Botulism in horses: a case report

Abstract

Two cases of botulism in horses are described in the article. In the first case two horses died, one survived and recovered after four weeks. Botulotoxin type B was detected using a mouse bioassay in the gastrointestinal content of both dead horses; Clostridium botulinum bacteria were cultivated from one of them. In the second case two horses were affected. One of them was euthanized because of persistent recumbency, the second one recovered after six weeks. Detection of botulotoxin in the serum of the dead horse using the mouse bioassay was not successful.

Keywords

• intoxication
• clostridium botulinum
• botulotoxin