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1 March 2000 DETECTION OF SARCOCYSTIS NEURONA IN THE BRAIN OF A GRANT'S ZEBRA (EQUUS BURCHELLI BOHMI)
Antoinette E. Marsh, Mary Denver, Frazer I. Hill, M. R. McElhaney, J. G. Trupkiewicz, James Stewart, Lisa Tell
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Abstract

An 8-yr-old intact male Grant's zebra (Equus burchelli bohmi) was referred to the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital of the University of California–Davis after being found in the owner's pasture obtunded and in lateral recumbency. The animal was hypothermic, weak, and unwilling to rise. There was no evidence of trauma, and the zebra had seemed normal the preceding evening. There was no extensor rigidity, and cranial nerve reflexes were normal. Flexor and extensor reflexes were weak upon initial examination. A complete blood count and serum biochemistry analysis revealed a mild leukocytosis, hyperfibrinogenemia, hypoglycemia, hyponatremia, hypochloremia, hypocalcemia, and hypoalbuminemia. Urinalysis was normal, and a urine toxicology screen for alkaloids was negative. No toxic substance was found in the hay or pasture grasses although the owner reported the presence of yellow star thistle and mushrooms in the pasture. The cerebrospinal fluid cytologic and biochemical analyses were normal, but antibodies to Sarcocystis neurona were detected. The zebra died despite aggressive supportive therapy over a 4-day period. The necropsy demonstrated severe gastrointestinal nematodiasis that could account for hypoalbuminemia and electrolyte abnormalities. Histopathologic examination of the nervous system revealed focal areas of perivascular cuffing in the brainstem that were comprised mainly of lymphocytes, monocytes, and plasma cells. Immunohistochemical staining identified the presence of S. neurona merozoites associated with the lesions. This zebra probably died from severe endoparasitism that resulted in malabsorption, weakness, and recumbency rather than from encephalitis associated with S. neurona merozoites. Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis has not been reported previously in nondomestic equids.

Antoinette E. Marsh, Mary Denver, Frazer I. Hill, M. R. McElhaney, J. G. Trupkiewicz, James Stewart, and Lisa Tell "DETECTION OF SARCOCYSTIS NEURONA IN THE BRAIN OF A GRANT'S ZEBRA (EQUUS BURCHELLI BOHMI)," Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 31(1), 82-86, (1 March 2000). https://doi.org/10.1638/1042-7260(2000)031[0082:DOSNIT]2.0.CO;2
Received: 9 February 1999; Published: 1 March 2000
KEYWORDS
case report
equine protozoal myeloencephalitis
Equus burchelii bohmi
Grant's zebra
Sarcocystis neurona
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