Mortierella wolfii keratomycosis in a horse.

This research article documents the first reported case of superficial keratomycosis, a fungal infection involving the cornea of the eye, caused by Mortierella wolfii in a horse.

Clinical Presentation and Diagnosis

• The study looks into a particular case of a thoroughbred filly (young female horse) that was brought in due to discomfort in her right eye which had persisted for two days.
• Upon examination, medical professionals discovered a superficial corneal ulcer located ventrally (towards the belly or underside of the horse), alongside multiple punctuate opacities in the axial region, the area surrounding the central line of the body.
• They collected samples from the ulcerated area through swabbing and scraping which were then subjected to microbiologic and cytologic examination for a thorough analysis.

Findings

• The microscopic evaluation of the collected corneal tissue revealed nonseptate fungal hyphae, or fungus without divided cells. This pointed towards the presence of a fungal infection.
• Fungal growth was confirmed after a culture of a corneal swab. This further solidified the primary diagnosis of a fungal infection in the horse’s right eye.

Treatment and Recovery

• Upon diagnosis, the horse was treated with a regimen of topical antifungal, antibiotic and autogenous serum, along with systemic anti-inflammatory drugs.
• The medical intervention proved successful as the problem resolved within 2 weeks, effectively eliminating the fungal infection from the horse’s eye.

Identification of the Fungus

• The clinical diagnosis of keratomycosis was confirmed through a cytologic evaluation of a corneal scraping.
• Based on the mycological characteristics observed from the samples collected, the fungus responsible for the infection was identified as Mortierella wolfii.
• The study notes that this is the first report of a horse contracting keratomycosis from this fungus, even though the fungus has been known to infect various organs in cattle.