Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Toxoplasma-like sporozoa in an aborted equine fetus.
- Journal:
- Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
- Year:
- 1986
- Authors:
- Dubey, J P & Porterfield, M L
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A mare had a fetus that was aborted two months before it was due. When the researchers looked at the lungs of the fetus, they found areas of tissue damage and certain types of protozoa (a kind of tiny organism) in the lung tissue. These protozoa were not the same as those that cause Toxoplasma gondii, a common parasite. Twelve days after the abortion, the mare's blood tests showed very low levels of antibodies against Toxoplasma, indicating she likely wasn't infected with that parasite. The findings suggest that the cause of the abortion was not related to Toxoplasma gondii.
Abstract
Multifocal areas of necrosis and infiltrations of mononuclear cells were seen in lung specimens of an equine fetus aborted 2 months before term. Extracellular and intracellular protozoa were seen in the alveolar tissue. Individual organisms were 4 microns by 2.5 microns, and cyst-like structures were 25 microns by 18 microns. Organisms did not stain with periodic acid-Schiff or by use of the immunoperoxidase and peroxidase-antiperoxidase method for Toxoplasma gondii. Twelve days after abortion, the mare had serum antibody titer of less than 1:10 against T gondii.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3087925/