Streptococcus pluranimalium meningoencephalitis in a horse. (September 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Fu, Dah-Jiun; Ramachandran, Akhilesh; Miller, Craig
• Is Part Of: Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation. Volume 33:Number 5(2021)
• Page Start: 956
• Page End: 960
• Publication Date: 2021-09
• Subjects: horses -- meningoencephalitis -- Streptococcus pluranimalium; Veterinary medicine -- Diagnosis -- Periodicals; 636.0896075
• DOI: 10.1177/10406387211023465
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1040-6387

Abstract

A 3-y-old, female Quarter Horse with a history of acute neurologic signs was found dead and was submitted for postmortem examination. Areas of petechial and ecchymotic hemorrhage were present on cross-sections of the cerebrum, cerebellum, and brainstem. Histologic examination of the brain revealed severe, purulent meningoencephalitis and vasculitis with a myriad of intralesional gram-positive cocci. Streptococcus pluranimalium was identified from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue obtained from sites with active lesions by PCR and nucleotide sequencing of bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA. S. pluranimalium should be considered as a cause of meningoencephalitis in a horse.