Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Nasal swelling and discharge in horses - could it be pythiosis?
By Souto, E P F et al.·Published in Journal of comparative pathology·2016·Laboratory of Veterinary Pathology, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Pythiosis in the Nasal Cavity of Horses.
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
Two horses in northeastern Brazil were diagnosed with nasal pythiosis, a fungal infection that affects the nasal cavity. Both horses, an adult male and female cross-breed, showed signs of swelling around their noses and had a discharge from their nostrils that was both clear and bloody. The lesions in their noses had a yellow-grey appearance and contained areas of dead tissue. In one case, the infection spread to nearby muscle, cartilage, and bone, and was confirmed through special testing. This type of infection is rare in horses in this region, although a similar skin infection is more common.
Abstract
Two cases of nasal pythiosis are reported in horses from the semi-arid region of northeastern Brazil. From January 1986 to December 2015, the Laboratory of Animal Pathology, Federal University of Campina Grande received 830 equine samples, 156 (18.79%) of which were diagnosed with pythiosis. Of these, two horses (1.28%), a male and a female adult cross-breed, had lesions in the nasal cavity. Both horses had access to water reservoirs. Clinically, they had swelling in the rhinofacial region and a serosanguineous nasal discharge. Macroscopically, in case 1, the lesion affected the nasal vestibule, extending to the alar cartilage and nasal septum. In case 2, the lesion extended through the turbinates and the meatuses of the nasal cavity, as well as the ethmoid region. In both cases, the lesions were characterized by having a yellow-grey granular surface with cavitations of different sizes containing coral-like masses of necrotic tissue (kunkers). Histologically, multifocal necrotizing eosinophilic rhinitis associated with hyphae (2-8 μm) similar to Pythium insidiosum were observed. In case 2, the lesions extended to the muscle, cartilage and bone adjacent to the nasal cavity and lungs. The diagnosis was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. It is concluded that nasal pythiosis occurs sporadically in horses in the semi-arid region of northeastern Brazil where cutaneous pythiosis is prevalent.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27406311/