Haemorrhagic necrotising enteritis in foals associated with Clostridium perfringens.

The study investigates the cause of death in two foals from Thoroughbred breeds, determining it to be a Clostridium perfringens infection that led to severe haemorrhagic enteritis and dehydration.

Introduction

In the research paper, the authors examined the mysterious death of two foals that displayed acute symptoms of depression, severe haemorrhagic diarrhoea, and dehydration before dying a few hours later. Since these severe symptoms developed so rapidly, the cause of the disease was not immediately apparent.

Autopsy Findings

• Upon conducting autopsies, it was discovered that the foals had suffered from acute haemorrhagic enteritis, a severe inflammation of the intestine characterized by hemorrhage or bleeding.
• This inflammations extended from the anterior (front) part of the jejunum (a section of the small intestine) to the terminal ileum (the end part of the small intestine).
• Furthermore, a microscopic examination revealed ‘villus necrosis’, meaning the small, finger-like protrusions along the intestine wall that aid in nutrient absorption had started to die off.

Bacterial Involvement

• The necrotic or dead villi were surrounded by rod-shaped gram-positive bacteria, leading the researchers to suspect that a bacterial infection was the underlying cause of the enteritis.
• From the intestines of both foals, the bacterium Clostridium perfringens was isolated.
• The isolated strains were both identified as C. perfringens type C, a particularly virulent strain known to produce severe disease in many species.

Implications

• Further investigations are necessary to determine whether this form of bacteria could also be responsible for other unexplained cases of diarrhea in foals of the same age on the two studs in question.
• The outcome of the study marks an important step towards understanding and preventing foal deaths from bacterial infection, specifically by Clostridium perfringens.