How Behavioral Changes Can Indicate Serious Cerebral Pathology: A Case Report of Concomitant Olfactory Neuroblastoma and Distemper Virus Encephalitis in a Swiss Shepherd Dog

Behavioral alterations in dogs are not easy to understand and cure. The situation is more difficult when an encephalitis due to Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) and a concomitant olfactory neuroblastoma are present. This case report deals with the story of a 5-year-old Swiss shepherd dog with behavioral changes, seizures, epistaxis and ataxia. Following clinical and laboratory exams, a suspected diagnosis of CDV infection was hypothesized, and a therapy based on Ω-interferon was administered. Every supporting therapy failed and the worsening of the clinical conditions led to the euthanasia of the patient. A neoformation in the right frontal lobe was found post mortem. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry investigation showed a non-suppurative demyelinating encephalitis, suggestive of CDV infection, and a desmoplastic epithelioid olfactory neuroblastoma. To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first clinical pathological report of a non-suppurative encephalitis due to CDV infection and olfactory neuroblastoma in a dog.