Urolithiasis in dogs from villages in Bulgaria

Abstract

The frequency of urolithiasis in 2 groups of dogs without clinical signs, living in rural areas of Bulgaria, was studied. Group A comprised 243 dogs from Bulgarian villages with endemic nephropathy in man and group B comprised 125 dogs from non-endemic villages and districts. The overall prevalence was 9·5 per cent and the animals from the two groups showed a similar prevalence. Male dogs were more commonly involved than bitches. The mean age of all affected dogs was 4·8 years. Uroliths were located predominantly in the kidneys (29 of 35 dogs), then in the bladder (6) and in single cases in the ureter and urethra. The right kidney was more often involved (14 cases) than the left (6 cases), and cases with calculi on both sides were encountered in 9 cases. The chemical type of the calculi was: phosphate calculi—14, oxalate—10, urate—6 and cystine—5 cases. None of the features found were specific for dogs coming from areas where human nephropathy was endemic.