Case Report: Bordetella bronchiseptica Meningoencephalomyelitis in a Dog

Abstract

A 15-month-old male neutered Wirehaired Pointer mixed-breed dog presented with fever and cervical pain. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis showed neutrophilic pleocytosis with intracellular bacteria, and culture of CSF grew Bordetella bronchiseptica. The patient became non-ambulatory 3 days after CSF collection. He was treated with low-dose prednisone for 3.5 months and doxycycline for 1 year. Recheck CSF analysis 1 month after diagnosis showed reduction of inflammation and 3 months after diagnosis revealed only increased protein. The patient improved neurologically over several months and was weakly ambulatory 5 months and fully ambulatory 7 months after diagnosis. Whole genome sequencing of the bacterial isolate and a live modified intranasal vaccine similar to the one the dog had been vaccinated with 7 weeks before diagnosis was similar but not an exact match. Bacterial meningitis should be considered, and culture of CSF is recommended, in cases of neutrophilic pleocytosis of CSF.

Keywords: Bordetella bronchiseptica; bacterial meningitis and meningoencephalitis; brain; cerebrospinal fluid (CSF); neurology; spinal cord.

Figure 1

Cerebrospinal fluid from a dog with Bordetella bronchiseptica meningoencephalomyelitis. Note the intracellular bacteria (arrow). Modified Wright-Giemsa 1000X.

Figure 2

Magnetic resonance images of a dog with Bordetella bronchiseptica meningoencephalomyelitis. (A) Sagittal T2-weighted image of the cervical spinal cord. Note the intramedullary hyperintensity at the level of C4–C6 vertebral bodies and the mildly enlarged central canal at the level of C6 vertebral body. (B) Sagittal MYELO haste image of the cervical spinal cord. Note the thinning of the dorsal subarachnoid CSF column at the level of C5 vertebral body, and the previously described intramedullary hyperintensity. (C) Sagittal T2-weighted image of the brain. Note the enlarged ventricular system.