
e-ISSN 1828-1427 |
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Rivista trimestrale di Sanità
Pubblica Veterinaria edita dall'Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale
dell'Abruzzo e del Molise G. Caporale
A quarterly journal devoted to veterinary public health, veterinary science and medicine published by the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise ‘G. Caporale’ in Teramo, Italy |
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ISSUES ONLINE
2012 - Volume 48 (4), October-December |
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Gabriella Di Francesco, Giovanni Savini, Alessandro Maggi, Nicola Cavaliere, Anna Rita D’Angelo & Giuseppe Marruchella |
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Equine meningo-encephalitis caused by Halicephalobus gingivalis: a case report observed during West Nile disease surveillance activities |
437-442 |
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Summary
A seven-year-old horse was euthanised after exhibiting a severe and rapidly progressive neurological disorder. Tissue samples were despatched to the Italian Reference Centre for Animal Foreign Diseases (Istituto 'G. Caporale' in Teramo) for diagnosis. All laboratory tests for equine neurotropic viruses gave negative results. Scattered perivascular inflammatory infiltrates and several parasites that were morphologically classified as Halicephalobus gingivalis, were seen within the brain upon microscopic examination. Pathological findings led to the diagnosis of parasitic meningo-encephalitis caused by H. gingivalis. This case report confirms that halicephalobosis should be taken into account in the differential diagnosis of equine encephalopathy and it also highlights the value of a multidisciplinary approach to problem solving in veterinary medicine.
Keywords
Halicephalobus gingivalis, Horse, Italy, Meningo-encephalitis, Parasite, Surveillance, West Nile disease. |
Full article |
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