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→Diagnosis
Gross necropsy lesions characteristic of pneumonia and enteritis may be present. Thymic atrophy may be noted in young dogs. Microscopic lesions are widespread in visceral organs and the brain and characteristic viral inclusion bodies are commonly found in brain, lung, stomach, and urinary bladder.
Gross necropsy lesions characteristic of pneumonia and enteritis may be present. Thymic atrophy may be noted in young dogs. Microscopic lesions are widespread in visceral organs and the brain and characteristic viral inclusion bodies are commonly found in brain, lung, stomach, and urinary bladder.
Dogs that recover may years later develop what has been called "old dog encephalitis" as a result of a persistent infection. This manifestation is usually recurrent, with a few to several episodes of neurological manifestations within weeks to months that usually end with death of the dog.
Dogs that recover may years later develop what has been called "old dog encephalitis" as a result of a persistent infection. This manifestation is usually recurrent, with a few to several episodes of neurological manifestations within weeks to months that usually end with death of the dog.
* Clinical specimens: Conjunctival scrapings, blood (buffy coat) smears, lung, urinary bladder, stomach, and brain.
* A laboratory diagnosis may not be feasible. A presumptive diagnosis is frequently made on the basis of clinical signs in a young unvaccinated dog. Nonetheless, the vaccinated status does not assure protection since many cases of distemper have been reported in well vaccinated dogs.
* A reliable way to diagnose canine distemper is the demonstration of viral infected cells by immunofluorescence. Examination of conjunctival scrapings and blood smears is useful during early stages of the illness, but false negative results are likely to occur as the disease progresses. Tests are accurate when performed on appropriate necropsy tissues.
* Microscopic lesions of demyelination in the cerebellum and characteristic inclusion bodies in various tissues are diagnostically significant. The inclusions are primarily intranuclear in the brain and intracytoplasmic in other tissues.
* The prognosis is poor for dogs with CNS involvement.
===Laboratory Tests===
===Laboratory Tests===