Epidemiologia, sinais clínicos, lesões macro e microscópicas, e imunoistoquímica da hepatite infecciosa canina

Abstract

This dissertation consists of an investigation on infectious canine hepatitis (IHC) and resulted in two scientific papers which are placed in the final part of this dissertation. The necropsy reports of 5,361 dogs necropsied over a 43-year period (1964-2006) were reviewed in search for cases of infectious canine hepatitis (ICH). Sixty two (1.2%) cases of the disease were found. Epidemiological, clinical and anatomopathogical data of these 62 cases are presented in the first paper. The second paper presents an immunoistochemistry (IHC) assay performed in the tissues of 27 dogs from the 62 cases surveyed in the first paper. Evaluated tissues by IHC included liver, kidney, spleen, lymph nodes, tonsils, lungs, small intestine, brain, and spinal cord. For each organ increasing degrees (from mild to marked) of intensity of immune staining were ascribed. The antigen of canine adenovirus type 1 was detected in most of evaluated organs, mainly in endothelial cells.