Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Natural Heterobilharzia americana infection in horses in Texas.
- Journal:
- Veterinary pathology
- Year:
- 2012
- Authors:
- Corapi, W V et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology · United States
Plain-English summary
In Texas, researchers found that a parasite called Heterobilharzia americana, which typically infects dogs and raccoons, can also cause liver problems in horses. They studied 12 horses that had liver growths known as granulomas, which can be caused by inflammation and scarring. Out of these horses, they successfully identified the parasite in 8 of them using DNA tests. However, in most cases, the parasite was not the main cause of the horses' health issues, and the liver growths were seen as unrelated findings. Overall, the treatment or management of the horses did not focus on the parasite since it wasn't the primary problem.
Abstract
The schistosome Heterobilharzia americana infects dogs, raccoons, and other mammals in the southeastern United States. Migration of eggs into the liver results in parasitic granulomas with varying degrees of fibrosis and inflammation. Recently, hepatic parasitic granulomas in horses were shown to be caused by H. americana infection. In the present study, samples of liver from 11 of 12 horses with hepatic granulomas identified at necropsy (n = 11) or surgical biopsy (n = 1) were used for DNA extraction, polymerase chain reaction amplification and sequencing using primers specific for a portion of the H. americana small subunit ribosomal RNA gene. A polymerase chain reaction amplicon of the correct size was produced from the extracted DNA in 8 of the 11 horses. Amplicons from 5 of the 8 positive horses were sequenced and had 100% identity with H. americana. In all but 2 of the 12 horses, Heterobilharzia was not responsible for the primary clinical disease, and the hepatic granulomas were considered an incidental finding.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22273574/