FELINE SARCOCYSTIS-ASSOCIATED MENINGOENCEPHALOMYELITIS
A single case of central nervous system infection of a cat with a Sarcocystis sp. has been reported. A 13-week-old Burmese kitten had clinical signs of depression, lethargy, and cried as if in pain. Physical examination revealed that the kitten was depressed, afebrile, and had left-sided hemiparesis. The third eyelids of both eyes were prolapsed. The kitten was euthanized and examined at necropsy. No gross lesions were present. Microscopic lesions were confined to the brain and spinal cord. The cerebral cortex and caudate nucleus were the areas of the brain most severely affected. Multifocal areas of intense inflammation associated with necrosis, widespread edema, and gemistocytic asrtocytosis in the underlying subcortical white matter were present. Lesions in the spinal cord and medula oblongata consisted prominent perivascular cuffs of lymphocytes, plasma cells, and mononuclear cells in the gray and white matter, with mild inflamatory cell infiltrates in the neurophil. Most Sarcocystis stages were seen in the spinal cord and consisted of meronts and merozoites in neurons and in unidentified cells in the neurophil. The diagnosis was confirmed by immunohistochemical examination and positive reactivity with rabbit anti-Sarcocystis serum.
Reference:
Dubey JP, Higgins RJ, Barr BC, Spangler WL, Kollin B, Jorgensen LS. 1994. Sarcocystis-associated meningoencephalomyelitis in a cat. J Vet Diagn Invest 6: 118-120.