Equine Cryptococcal Endometritis and Placentitis with Neonatal Cryptococcal Pneumonia

dying of A. suis septicemia may be remarkably similar to the lation and identification of the offending organism is neclung lesions observed with APP infection, histologic lesions essary to definitively differentiate these 2 diseases, which may in the lungs of these pigs were distinct. The pulmonary hemhave remarkably similar presentations in grow/finish pigs. orrhage and necrosis was not accompanied by an inflammatory cell exudate (oat cells) or sequestra as is typically observed with APP infection. Lesions consisted of focally extensive areas of alveolar necrosis, flooding of alveolar lumina with a fibrinohemorrhagic exudate, and scattered intravascular colonies of bacteria. The identification of foci of necrosis associated with intravascular bacterial colonies in additional organs confirmed a septic process. Actinobacillus suis septicemia has traditionally been perceived as a disease of suckling and recently weaned pigs. As this case and Canadian reports illustrate, this view of the disease syndromes caused by A. suis may need to be expanded. Particularly when high-health status herds are involved, outbreaks of A. suis septicemia may occur in older animals. Caution must be exercised when investigating outbreaks of sudden death in grow/finish pigs with hemorrhagic and necrotizing lung lesions, because these changes may be observed with either A. suis septicemia or APP infection. Although gross and histologic lesions suggestive of a septic process certainly favor a diagnosis of A. suis septicemia, isoReferences