Mycological and histopathological findings of experimental disseminated candidiasis in dogs

Disseminated candidiasis is an opportunistic infection in immunosuppressed animals by Candida species. The purposes of this study were to determine the predominant candidal forms in different tissues and tissue reactions. Sixteen dogs were selected in this study. The treatment dogs were immunosuppressed by intravenous administration of cyclophosphamide and after 5 days, they were challenged with 1 × 105 blastospores of C. albicans by intravenous injection. Both mycological and histopathological examinations were performed for detection of Candida in various tissues. The results showed that the highest counts of C. albicans were recovered from the lungs, followed by the kidneys, heart and liver on day 2 after challenge. The presence of yeast mixed with hyphal forms of C. albicans was confirmed in all tissues. In most tissues, the yeast cells of Candida were predominant, whereas hyphal forms, particularly true hyphae, were mostly found in the brain and eyes.