Haemoabdomen secondary to granulomatous periarteritis due to parasitism with Halicephalobus gingivalis in a mare

A 22‐year‐old Quarter Horse mare exhibited neurological signs consisting of head pressing, central blindness, minimal ataxia and dysphagia. Despite treatment, the mare collapsed and died shortly after onset of signs. On necropsy, there were approximately 15 l of free blood in the abdominal cavity. A 12 × 4 cm diameter, irregularly‐shaped, nodular, firm, tan/yellow mass was found adhered to the outer surface of the right lateral aspect of the caudal abdominal aorta. A similar mass also affected the caudal aspect of the right kidney. Histopathology of the aortic and renal masses revealed multiple coalescing granulomas containing intralesional nematodes compatible with Halicephalobus gingivalis. Inflammatory cells disrupted the aortic tunica adventitia as well as the outer tunica media. Similar exudate also affected the cerebrum, cerebellum and brainstem. Polymerase chain reaction amplification and sequencing of a portion of the large subunit ribosomal ribonucleic acid gene were performed using previously published primers for H. gingivalis to confirm the identity of the nematode. Although rupture of a blood vessel could not be demonstrated grossly, the histological findings suggest that inflammation may have breached a small calibre artery and caused the haemoabdomen.