Disseminated septic meningitis in a mare.

The study investigates a case of disseminated septic meningitis in a 3-year-old female Morgan horse, which was diagnosed through physical, neurologic, and clinicopathologic procedures and confirmed post-mortem. The condition was suggested to be caused by an Actinomyces bacteria.

Background of the Study

• The researchers in this study aimed to examine a specific case of a 3-year-old female Morgan horse exhibiting signs of anorexia and nasal discharge, indicating a possible diagnosis of suppurative meningitis.
• A necropsy was performed on the horse to confirm the diagnosis.
• The infection causing the symptoms was found to be Actinomyces, a type of bacteria.

Findings and Procedure

• Multiple tests and procedures including physical and neurological examinations along with clinicopathologic findings led the researchers to suggest that the mare was suffering from suppurative meningitis.
• The horse exhibited symptoms such as anorexia, suggesting a lack of appetite or inability to eat, and nasal discharge, a potential sign of respiratory infection.
• The necropsy findings further confirmed the tentative diagnosis of meningitis.

Cause of the Meningitis

• An Actinomyces strain of bacteria was found to be the causative agent of both the meningitis and the lung abscesses found in the horse.
• Actinomyces is a genus of the actinobacteria class of bacteria. Some species are known to cause disease in humans and animals.
• The bacteria were located in a meningeal abscess around the pituitary gland, a small area at the base of the brain that controls other glands in the body, as well as in the resolving lung abscesses.