Cutaneous pythiosis in the horse.
Abstract: Pythiosis of horses in an invasive, ulcerative, proliferative, pyogranulomatous disease of the skin and subcutis caused by Pythium insidiosum, a fungus-like oomycete in the order Peronosporales of the kingdom Protista. Pythiosis is a form of "phycomycosis," which is a complex of pyogranulomatous diseases that also includes conidiobolomysosis, basidiobolobysosis, and disorders caused by members of the order Mucorales.
Publication Date: 1995-04-01 PubMed ID: 7634168DOI: 10.1016/s0749-0739(17)30334-6Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary
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This research article discusses cutaneous pythiosis in horses, a skin condition caused by the Pythium insidiosum oomycete, and related pyogranulomatous diseases like phycomycosis.
Overview of Cutaneous Pythiosis
- Cutaneous pythiosis in horses is an invasive, ulcerative, proliferative, pyogranulomatous disease. This means the disease invades the skin tissues of the horse, forming ulcers and resulting in uncontrolled growth of abnormal tissue. Pyogranulomatous refers to a type of inflammation that forms granulomas, structured collections of immune cells that attempt to wall off and contain sites of infection or damage.
- It’s caused by Pythium insidiosum, part of a group of organisms called oomycetes that are similar to fungi. Oomycetes, however, belong to the kingdom Protista and the order Peronosporales, not the kingdom Fungi.
Phycomycosis and Related Disorders
- Pythiosis is considered a form of “phycomycosis,” which refers to a group of pyogranulomatous diseases. The term “phycomycosis” is often used to categorize diseases caused by certain types of fungi and fungus-like organisms, including a number of oomycetes.
- Other diseases in the phycomycosis complex include conidiobolomycosis and basidiobolobysosis. Like pythiosis, these conditions are also caused by specific types of fungus-like organisms that cause similar types of inflammatory reactions in the tissue.
- The phycomycosis complex also includes diseases caused by members of the order Mucorales. Mucorales are an order of fungi that can cause a range of infections in humans and animals. It’s implied that the ways these organisms cause disease, and the diseases they cause, are closely related to those caused by Pythium insidiosum and other organisms in the phycomycosis complex.
Cite This Article
APA
Chaffin MK, Schumacher J, McMullan WC.
(1995).
Cutaneous pythiosis in the horse.
Vet Clin North Am Equine Pract, 11(1), 91-103.
https://doi.org/10.1016/s0749-0739(17)30334-6 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Large Animal Medicine and Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, Texas A&M University, College Station, USA.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Dermatomycoses / diagnosis
- Dermatomycoses / microbiology
- Dermatomycoses / therapy
- Dermatomycoses / veterinary
- Diagnosis, Differential
- Horse Diseases / diagnosis
- Horse Diseases / microbiology
- Horse Diseases / therapy
- Horses
- Pythium / isolation & purification
- Skin / microbiology
- Skin / pathology
Citations
This article has been cited 13 times.- Rodríguez N, Whitfield-Cargile CM, Chamoun-Emanuelli AM, Hildreth E, Jordan W, Coleman MC. Nasopharyngeal bacterial and fungal microbiota in normal horses and horses with nasopharyngeal cicatrix syndrome. J Vet Intern Med 2021 Nov;35(6):2897-2911.
- Atiba A, Ghazy A, Hamad MH. Evaluating the efficacy of surgical excision and topical dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) in the treatment of equine cutaneous pythiosis. Iran J Vet Res 2020 Fall;21(4):301-307.
- Chindamporn A, Kammarnjessadakul P, Kesdangsakonwut S, Banlunara W. A case of canine cutaneous pythiosis in Thailand. Access Microbiol 2020;2(4):acmi000109.
- Barlaam A, Traversa D, Papini R, Giangaspero A. Habronematidosis in Equids: Current Status, Advances, Future Challenges. Front Vet Sci 2020;7:358.
- Konradt G, Bassuino DM, Bianchi MV, Castro L, Caprioli RA, Pavarini SP, Santurio JM, Azevedo MI, Jesus FP, Driemeier D. Cutaneous Pythiosis in calves: An epidemiologic, pathologic, serologic and molecular characterization. Med Mycol Case Rep 2016 Dec;14:24-26.
- Grant D, Glass R, Hansen R, Vilela R, Mendoza L. Cutaneous pythiosis in a Red Brangus beef calf cured by immunotherapy. Med Mycol Case Rep 2016 Dec;14:1-3.
- Dória RG, Carvalho MB, Freitas SH, Laskoski LM, Colodel EM, Mendonça FS, Silva MA, Grigoletto R, Fantinato Neto P. Evaluation of intravenous regional perfusion with amphotericin B and dimethylsulfoxide to treat horses for pythiosis of a limb. BMC Vet Res 2015 Jul 16;11:152.
- Fonseca AO, Botton Sde A, Nogueira CE, Corrêa BF, Silveira Jde S, de Azevedo MI, Maroneze BP, Santurio JM, Pereira DI. In vitro reproduction of the life cycle of Pythium insidiosum from kunkers' equine and their role in the epidemiology of pythiosis. Mycopathologia 2014 Feb;177(1-2):123-7.
- Salas Y, Márquez A, Canelón J, Perazzo Y, Colmenárez V, López JA. Equine pythiosis: report in crossed bred (Criole Venezuelan) horses. Mycopathologia 2012 Dec;174(5-6):511-7.
- Santos CE, Marques LC, Zanette RA, Jesus FP, Santurio JM. Does immunotherapy protect equines from reinfection by the oomycete Pythium insidiosum?. Clin Vaccine Immunol 2011 Aug;18(8):1397-9.
- Schurko AM, Mendoza L, de Cock AW, Bedard JE, Klassen GR. Development of a species-specific probe for Pythium insidiosum and the diagnosis of pythiosis. J Clin Microbiol 2004 Jun;42(6):2411-8.
- Mendoza L, Kaufman L, Mandy W, Glass R. Serodiagnosis of human and animal pythiosis using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Clin Diagn Lab Immunol 1997 Nov;4(6):715-8.
- Vasconcelos AB, França DA, Prado ACD, Yamauchi DH, Silva ACAD, Barros IO, Valença SRFA, Lucheis SB, Bosco SMG. Molecular Detection of Pythium insidiosum in Cutaneous Lesions of Horses from Northeastern Brazil. Animals (Basel) 2025 Sep 30;15(19).
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