Abstract
Canine distemper virus (CDV) is a pantropic morbillivirus responsible for acute and highly infectious viral diseases in both domestic dogs and wild carnivores. As a multisystemic disease, CDV affects various systems, including the respiratory, gastrointestinal, urogenital, ocular and nervous systems. The clinical presentation is highly variable, making diagnosis challenging based solely on symptoms. Clinical signs in affected dogs include catarrhal respiratory and gastrointestinal disorders, alterations of the skin, and central nervous system (CNS) disease (Beineke et al., 2009). The latter most commonly presents as canine distemper virus induced demyelinating leukoencephalitis (CDV-DL). Morphologically, and especially in terms of immunopathological processes, glial responses and evidence of early axonal degeneration, CDV-DL shares certain characteristics with other demyelinating diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS) in humans and its experimental animal models (Ulrich et al., 2014). Among the potential clinical signs, vagal nerve involvement, leading to bradycardia, was observed in this case, providing an additional diagnostic consideration for CDV-related complications.
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