Trypanosoma cruzi infection in a bat-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis) with severe focally extensive suppurative myocarditis

Chagas disease is a parasitic illness caused by Trypanosoma cruzi. This is an intracellular parasite that can cause cardiomyopathy, megaesophagus and megacolon in the chronic phase of the disease. One of the characteristics is sudden death due to heart failure. In this study, a 15-month-old, intact female bat-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis) kept in a private collection presented for sudden death with no preceding signs of illness. Annual health exam was unremarkable one month prior. On gross necropsy, yellow-while, irregular lesions were found in the ventricles near the apex of the heart. Histopathology found severe focally extensive suppurative myocarditis and PCR was positive for Trypanosoma cruzi within the heart tissue. To date, this is the only reported case of a bat-eared fox infected with Trypanosoma cruzi.

Automated summary

Chagas disease, caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, can lead to cardiomyopathy and sudden death due to heart failure. This study reported the first case of a 15-month-old bat-eared fox infected with Trypanosoma cruzi and presenting with sudden death, with severe myocarditis identified on histopathology.