Unusual course of mastitis in the mare in the course of strangles resulting in autoamputation of the mammary gland – a case report

Abstract

Inflammation of the mammary gland (mastitis) is not a common disease in mares. Moreover, abscessation of the mammary gland is rare, and the pathogenesis of abscessation is not fully understood. As a rule, in such cases, intensive antibiotic therapy is required, combined with the rinsing of the abscess, and in cases of botryomycosis, the mammary gland must be surgically removed. The case described here concerns a six-yearold mare with right-sided mastitis and typical signs caused by Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus and Streptococcus equi subsp. equi. The bacteria were sensitive to a number of antibiotics, including penicillin. Before the results of microbiological examination were obtained, the mare was treated with sulfamerazine 25 g/day, trimethoprim 5 g/day (per os) and gentamicin at a dose of 5.5 mg/kg (i.v.), as well as with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Despite the treatment, the mare’s condition began to deteriorate (loss of appetite, leukocytosis, enlargement and rupture of the mandibular lymph nodes, reluctance to move and cracking of the udder skin with purulent discharge). Then, procaine penicillin was administered at a dose of 6000 mg/day i.m. The mare’s condition began to improve, but large amounts of pus continued to ooze from the cracks in the skin of the udder, and on the sixteenth day after penicillin administration, the affected part of the gland underwent spontaneous autoamputation. Inspection of the wound after the autoamputation of the right part of the mammary gland showed no remains of abnormal tissue. The etiological agent and the signs of the disease indicate that an abscess of the right side of the mammary gland was formed in the course of strangles. The formation of abscesses in various parts of the body, including the mammary gland, is not unusual in the course of strangles. What is unusual, however, is the autoamputation of the mammary gland. The mare was discharged home within a few days of the autoamputation, and no further complications were reported.