Infecção por Rhodococcus equi em oito Potros.

Abstract

Rhodococcosis is a disease caused by Gram-positive bacteria Rhodococcus equi (R. equi) which is present both in the gastrointestinal tract of horses and in the soil. It is an important pathogen that the foal, when infected, can show signs of fever, apathy, pneumonia, lung abscesses or even enteritis. Due to its high morbidity, several properties present a large number of infected foals, accompanied by a high rate of animal mortality. The objective was to report the occurrence of Rhodococcus equi in eight foals aged 3 to 5 months who presented signs of apathy, dyspnea, fever, and crackling on the lungs. Two animals died one day prior to the veterinary doctor's visit and necropsy was performed, it was verified that the lungs had several abscess points. Four affected animals were referred to the Equi Sport Center clinic in the city of Uberaba and then two more foals showed clinical signs and these remained on the farm. The owner had already lost 12 foals in the previous year with the same clinical signs as the foals attended. Hemogram, fibrinogen and ultrasound tests were performed on the four foals that were in the clinic. In the blood tests, an increase in the rod level of the four foals was observed. The fibrinogen dosage also showed alterations (830, 870, 885 and 930 mg / dl), a hypoechoic region was detected in the lungs, suggesting an abscess. The treatment used in the animals was fluid support, plasma transfusion, anti-inflammatory, vitamin mineral supplement and amino acids antimicrobial, and the four who remained in the clinic were also submitted to nebulization. There were 25 days of treatment, enough to successfully resolve the case