Cutaneous Renal and Glomerular Vasculopathy (CRGV) or ‘Alabama Rot’ in dogs

27 March 2018

There have been further reports of Alabama Rot in the media and members may find the following information from an article featured in BSAVA News earlier this year useful.

Cutaneous Renal and Glomerular Vasculopathy (CRGV) or Alabama Rot in dogs, is typically characterized by ulceration or erosions of the distal limbs, ventrum or oral cavity/muzzle and it is variably associated with acute kidney injury (AKI). Skin lesions commonly appear less than a week before clinical signs attributable to AKI. The disease potentially appears to carry a grave prognosis if azotaemia develops.

Clinicopathological findings which are similar to those reported in a 1980’s case series which first described CRGV in US Greyhounds (Carpenter et al., 1988, Vet. Pathol.) have been noted in UK cases. A range of dog breeds in many areas across the UK have been identified showing signs of the disease with many of the cases occurring between November and June. Vets are advised to consider the disease if presented with a dog showing compatible clinical signs of skin lesions (including superficial erosion through to full thickness ulceration) along with some or all of the following – lethargy, anorexia, vomiting, pyrexia and AKI. Resources for relevant information include Holm et al., 2015, Vet Record; Holm and Walker, 2016, Companion.

Members may also be interested in information on the Alabama Rot UK website, which can be found here.