Case study: Cerebral toxoplasmosis in a cat with feline leukemia and feline infectious peritonitis viral infections
Robert Lo, Ph.D, D.V.M
A diarrheic young cat died because of severe multifocal meningoencephalitis caused by Toxoplasma gondii. Protozoan cysts and tachyzoites in the brain were confirmed by immunohistochemical staining. Coinfection of feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) might be the possible contributors to the clinical, fatal outcome.
Original paper: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6049326/
Histological lesions and immunohistochemistry (IHC) of the brain and kidney of a 6-month-old cat that was diagnosed with cerebral toxoplasmosis following postmortem examination. a — Kidney showing chronic pyogranulomatous nephritis. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E), 40×. b — Brain showing perivascular cuffing of lymphocytes and plasma cells with multifocal vasculitis. Many oval protozoan cysts having a thin wall and containing basophilic bradyzoites were seen near to the vascular structures. H&E, 20×. c — Kidney stained by IHC with feline coronavirus antibodies showing multifocal positive reaction in the cytoplasm of macrophages, 40×. d — Brain stained by IHC with anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies and showing several positively stained protozoan cysts and tachyzoites, 20×.
