Scientific research is integral in our fight against the infections and diseases that we can fall prey to at any moment in time. Whether experiments are carried out in mice, humans or reptiles, all findings can help us to better understand how to treat certain conditions and/or infections. In addition, some of these experiments can reveal a new type of treatment that might be suitable for a pre-existing issue -  the topic of this article.

A female 3 year old German Shepherd dog (GSD) suffering from a fungal infection by Chrysosporium spp. was the subject of a case study by Cook E at al., ‘Disseminated Chrysosporium infection in a German shepherd dog’, Jan 23 2016, 10:29-33, Medical Mycology Case Reports. This type of infection is most recognised in reptiles as opposed to either the veterinary species or humans, whilst the treatment reported here is considered novel for this kind of infection (in relation to the veterinary species and humans). A number of methods were applied in order to assess the biological and physiological effects of this type of infection, but the results discussed here will be limited to those retrieved using ultrasound.

The diagnosis of a widespread infection was given after all examinations were carried out, and this could be due to an immunological defect, although more research is likely merited here. However, following ultrasonography of the abdomen, an increase in the medial iliac lymph nodes was observed, whilst scanning of the spleen revealed that a number of nodules described as hypoechoic were present within the functional splenic region (Google).

The treatment given initially was posaconazole, and post-treatment at 36 days with a further ultrasound of the abdomen showed marked differences relative to earlier in infection. Here, the functional region of the spleen was described as ‘diffusely hypoechoic’ with the inclusion of a number of ‘hyperechoic foci’. This meant that the nodules identified latterly were more obviously visible. Treatment with itraconazole was then given (day 36) due to financial motivations.

The findings discussed here revealed that posaconazole was deemed to be suitable for dealing with this type of infection, a finding that should be of great interest to veterinarians that may be using alternative forms of medication for such conditions. Whilst infection from Chrysosporium spp. may not be a regular affliction of the veterinary species, it can have very damaging effects on the host if not appropriately treated. Future examinations will shed more light on using this type of treatment for such infections, as the paper published here could only account for ten months after the study was carried out.