Infectious Canine Hepatitis

Also known as:

Rubarth's Disease Canine adenovirus infection

Description

• adenovirus - Canine Adenovirus 1
• acute and generalised infection
• highly infectious
• spread via the urine of infected animals over a long period of time

Signalment

• young dogs

Diagnosis

Clinical Signs

• recovering animals may show an immune-mediated uveitis with corneal opacity

Pathology

Gross

• the virus has a tropism for endothelium and hepatocytes
  • widespread haemorrhages, especially on serosal surface
• distinctly pale mottled appearance
  • from extensive necrosis, characteristically periacinar (centrilobular) in distribution - the reason for the increased susceptibility of this area is not known
• enlarged
• friable
• fibrinous or fibrino-haemorrhagic strands between lobes
• gall bladder
  • wall usually shows oedema (up to 2cm diameter)
• lymph nodes and tonsils are enlarged and reddened, sometimes haemorrhagic

Microscopically

• basophilic intranuclear inclusion bodies
  • in hepatocytes and macrophages