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Home / Equine Research Bank / BMC Vet Res / The facultative human oral pathogen Prevotella histicola in ...
BMC veterinary research2021; 17(1); 343; doi: 10.1186/s12917-021-03048-9

The facultative human oral pathogen Prevotella histicola in equine cheek tooth apical/ periapical infection: a case report.

Abstract: Prevotella histicola is a facultative oral pathogen that under certain conditions causes pathologies such as caries and periodontitis in humans. Prevotella spp. also colonize the oral cavity of horses and can cause disease, but P. histicola has not yet been identified. Methods: A 12-year-old Tinker mare was referred to the clinic for persistent, malodorous purulent nasal discharge and quidding. Conservative antibiotic (penicillin), antiphlogistic (meloxicam), and mucolytic (dembrexine-hydrochloride) treatment prior to referral was unsuccessful and symptoms worsened. Oral examination, radiography, sino-/ rhinoscopy, and standing computed tomography revealed severe apical/ periapical infection of the upper cheek tooth 209 with accompanying unilateral sinonasal inflammation and conchal necrosis. The tooth exhibited extensive subocclusal mesial infundibular cemental hypoplasia and caries, and an occlusal fissure fracture. After mechanical debridement and thermoplastic resin filling of the spacious subocclusal carious infundibular lesion, the tooth was extracted intraorally. The sinusitis and conchal necrosis were treated transendoscopically. Selective bacteriological swab cultures of affected tooth roots and subsequent matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry showed an infection with the obligate anaerobic, Gram-negative bacterium P. histicola. Surgical intervention and adapted antibiotic therapy led to normal healing without complications. Conclusions: This study provides the first documented case of dental infection in a horse caused by P. histicola at once indicating necessity of more sufficient microbiological diagnostics and targeted antibiotic treatment in equine dental practice. This finding is also conducive to understand species-specific Prevotella diversity and cross-species distribution.
© 2021. The Author(s).
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Publication Date: 2021-10-30 PubMed ID: 34717609PubMed Central: PMC8556951DOI: 10.1186/s12917-021-03048-9Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research article provides insight into a case where a horse was infected with the bacteria Prevotella histicola, generally known to cause dental diseases in humans. It illustrates the first recorded incident where this bacterium caused dental infection in a horse, revealing opportunities for better microbiological diagnostics and treatment in equine dental care.

Objective and Methodology

The researchers aimed to investigate a unique dental infection in a horse caused by Prevotella histicola, an organism typically associated with oral diseases in humans. They used a systematic approach involving various diagnostic techniques such as oral examination, radiography, sino-/ rhinoscopy, and standing computed tomography. These techniques revealed a severe apical or periapical infection in the horse’s upper cheek tooth, leading to inflammation and necrosis.

  • The horse was a 12-year-old mare which had shown signs of persistent discharge and quidding.
  • Earlier treatments including penicillin, meloxicam, and dembrexine-hydrochloride failed to alleviate the condition.

Observations and Interventions

Several afflictions were observed within the horse’s oral cavity. It had a deeply impacted tooth with multiple complications such as cemental hypoplasia, caries, and an occlusal fissure fracture.

  • Following these observations, the tooth was extracted, and the sinusitis and necrosis were treated.
  • The extracted tooth was examined further, and swab cultures from the affected tooth roots were analyzed using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS).
  • This analysis identified P. histicola, an anaerobic, Gram-negative bacterium as the cause of the infection.
  • An adapted antibiotic therapy was administered post-surgery, which led to normal healing without complications.

Conclusions and Implications

This research provides a significant reference to the equine medical community as it highlights the need for more robust microbiological diagnostics and targeted antibiotic treatment.

  • This case marks the first recorded instance of a horse being infected by P. histicola, a bacterium usually associated with human oral diseases.
  • The researchers suggest more extensive research to understand the species-specific diversity of Prevotella and its cross-species distribution.
  • The study also emphasizes the necessity to explore antibiotic treatments in equine dental practice that are more tailored to the observed bacterial ecology.

Cite This Article

APA
Kau S, Mansfeld MD, Šoba A, Zwick T, Staszyk C. (2021). The facultative human oral pathogen Prevotella histicola in equine cheek tooth apical/ periapical infection: a case report. BMC Vet Res, 17(1), 343. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-021-03048-9

Publication

BMC veterinary research
ISSN: 1746-6148
NlmUniqueID: 101249759
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 17
Issue: 1
Pages: 343

Researcher Affiliations

Kau, Silvio
  • Institute of Morphology, Working Group Anatomy, Department of Pathobiology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria. silvio.kau@vetmeduni.ac.at.
Mansfeld, Michael D
  • Carinthian Institute of Veterinary Disease Control, Klagenfurt, Austria.
Šoba, Alexandra
  • Synlab-vet, Augsburg Laboratory, Augsburg, Germany.
Zwick, Timo
  • Department of Equine Dentistry and Maxillofacial Surgery, Veterinary Clinic Gessertshausen, Gessertshausen, Germany.
Staszyk, Carsten
  • Institute of Veterinary Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Giessen, Germany.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Bacteroidaceae Infections / diagnostic imaging
  • Bacteroidaceae Infections / pathology
  • Bacteroidaceae Infections / surgery
  • Bacteroidaceae Infections / veterinary
  • Cheek / diagnostic imaging
  • Cheek / microbiology
  • Cheek / pathology
  • Female
  • Horse Diseases / diagnostic imaging
  • Horse Diseases / pathology
  • Horse Diseases / surgery
  • Horses
  • Humans
  • Prevotella / isolation & purification
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed / veterinary
  • Tooth / diagnostic imaging
  • Tooth / microbiology
  • Tooth / pathology
  • Tooth Extraction / veterinary
  • Treatment Outcome

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interest.

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