Invasive pulmonary pseudallesheriosis in a cross-breed calf

Granulomatous and Eosinophilic Rhinitis in a Cow Caused by Pseudallescheria boydii Species Complex (Anamorph Scedosporium apiospermum)

A 2-year-old Hereford cow was presented to the teaching hospital for increased respiratory noise and bilateral bloody nasal discharge. A nodular rhinitis was detected clinically, and the nasal biopsy revealed a granulomatous and eosinophilic rhinitis with intralesional fungi. The cow was euthanized due to financial constraints. Grossly multifocal-to-coalescing, raised, ulcerated firm nodules were present in both nares. Histologically, the lamina propria was expanded by intense infiltrates of eosinophils, epithelioid macrophages, multinucleate giant cells, lymphocytes, and plasma cells. Associated with the inflammatory cells were variably sized, septate hyphae, 5–8 μm in diameter, admixed with numerous, terminal conidia, 6–30 μm in diameter, with a discrete outer wall identified by culture as Pseudallescheria boydii species complex (anamorph Scedosporium apiospermum). The infection was localized to the nasal cavity with no gross or microscopic evidence of a systemic dissemination.

Scedosporium apiospermum: changing clinical spectrum of a therapy-refractory opportunist*

Current knowledge on the opportunist Scedosporium apiospermum (teleomorph: Pseudallescheria boydii), generated over a period of more than 120 years, is reviewed. The natural environmental habitat of the fungus is unknown; nutrient-rich, brackish waters like river estuaria have been suggested. The fungus is strongly promoted by agricultural and particularly by industrial pollution.