IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group Library

IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library

View printer friendly
Yamaguchi, R.; Nakamura, S.; Hori, H.; Kato, Y.; Une, Y.
Purulent Meningoventriculitis caused by _Streptococcus equi_ subspecies _zooepidemicus_ in a snow leopard
2012 Journal of Comparative Pathology (147): 397-400
_Streptococcus equi_ subspecies _zooepidemicus_ (SEZ) is a zoonotic pathogen that causes respiratory tract infections in man and animals. SEZ infections are very rare in felids. This report describes purulent meningoventriculitis caused by SEZ in an approximately 16-year-old male snow leopard (_Panthera uncia_). The animal exhibited neurological signs and died 1 month after their onset. On necropsy examination, the surface blood vessels of the brain were swollen and there was an increased volume and turbidity of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Microscopically, suppurative inflammation accompanied by gram-positive cocci was observed in the meninges and near the ventricles. SEZ was isolated from the brain tissue and CSF. This is the first report of infection with SEZ in a felid other than a domestic cat. This animal had not had direct contact with horses, but it had been fed horse flesh that may have been the source of infection.
	PDF files are only accessible to Friends of the Cat Group. Joining Friends of the Cat Group gives you unlimited access and downloads in the Cat SG Library for one year, and allows you to receive our newsletter Cat News (2 regular issues per year plus special issues). More information how to join here