Equine Multinodular Pulmonary Fibrosis
- Topics: Article
Pneumonia (lung inflammation) in horses can be quite serious, particularly the recently described form termed equine multinodular pulmonary fibrosis. At the 2009 American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention, held Dec. 5-9 in Las Vegas, Nev., one veterinarian discussed his experiences with the diagnosis and treatment of five cases of the disease in horses.
Equine multinodular pulmonary fibrosis results in damage and fibrosis of the tissues of the lungs in a characteristic nodular pattern, explained Rodney Belgrave, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVIM, with the Mid-Atlantic Equine Medical Center in Ringoes, N.J. Equine herpesvirus-5 (EHV-5) has been implicated in this disease, he noted.
"These five cases of equine multinodular pulmonary fibrosis presented to us from 2004-2007; their ages ranged from eight to 16 years, and they originated from different barns," recalled Belgrave. "In each case, they were the only ones in their barns affected. They were all referred because of fever and weight loss that did not respond to antibiotic therapy."

Related Articles
Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with