CANINE NEOSPOROSIS - A CASE-REPORT AND LITERATURE-REVIEW

A three-year-old, intact female vizsla presented for signs of an acute -onset progressive spinal cord disease. Postmortem examination reveale d multifocal central nervous system (CNS) lesions, severe pneumonia wi th pulmonary edema, and congestion of the liver. Protozoal cysts were found in multiple spinal cord and brain stem sections. Immunohistochem ical staining positively identified these cysts as Neospora caninum. A literature review of Neospora caninum infection in the dog with summa ry of the pathogenesis, clinical signs, diagnostic evaluation, treatme nt success, and pathology is presented to provide the clinician with a n overview of this increasingly prevalent disease.