Antibodies to Leishmania infantum in peritoneal effusion from a dog with atypical signs of leishmaniosis: treatment and follow-up

A three-year-old entire male French bulldog was brought in with the following clinical signs: apathy, vomiting and abdominal distension. Physical examination showed dehydration, tachypnoea and presence of jaundice. Abdominal radiology revealed the presence of an important loss of details in the abdominal structures compatible with peritoneal effusion, confirmed by abdominal ultrasonography. Findings detected by ultrasonography consisted of splenomegaly with alteration of the echotexture, hepatomegaly with presence of nodules and irregular areas in the liver capsule. An ultrasound-guided sample of the peritoneal fluid was taken for laboratory analysis. Abnormal clinicopathological results included pancytopenia, hyperglobulinaemia, hypoalbuminaemia, and elevation of the hepatic parameters and total bilirubin. High antibodies to Leishmania infantum were detected by ELISA in serum and peritoneal fluid samples. However, PCR for L infantum showed a negative result from the peritoneal fluid sample. This is the first reported case of canine leishmaniosis with the specific detection of L infantum antibodies in peritoneal effusion.