Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Two cases of equine grass sickness with evidence for soil-borne origin involving botulinum neurotoxin.
- Journal:
- Journal of veterinary medicine. B, Infectious diseases and veterinary public health
- Year:
- 2003
- Authors:
- Böhnel, H et al.
- Affiliation:
- Institute for Tropical Animal Health · Germany
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
In this study, two horses on the same farm developed equine grass sickness, which is a serious condition affecting the nervous system and is thought to be related to botulism, a disease caused by a bacterium found in soil. Researchers tested grass and soil samples, as well as tissue from one horse that had died, and found different types of the botulism-causing bacteria and its toxin in these samples. Notably, they discovered that the green grass itself contained the botulinum toxin for the first time. This evidence supports the idea that equine grass sickness may actually be a form of botulism that comes from the soil.
Abstract
Botulism is caused by different types of Clostridium botulinum, a soil bacterium. Equine grass sickness (equine dysautonomia) is suspected of being a clinical form of this disease. On a stud where this disease occurred twice within 8 months, grass and soil samples and necropsy specimens of one horse were tested for the presence of bacterial forms and toxin of C. botulinum. Different types and type mixtures (A-E) of C. botulinum and botulinum neurotoxin were found. For the first time, it has been shown that green grass blades contain botulinum toxin. The results support the hypothesis that equine grass sickness is a clinical form of botulism, a soil-borne disease.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12916691/