Observations of Bordetella bronchiseptica infections in dogs

The aim of the study was to present and develop a comprehensive diagnosis of B. bronchiseptica infections in dogs from Lublin Voivodeship and to determine whether these animals were infected with one or multiple genotypes of the bacteria. Thirty-five dogs with bordetellosis confirmed by bacteriological and molecular tests were included in the study. Samples of blood for hematology and biochemistry, as well as bronchial alveolar lavage for cytological and molecular tests, were taken from all animals. Seven dogs showed a decreased hematocrit and a decreased number of red blood cells. In 16 dogs, leukocytosis was found. Increased AST activity, increased ALT activity, elevated serum concentrations of urea, and increased creatinine concentrations were observed in 3, 5, 3, and 3 dogs, respectively. Endoscopy showed inflammation in the trachea and bronchi in 15 dogs. Cytological examination of bronchoalveolar lavages revealed a large number of macrophages (in 18 dogs), lymphocytes (in 8 dogs), and eosinophil granulocytes (in 2 dogs). The genetic material of the bacteria, a fragment of Bordetella spp flaA gene, was detected in nasal and pharyngeal swabs taken from all 35 dogs, and in bronchial alveolar lavage from 17 dogs. A comparison of the nucleotide sequences of the gene showed that the homology between the bacterial isolates obtained in our study was 100%. This suggests the presence of only one B. bronchiseptica genotype in the dog population in Lublin Voivodeship. The sequence similarity of our isolates with sequences available in the gene bank (NCBI PubMed: EU 327790 from China, AJ 012319 from Argentina, L 13034 from the US) was also very high, ranging from 98.2% to 100%. The results of our study indicate that a comprehensive diagnosis of the disease and its constant monitoring are necessary for recognizing the disease, for determining the relationship between the genetic structure of pathogens and the course of the disease, and for studying the immunoprophylaxis of B. bronchiseptica infections in dogs