Reação tóxica sistêmica causada por picadas de abelhas em cães / Systemic toxic reaction due bee stings in dogs

ABSTRACT

Background: Toxic reactions due bee stings in human, companion animals, food animals and wild animals are sporadically reported. Accidents involving bees have been occurring in urban and rural areas since 1956, when African bees were introduced in Brazil, forming populations of aggressive hybrid Africanized bees. Their sting cause local and systemic reactions, which include dermatologic reactions, anaphylactic reactions and toxic systemic reactions before death. The aim of this article is to describe the clinical and pathological aspects of the toxic systemic reactions of two dogs that suffered a massive bee attack in the Federal District, Brazil.Cases A 8-year-old female Brazilian mastiff, and one female 6-year-old Belgian shepherd were locked in the kennel when they suffered a massive bee attack. The dogs presented ‘apathy, congested mucous membranes, dyspnea, epistaxis, hemoglobinuria, icterus (one of them) and convulsions. Clinical pathology results showed a strong hemolyzed plasma, azotemia, leukocytosis with neutrophilia and monocytosis. Both animals were euthanized due to their critical conditions. At necropsy the dogs showed severe subcutaneous edema in the face, moderate congestion of mucous membranes, hematochezia and hematuria. Both dogs presented kidneys dark brown to blackened colored, urinary bladder replete with dark red fluid, lungs severely congested, intestines with severe mural edema and hyperemia containing bloody fecal matter inside, and the liver of one of the dog moderately icteric. The main histologic findings were the moderate diffuse degeneration of the kidney tubular epithelium with small focal areas of necrosis, countless casts of hemoglobin, granular and hyaline casts inside the renal tubules.[...]