Vet Med - Czech, 2023, 68(12):483-489 | DOI: 10.17221/82/2023-VETMED

Tremorgenic mycotoxin poisoning in a dog: A case reportCase Report

T Novotna ORCID...1,2, B Sitarova2, Z Hoskova3, V Vaibarova4, Z Dzuman5, J Hajslova5, V Skupien6, Z Svobodova1
1 Department of Animal Protection and Welfare and Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
2 DRAVET, Veterinary Clinic, Drásov, Czech Republic
3 Veterinary Clinic with Emergency Service MVDr. Lubomír Hošek, Brno, Czech Republic
4 Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
5 Department of Food Analysis and Nutrition, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague, Czech Republic
6 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic

An eleven-year-old Pit Bull Terrier was presented to the veterinary practice with an acute onset of whole-body seizures. The clinical signs developed in a garden where the dog was kept that morning. There was a suspicion of tremorgenic mycotoxin poisoning by compost as the dog had vomited parts of compost right before the onset of the seizures and there was a pile of compost located in the garden. The dog underwent immediate decontamination following supportive treatment and recovered fully within 24 h of intensive care. The samples of the vomit and parts of the compost were cultivated. In the sample of the vomit, Penicillium sp. was found. Subsequently, tremorgenic mycotoxins paxilline, penitrem A and roquefortine C were determined chromatographically at significant concentrations in the vomit and a growth medium with cultivated Penicillium sp. The aim of this work is to describe the complex therapeutic and diagnostic approach to the patient with a suspected tremorgenic mycotoxin poisoning where a combination of mycological and chromatographic analyses was used to confirm the diagnosis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first confirmed case of canine tremorgenic mycotoxicosis in the Czech Republic and the first reported case of paxilline poisoning in a dog.

Keywords: chromatography; paxilline; Penicillium sp.; penitrem A; roquefortine C

Received: August 14, 2023; Revised: October 23, 2023; Accepted: November 13, 2023; Published: December 29, 2023  Show citation

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Novotna T, Sitarova B, Hoskova Z, Vaibarova V, Dzuman Z, Hajslova J, et al.. Tremorgenic mycotoxin poisoning in a dog: A case report. Vet Med - Czech. 2023;68(12):483-489. doi: 10.17221/82/2023-VETMED.
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