Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Foal with fever and seizures - what caused it?
By Warner, Shayna L et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc·2012·Department of Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Clinical, pathological, and genetic characterization of Listeria monocytogenes causing sepsis and necrotizing typhlocolitis and hepatitis in a foal.
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A 5-week-old American Quarter Horse filly was brought to the vet with a 2-day history of fever, lethargy, unsteady movements, and seizures. She had mild diarrhea since birth, which was treated with gastrointestinal protectants and probiotics. Despite receiving prompt and aggressive treatment, her condition worsened, leading to humane euthanasia. A postmortem examination revealed severe liver and intestinal damage caused by a bacterial infection from Listeria monocytogenes. Unfortunately, the foal did not survive despite the efforts made to save her.
People also search for: foal seizures · Listeria infection in horses · treatment for foal diarrhea · horse liver disease symptoms
Abstract
Listeria monocytogenes was isolated from the blood, lungs, and liver of a 5-week-old American Quarter Horse filly that presented with a 2-day history of fever, lethargy, ataxia, and seizure activity. The foal was born on a well-managed breeding facility to a multiparous mare with no periparturient complications. At 8 hr of age, the foal had an adequate passive transfer of immunity (immunoglobulin G > 2,000 mg/dl). Since the time of birth, the foal reportedly had mild, intermittent diarrhea that responded to gastrointestinal protectants and probiotics. Despite prompt and aggressive treatment after hospital referral, the foal's condition deteriorated, and the foal was humanely euthanized. Postmortem gross and histopathologic examination revealed severe hepatitis with necrosis and fibrinonecrotic typhlitis and colitis. In addition to a positive blood culture for L. monocytogenes, immunohistochemistry confirmed the presence of this bacterium in the liver, cecum, and colon. Furthermore, a multiplex polymerase chain reaction identified the etiologic organism as a virulent L. monocytogenes strain.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22529130/