Clinical Signs
| Clinical leishmaniasis is a spectrum of diseases with the host immune response determining the type of syndrome which develops, and the clinical picture is one of slow, progressive evolution of illness. |
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| Syndromes range from mild self-limiting local skin lesions to systemic fatal diseases. Visceral leishmaniasis starts as a cutaneous lesion and the infection spreads systemically. Organs particularly affected are spleen, liver and bone marrow. |
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The
main dermatologic signs of visceral leishmaniasis consist of emaciation,
keratitis, scaling of skin, seborrhea, onicogripfosis, ulceration, and alopecia,
which is often symmetrical in distribution. Some heavily infected dogs donīt
have any clinical signs. Frequently there is also a discrepancy between
the intensity of infection and the clinical condition in dogs.
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| With
the visceral form, the disease can be severe, causing clinical signs in
many organs. There are: extreme weakness, wasting, diarrhea, epistaxis,
lameness, anemia, renal failure, edema of the feet, dermal ulceration, eye
inflammation leading to blindness, lymphadenopathy and hepatosplenomegaly.
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| Body temperature may fluctuate but is usually normal or subnormal. Immunosuppression may promote the occurrence of concomitant infections, hence the clinical picture may be complicated by demodicosis, pyoderma or pneumonia. | |