Abstract
A 16 year-old captive male zebra (Equus quagga) at Bannerghatta Biological Park, died after seven days of initial symptoms. Symptoms included complete anorexia, severe watery diarrhoea, dehydration and colic. Faecal sample examination by direct smear method revealed the presence of Entamoeba oocysts. On post-mortem examination, petechial haemorrhages were found on serosa along with streaks and diffused haemorrhages in the mucosa of intestine, cecum and colon. The characteristic sub-mucosal haemorrhages in the glandular portion of the stomach resembling button-shaped ulcers were found embedded deep into the mucosa and no lesions in the fibrous part of the stomach. Impression smears from the glandular stomach mucosa revealed numerous trophozoites of Entamoeba histolytica.E. histolytica most commonly causes necrotising and ulcerative colitis in humans and captive non-human primates. Rare cases of gastric amebiasis also have been reported in captive horses. To the best of our knowledge, this appears to be the first report confirming E. histolytica as the cause of gastrointestinal amebiasis in a captive male zebra.
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