Erdem Gülersoy1*, Mehmet Burak Ateş2, Süleyman Serhat İyigün3, Zeynep Çelik2, Mehmet Maden3

Abstract | In this report, suspected leukoencephalopathy associated with parvovirus infection, parvoviral enteritis and Neosporosis were defined in a four-week-old, male, white Maltese Terrier. Based on the signalment and specific clinical findings, the dog was identified as a White Shaker at the very beginning. Clinical examinations revealed gastroenteritis findings such as vomiting, diarrhea and neurological findings such as quadriplegia, tremors and seizures that exacerbate with stimulation. Severe base excess with metabolic acidosis, anemia and elevated liver enzyme levels were determined in the laboratory analyzes. A diagnosis of parvoviral enteritis and a definition of White Shaker were made as a result of clinical and laboratory analyzes. Despite treatment, the dog died on the hospitalization day. A necropsy revealed multifocal non purulent meningoencephalitis, microgliosis and necrosis in the central nervous system; mild lymphohistiocytic cell infiltration, degeneration and desquamation in the gastrointestinal system; hyperemia, severe edema and interstitial pneumonia in the respiratory system. Also, a large number of Neospora tachyzoites were detected in the cerebrum. As a result, a diagnosis of parvoviral enteritis complicated by Neosporosis was confirmed and leukoencephalopathy associated with parvovirus infection was suspected. It was concluded that performing CSF analysis along with observation of specific neurological findings may provide useful information in the differential diagnosis of dogs that affected with parvoviral enteritis with neurological findings.

Keywords | Leukoencephalopathy, Parvovirus, Neosporosis, White shaker, Dog