Gastritis and gastric perforation due to Habronema spp. in the horse

A three-year-old horse was admitted to the Tehran Veterinary faculty teaching hospital with colic symptoms. The horse died with severe pain after two hours. Necropsy findings revealed a heavy worm infestation in the stomach. Parasitological examinations identified massive in vasion of Habronema muscae on the stomach mucosal surface and Draschia megastoma in the deep layer of mucosa and muscles.Histopathological sections showed two separate lesions including diffuse infiltration of mononuclear inflammatory cells with a number of eosinophils in the mucosa and submucosa that suggested eosinophilic gastritis. Another finding was a large granulation mass in the deep layer of the submucosa that contained granulomatous necrotic tissue and cross sections of D. megastoma.