Einschlusskörperchen bei Hunden mit Staupe-Enzephalitis und anderen Erkrankungen des Zentralnervensystems

Abstract

A histologic study was made of the central nervous system of 108 dogs with neurological illness. One group comprised 71 cases of distemper encephalitis. The second group of 37 cases encompassed toxoplasma encephalitis (14), symmetrical cerebral necrosis (10), reticulosis (6), lymphocytic meningoencephalitis (3), leukoencephalitis (2) and canine viral hepatitis (2). Inclusion bodies can be found in all dogs with distemper encephalitis. In most cases this diagnosis is easy, even without the inclusion bodies. However, detection of inclusions becomes important in cases showing a form of distemper encephalitis atypical with respect to histologic type or localization. In one case each, focal symmetrical necroses and toxoplasmosis-induced lesions were observed in association with distemper infection of the CNS. The regularity with which inclusion bodies can be found in all cases of distemper encephalitis means that in their absence, lesions induced by the distemper virus can be excluded with considerable assurance. The dependence of the density of the inclusion bodies on the type of tissue changes, the histochemical and tinctorial features of the inclusion bodies, the occurrence of lesions in the cerebellar granule cells, and the formation of cell syncytia by glial cells with inclusion bodies are discussed with respect to their specificity for distemper viral infection of the CNS.