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. 2020 Jan:174:1-7.
doi: 10.1016/j.jcpa.2019.10.002. Epub 2019 Nov 26.

Retrospective Analysis of Aetiological Agents Associated with Pulmonary Mycosis Secondary to Enteric Salmonellosis in Six Horses by Panfungal Polymerase Chain Reaction

M Hensel  1 , C Meason-Smith  1 , Q D Plumlee  1 , A N Myers  1 , M C Coleman  1 , S Lawhon  1 , A Rodrigues Hoffmann  1 , R R Rech  2
Affiliations

Retrospective Analysis of Aetiological Agents Associated with Pulmonary Mycosis Secondary to Enteric Salmonellosis in Six Horses by Panfungal Polymerase Chain Reaction

M Hensel et al. J Comp Pathol. 2020 Jan.

Abstract

Pulmonary mycosis secondary to enterocolitis is an uncommon diagnosis in equine medicine, but is thought to result from mucosal compromise and translocation of enteric fungi. The aetiological agent associated with translocation is often identified based on fungal culture or hyphal features in histological sections. In order to understand better the aetiological agents involved, six horses diagnosed with Salmonella enteritis and concurrent pulmonary mycosis were identified retrospectively through a database search of veterinary teaching hospital records. Samples from these cases were subjected to polymerase chain reaction and sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS-2) located between the 5.8S and 28S rRNA genes to identify the aetiological agent involved. Sequencing identified Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus flavus, Fusarium spp., Cladosporium spp. and Curvularia spp. A single case had a dual infection with Fusarium spp. and A. fumigatus.

Keywords: horse; panfungal polymerase chain reaction; pulmonary mycosis; salmonellosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest with respect to the publication of this manuscript.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Pulmonary mycosis secondary to enteric translocation of fungi.
Case No. 6. Cross section of the pulmonary parenchyma highlights the vasocentric nature of the lesion. Scale bar= 1 cm Inset. Low magnification of lung. Hematoxylin and eosin (HE).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. Pulmonary mycosis secondary to enteric translocation of fungi.
Case No. 2. (Aspergillus flavus) Fibrinonecrotizing vasculitis (*) surrounded by hemorrhage and intense inflammatory infiltrate of neutrophils and macrophages. Fungal hyphae are within the vessel lumen and in areas of inflammation and hemorrhage (arrows). HE, Bar=100 μm
Figure 3.
Figure 3.. Pulmonary mycosis secondary to enteric translocation of fungi.
Case No. 1. (Curvularia spicifera) A mixed inflammatory population of multinucleated giant cells (arrow heads) and degenerate neutrophils. Multinucleated macrophages occasionally contain and surround phagocytosed 6–8 μm walls hyphae with 7–20 μm yeast-like bulbous swellings (arrows) HE, Bar=50 μm.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.. Pulmonary mycosis secondary to enteric translocation of fungi.
Case No. 6. (Aspergillus fumigatus and Fusarium oxysporum) Neutrophilic and histiocytic pneumonia with mats of fungal hyphae that have 3–6 μm parallel walls, infrequent septation, and acute angle dichotomous branching (arrow heads). HE, Bar= 200 μm. Inset. 60x magnification of Aspergillus fumigatus conidia. HE, Bar= 20 μm.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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MeSH terms