Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Pulmonary aspergillosis associated with acute enteritis in a horse.
- Journal:
- Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
- Year:
- 1991
- Authors:
- Hattel, A L et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Veterinary Science · United States
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
An 8-year-old Quarter Horse mare was found to have a serious lung infection caused by a fungus called Aspergillus after she passed away. Before her death, she had been experiencing diarrhea, a fever, and a runny nose. The veterinarians diagnosed her with an infection from a bacteria called Ehrlichia risticii, which was confirmed by her symptoms and blood tests. It's possible that her severe intestinal issues weakened her immune system, making her more susceptible to the lung infection. Unfortunately, the treatment for her conditions was not successful, as she did not survive.
Abstract
Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis was detected at postmortem examination of an 8-year-old Quarter Horse mare that had a history of diarrhea, laminitis, and bilateral nasal discharge. A diagnosis of Ehrlichia risticii infection was made on the basis of clinical signs of diarrhea and pyrexia, high serum antibody titer to E risticii (1:2,560), and multiple Salmonella-negative cultures obtained from fecal and colonic specimens. Possible pathogenic mechanisms contributing to the development of pulmonary aspergillosis secondary to enteric disease include mycotic invasion of the intestinal tract or immunocompromise and tissue devitalization secondary to severe enterocolitis. Exposure of the mare to large numbers of Aspergillus organisms may have been important in this case.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1787116/