Importance of histopathology in the diagnosis of canine Distemper or moquillo

Abstract

Introduction: the canine Distemper virus causes a disease of great lethality in a wide spectrum of hosts, including animals belonging to the order Carnivora, and due to the existence of many susceptible hosts, immunization through systematic vaccination is the only effective prophylactic measure for its control, although there have also been occasional outbreaks of the disease in vaccinated animals. Infection can cause a variety of clinical presentations, affecting the respiratory, gastrointestinal, integumentary, and nervous systems. Being the most common neurological manifestation encephalomyelitis and its clinical signs can be varied, due to the damage that the virus causes in both the white and gray matter of the nervous system. Objective:  to identify the importance of histopathology in the diagnosis of Canine Distemper, to know the main pathological findings present in patients with this disease of viral origin, to analyze the importance of a good diagnosis in Canine Distemper. Methodology: literature review. Results: neurodegeneration was evidenced in naturally infected canines, both vaccinated and unvaccinated animals, evaluating the presence, intensity and distribution of lesions caused by the virus in the brain and cerebellum. Conclusions: with respect to histopathological lesions, the constant finding is demyelination, in addition to the presence of gliosis, leptomeningitis, perivascular cuffs, necrosis and inclusion bodies in several histological sections, these findings being more severe in the cerebellum; this is how this work evidences the importance of histopathology in the diagnosis of canine distemper or distemper.  General area of study: Veterinary Medicine. Specific study area: Microbiology / Pathological Anatomy.