Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Horse with fever and breathing trouble diagnosed with lung disease
By Marenzoni, Maria Luisa et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc·2011·Department of Experimental Science and Applied Biotechnology, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Quantification of Equid herpesvirus 5 DNA in clinical and necropsy specimens collected from a horse with equine multinodular pulmonary fibrosis.
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A 15-year-old Belgian gelding was brought in for fever, depression, and trouble breathing. Tests showed he had chronic lung disease, and a virus called equid herpesvirus 5 (EHV-5) was found in his lungs. The horse was treated with steroids and antiviral medications, and he initially showed some improvement. Unfortunately, his condition worsened after four weeks, leading to euthanasia, and a postmortem confirmed he had equine multinodular pulmonary fibrosis (EMPF). This case highlights the importance of testing for EHV-5 in horses with severe lung issues.
People also search for: horse respiratory distress treatment · equine herpesvirus symptoms · Belgian gelding lung disease
Abstract
A 15-year-old Belgian gelding was referred for fever, depression, and respiratory distress. Lung biopsy revealed interstitial fibrosis consistent with chronic interstitial pneumonia. Equid herpesvirus 5 (EHV-5) DNA was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in bronchoalveolar lavage and biopsy specimens. A presumptive diagnosis of equine multinodular pulmonary fibrosis (EMPF) was made, and the horse was administered a systemic treatment with corticosteroids and antiviral drugs. Despite initial clinical improvement, 4 weeks later, the condition of the horse rapidly deteriorated, and the animal was euthanized. Postmortem examination confirmed the presumptive diagnosis of EMPF. The EHV-5 DNA load in different tissues was estimated using a quantitative real-time PCR. Lung had a remarkable viral load, higher than in other organs, especially within the pulmonary fibrotic nodules, and a linkage between high viral burden and the most severely affected tissues was observed. The results suggest that the quantitative real-time PCR is a useful tool to quantify the EHV-5 load in different organs and to understand the relationship between EHV-5 and EMPF. The bronchoalveolar lavage was determined to be a good clinical sample to estimate the EHV-5 load in lung.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21908328/