An Evaluation of the Histoplasmin Reaction in the Detection of Naturally Occurring Histoplasmosis in Dogs

Abstract

837 dogs were tested with histoplasmin routinely as they were admitted to the Veterinary Clinic of the Ohio State Univ. The dogs were tested with 2 different supplies of histo-plasmin, H-15 and H-42. Of 643 dogs given a single test of H-15, only 2 were reactors and one died before studied. The remaining 194 dogs were tested with H-42 and 3 reacted. Cultures were made at biopsy of 3 of the 5 reactors and Histo-plasma capsulatum was isolated from the liver of one and the spleen of another. These 3 dogs suffered from respiratory infections and all showed calcified nodules in the lungs and were tuberculin-negative. One boxer puppy negative to histoplasmin revealed H. capsulatum in an antemortem blood culture and in blood and various tissue cultures postmortem.