Listeriosis in an adult horse: Clinical case description

Summary Listeria monocytogenes is a ubiquitous, small, rod‐shaped, gram‐positive, facultatively anaerobic, saprophytic bacterium living in the plant–soil environment. Equine listeriosis is rarely reported, and literature‐based evidence is scarce. The horse presented at Equine Clinic of University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Kosice, Slovakia, showing only limited neurological signs, but the illness was terminal. The duration of the disease was short, and the development of clinical signs after presentation to the clinic was fast. The horse succumbed to the infection within 12 h after presentation; bacteria were diagnosed in the brain tissue using the bacteriological culture method. Our brief paper describes the clinical signs on presentation, biochemistry and urine analysis findings, development of the clinical symptomatology and necropsy findings.