Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Abortion in a thoroughbred mare associated with an infection with avirulent Rhodococcus equi.
- Journal:
- The Veterinary record
- Year:
- 2007
- Authors:
- Nakamura, Y et al.
- Affiliation:
- Livestock Hygiene Service Centre of Hidaka · Japan
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
An eight-year-old thoroughbred mare, who had been healthy before, experienced an abortion at about six and a half months into her pregnancy. After the abortion, tests were done on the fetus and the mare's fluids and feces. The fetus showed some swelling and small bleeding spots in the amnion (the protective sac) and umbilical cord, but there were no major signs of disease. A type of bacteria called Rhodococcus equi, which is usually not harmful, was found in both the fetus and the mare. The mare had a high level of antibodies against this bacteria after the abortion, confirming the diagnosis. Overall, the findings indicated that the mare's abortion was linked to this avirulent (non-harmful) bacteria.
Abstract
An eight-year-old thoroughbred mare with no previous history of illness aborted a fetus at 196 days of gestation, and its internal tissues were examined immunohistologically and bacteriologically. The placenta was not examined, but specimens of the intrauterine fluids and the dam's faeces were collected four days after the abortion and examined bacteriologically. No significant histological lesions were found in the fetus but the amnion and the umbilical cord were oedematous and had petechial haemorrhages. Rhodococcus equi was isolated in pure culture from the lung, heart and stomach contents of the fetus and from an intrauterine specimen and faeces of the dam. The anti-R equi antibody titre of the mare was high after the abortion. The diagnosis was confirmed in the lung of the fetus by immunohistochemical staining with R equi-specific antibodies. Isolates from the fetus and mare were identified as avirulent R equi by pcr and the mouse pathogenicity test. The avirulent isolates were characterised by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, which yielded only one VspI profile in all the isolates from the fetus and its dam.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17827474/