F-94700 Maisons-Alfort, France
Amaury Briand
Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, CHUVA, Unité de Dermatologie, F-94700 Maisons-Alfort, France
Odile Crosaz
Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, CHUVA, Unité de Dermatologie, F-94700 Maisons-Alfort, France
Isabelle Lagrange
Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, Biopôle, Laboratoire de Biochimie-hématologie, F-94700 Maisons-Alfort, France
Amandine Blaizot
Anses, INRAE, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, Laboratoire de Santé Animale, BIPAR, F-94700 Maisons-Alfort, France
Delphine Le Roux
Anses, INRAE, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, Laboratoire de Santé Animale, BIPAR, F-94700 Maisons-Alfort, France
Veronica Risco Castillo
Anses, INRAE, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, Laboratoire de Santé Animale, BIPAR, F-94700 Maisons-Alfort, France
Pavlo Maksimov
Institute of Epidemiology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Südufer 10, 17493 Greifswald, Germany
Jacques Guillot
Oniris, Department of Dermatology, Parasitology, Mycology, F-44300 Nantes, France
Jens Peter Teifke
Department of Experimental Animal Facilities and Biorisk Management, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, 17493 Greifswald, Germany
Gereon Schares
Institute of Epidemiology, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Südufer 10, 17493 Greifswald, Germany
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.