Introduction

Pulmonary nematodes of dogs cause parasitic diseases of central relevance in current veterinary practice. Crenosoma vulpis infects the bronchi, bronchioles and trachea of various carnivores. The infection with Crenosoma vulpis in domestic dog has been rare.

Objectives

The recent papers have shown that prevalence rates in dogs might have been increased in the last few years. There have been few reports of dog metastrongylosis in Korea. This record describes an urban dog infected with Crenosoma vulpis.

Methods

A male Pomeranian dog, 3.5 months old, was diagnosed with natural infection of Crenosoma vulpis in Daejeon, Korea. The main clinical signs were a cough, diarrhea and emaciation.

Results

First-stage larvae of Crenosoma vulpis were detected by fecal examination using the Baermann technique. Thoracic radiographs revealed mild bronchial infiltration over all lung fields. Larvae were counted by McMaster technique and LPS was 1,600. The dog was treated with mebendazole (25 mg/dog, PO q24h for 7 days). Clinical signs resolved in the dog and fecal sample was negative 2 weeks post-treatment.

Conclusions

In the recent past, the distribution of canine lungworms has increased in various geographical areas. The reasons of this emergence are little known, but many drivers such as global warming, changes in vector epidemiology and movements in animal populations may be taken into account. This is the first positive evidence of an infection of an urban dog with Crenosoma vulpis in Korea.