Rhodococcus equi bronchopneumonia is a prevalent cause of disease in foals, said M. Keith Chaffin, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVIM, a professor of medicine at Texas A&M University’s vet school, at the 2008 American Association of Equine Practitioners convention, which was held Dec. 6-10 in San Diego, Calif. (The lead author of the paper was Sarah M. Reuss, VMD, of Texas A&M, but she was unable to attend and Chaffin made the presentation.)

Chaffin said the problem with R. equi goes deeper than that because the bacterium is also associated with extrapulmonary disorders (EPDs).

These extrapulmonary disorders, Chaffin said, often are difficult to recognize clinically, but they can affect the outcome of a sick foal. A study was launched at Texas A&M to describe the frequency, types, and outcome of extrapulmonary disorders and to identify risk factors.

After reviewing medical records of foals diagnosed with R. equi infections at Texas A&M between 1987 and 2007, it was decided that 150 foals met the criteria for inclusion in the study

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