ABSTRACT
79 You are working up a dog for a chronic enteropathy characterized by weight loss, small intestinal diarrhea, and variable appetite. You obtained endoscopic biopsy samples of the small intestine and gastric mucosa. In the histopathology report, the presence of a moderate population of gastric spiral organisms (GSOs) is reported in the stomach (Figure 79.1).
i. Name some GSO species that are found in dogs and cats. Which, if any, of these are pathogens in human beings?
ii. How common is GSO carriage in normal dogs and cats?
iii. Do you think treatment of the GSOs is justified given this case description?130
H&E (A) and Warthin-Starry (B) stained samples of gastric mucosa from a dog, showing a moderate population of gastric spiral organisms (arrows in A, darkly stained spirals in B) within the gastric mucus layer. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780429401725/9d69b4ae-80d1-4f44-9dcb-659cda134065/content/fig79_1_C.jpg"/>