Abstract
Infectious canine hepatitis (IHC) caused by canine adenovirus 1 (CAdV-1) is a classic disease in dogs causing severe illness in non-vaccinated dogs. For this reason, CAdV-1 is incorporated in the standard core vaccination. Because of widespread vaccination, this disease is only rarely seen by the veterinary practitioner. However, ICH does occur in Belgium, especially when vaccination is not adequate. In this brief review, the authors intend to refresh the knowledge of ICH illustrated by three recent cases.
Highlights
Infectious canine hepatitis (IHC) caused by canine adenovirus 1 (CAdV-1) is a classic disease in dogs causing severe illness in non-vaccinated dogs
infectious canine hepatitis (ICH) is a classical disease in dogs, it is very rarely encountered by most veterinary practitioners due to widespread vaccination (Balboni et al, 2014; Dowgier et al, 2018)
Most veterinarians are not familiar with the clinical or pathological manifestations of this disease, ICH does occur in Belgium
Summary
ICH occurs most common in dogs younger than one year but can occur in unvaccinated dogs of all ages (Green, 2012). The clinical course is variable, disease can develop very acutely with death in a few hours after the onset of clinical signs (Cabasso, 1962). In a less acute course, common clinical signs are depression, loss of appetite, increased heart rate, hyperventilation, coughing, vomiting and diarrhea. The liver is often severely affected by the disease, icterus is only rarely seen. Some dogs develop neurological signs (ataxia, seizures, coma), which is associated with damage and bleeding of small caliber vessels in the brain (Decaro et al, 2008; Cullen and Stalker, 2016). The uncomplicated disease course of ICH takes five to seven days before improvement (Greene, 2012). Keratouveitis with corneal opacity (‘blue eye’) may develop one to three weeks after recovery and results in photophobia, blepharospasm and ocular discharge (Wills, 2000; Decaro et al, 2008)
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