A case of canine cutaneous pythiosis in Thailand

Pythium insidiosum causes pythiosis in humans and animals in tropical and subtropical climates. The clinical manifestations in humans are mostly systemic, vascular or ocular forms, in contrast to animals, which are cutaneous, subcutaneous and gastrointestinal forms. The highest incidence of human cases is reported in Thailand, however, no canine pythiosis has been documented yet.

A female, mixed-breed, stray dog showed severe extensive ulcerative haemorrhagic dermatitis at the perineum involving the anus and tail. On cytology, there were sparse branching septate fungal hyphae. The tissue samples were subjected to polymerase chain reaction and gene sequencing for fungal identification.

The results of the internal transcribed spacer 1 and 2 (ITS1 and ITS2) gene had 99 % homology to Pythium insidiosum (accession no. FJ17396) and the COX2 gene (accession no. GQ451572). The phylogenetic tree of both genes was classified in clade A_TH. This is the first fully documented diagnosis of canine cutaneous pythiosis in Thailand.