Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Disseminated acute concomitant aspergillosis and mucormycosis in a pony.
- Journal:
- Journal of veterinary medicine. A, Physiology, pathology, clinical medicine
- Year:
- 2005
- Authors:
- Thirion-Delalande, C et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Pathology · France
Plain-English summary
A 6-year-old female pony sadly died after being very weak for two days. She showed signs of a high fever and abnormal lung sounds. A thorough examination after her death revealed severe damage to her intestines and spleen, along with bleeding in various organs, including her brain and lungs. Tests showed that she had two serious fungal infections at the same time: one caused by Aspergillus fumigatus affecting her intestines and lungs, and another caused by Absidia corymbifera affecting her brain and spleen. This case highlights how rare it is to have two fungal infections together and the importance of special tests to diagnose such complex cases.
Abstract
A 6-year-old female pony died after 2 days of prostration. Clinical signs included hyperthermia and abnormal pulmonary auscultation sounds. Necropsy revealed diffuse severe necrohaemorrhagic colitis and splenitis, multiple visceral ecchymoses, petechial haemorrhages in the brain and lungs. Microscopical examination showed acute necrohaemorrhagic colitis, encephalitis, pneumonia and splenitis associated with fibrinoid vasculitis, thrombosis and fungal hyphae within and around vessels. Immunohistologically, concomitant aspergillosis (caused by Aspergillus fumigatus) and mucormycosis (causde by Absidia corymbifera) were identified in the colonic and pulmonary lesions, whereas pure mucormycosis was observed in cerebral and splenic lesions. Dual mycotic infections are very rarely described, and the present case emphasizes the need of immunohistochemistry in order to obtain a clear-cut diagnosis of mixed fungal infections.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15836442/