Bacterial endocarditis in a dog after a pit viper snake envenomation

Abstract A 9‐year‐old, female, spayed, mixed‐breed dog presented for an acute onset of muzzle swelling and puncture wounds. The dog was hospitalised, treated for pit viper envenomation, and discharged after a week of hospitalisation with mild improvement of the clinical signs. The dog was represented 2 weeks later, with inappetence, fever, lameness and a new heart murmur. Echocardiography revealed mitral valve thickening, raising suspicion for mitral valve endocarditis. Thoracic radiographs revealed pulmonary oedema. Given the poor prognosis, the owners elected humane euthanasia. Postmortem examination and blood cultures confirmed bacterial endocarditis due to Enterobacter cloacae and Enterococcus faecium . Both bacteria have been reported in the oral cavity of pit vipers, though they are also ubiquitous in the environment. While the envenomation could have provided a route of bacterial introduction, secondary contamination from environmental or wound sources is also possible. There is little to no evidence of snakebite‐related secondary bacterial endocarditis in the veterinary literature, and this case emphasises the need to consider it as a differential diagnosis in dogs that become sick following envenomation.