Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Histologically, immunohistochemically, ultrastructurally, and molecularly confirmed neosporosis abortion in an aborted equine fetus.
- Journal:
- Veterinary parasitology
- Year:
- 2019
- Authors:
- Anderson, Joseph A et al.
- Affiliation:
- Naval Medical Research Center · United States
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
This case describes a rare instance of a horse fetus that was aborted due to neosporosis, a disease usually seen in cattle. The fetus was a female and was about 280 days old when it was aborted. Doctors examined various tissues, including the lungs, heart, and liver, and found severe damage caused by the neosporosis. They confirmed the presence of the disease using several advanced tests, including looking at the tissues under a microscope and analyzing the DNA. This case highlights the serious impact of neosporosis in horses, and the diagnosis was confirmed through multiple methods.
Abstract
Neosporosis is a common cause of abortion in cattle worldwide but is rare in horses. Here, the first case of histologically, ultrastructurally, immunohistochemically, and molecularly confirmed equine abortion caused by neosporosis is reported. Samples of lung, heart, liver, skeletal muscle, tongue, brain, and the placenta from a female fetus aborted at 280 days of gestation were fixed in formalin and submitted for diagnosis. Histologically, there was disseminated neosporosis with severe lesions in lungs, liver and the heart. Protozoal tachyzoites in all tissues reacted with polyclonal anti-Neospora caninum rabbit antibodies. Transmission electron microscopic observation on lung tissue revealed tachyzoites consistent with Neospora, including many rhoptries. Polymerase-chain reaction (PCR) using primers designed to amplify the rRNA gene internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) of the Sarcocystidae was performed on DNA extracted from fetal tissues. Comparison of the ITS1 amplified from the foal tissue to sequences available in GenBank revealed 100% sequence identity to the ITS1 from three isolates of Neospora hughesi.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31213237/