Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Can a vet get sick from an autopsy on a horse?
By Kohn, G J et al.·Published in Diagnostic microbiology and infectious disease·1992·Department of Internal Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Acquisition of coccidioidomycosis at necropsy by inhalation of coccidioidal endospores.
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
Coccidioidomycosis is a fungal infection that is generally not spread between animals or humans. However, a veterinarian became seriously ill with this infection after performing an autopsy on a horse that had the disease. The horse did not show any obvious signs of infection like open sores or a cough. It is believed that the veterinarian inhaled tiny fungal spores that were released into the air during the dissection.
Abstract
Coccidioidomycosis is accepted as being noncontagious because the infectious arthroconidial form of Coccidioides immitis is not produced in humans and other mammalian hosts. However, disseminated coccidioidomycosis developed in a veterinarian who autopsied a horse with disseminated disease but without draining lesions or productive cough. We postulate transmission occurred by inhalation of tissue-phase endospores aerosolized in the course of dissection.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1424506/