Spinal coccidioidomycosis in a baboon
Rosenberg, D.P.; Gleiser, C.A.; Carey, K.D.
Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 185(11): 1379-1381
1984
ISSN/ISBN: 0003-1488 PMID: 6511588 Document Number: 224301
A case is reported in a 4-yr-old male baboon (Papio cynocephalus) which presented with lameness and reluctance to move. Radiography revealed lysis of the first lumbar vertebra and of the adjoining articulations of the last thoracic and second lumbar vertebrae. Due to a poor prognosis, the animal was euthanatized. Necropsy revealed a paravertebral abscess corresponding to the lesions found on radiography. Histological sections of vertebral bone and adjacent soft tissue contained a granulomatous lesion comprising many neutrophils, a few multinucleated giant cells and numerous thick-walled spherical organisms compatible with Coccidioides immitis. The titre of immunoglobulin G antibody to C. immitis in serum obtained at necropsy was 1:128, as measured by the complement fixation test.