Abstract

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is being reported with increasing frequency as a human nosocomial pathogen, especially among immuno-compromised patients. To the authors' knowledge, this pathogen has not previously been associated with lower airway disease in the horse. In this paper the clinical findings, laboratory diagnosis and response to treatment of seven cases of respiratory infection with S. maltophilia in horses, presented at three equine referral hospitals in Denmark in 2007, are described. In all cases there was a clinical history of chronic coughing and abundant mucopurulent exudate was observed in the lower trachea on endoscopy. On culture of tracheal aspirate, grey, slow-growing colonies, identified as S. maltophilia by both API 20NE identification and 16s ribosomal DNA sequencing, were identified. All isolates had a similar antibiotic susceptibility pattern characterised by resistance to all penicillins and cephalosporins, and to imipenem, gentamicin, amikacin and rifampicin. Ribotyping and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of the S. maltophilia isolates from different patients indicated that they were either indistinguishable or closely related. This study indicates that S. maltophilia can be associated with chronic lower airway disease in the horse and provides useful initial insights into the diagnosis, therapy and epidemiology of this novel condition.

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