Liver fluke spillover at the wildlife-domestic interface: first record in a Brazilian domestic dog

Athesmia foxi is a hepatobiliary parasite reported in a broad range of vertebrate hosts, predominantly in the Neotropical region, with documented occurrences in South American countries including Brazil. This study reports the first occurrence of A. foxi in a domestic dog and evaluates the evidence of parasite spillover in the Cerrado biome, Brazil. An 8-year-old female dog with neurological signs and a history of hunting was euthanized due to poor prognosis. Necropsy was performed and trematodes were found occasionally, in the liver and gallbladder, and submitted to a morphological identification. Histopathological analysis of liver fragments was performed also. Adult flukes were identified as A. foxi . Histopathology confirmed severe chronic cholangitis and fibrosis. This is the first global report of A. foxi in a domestic dog. The finding indicates a spillover event from wild canids, likely facilitated by the dog's hunting habits and environmental anthropization.