2018 Volume 71 Issue 9 Pages 493-496
Two breeding Japanese black cows died in quick succession on a breeding farm in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, in December 2016. Both cows had pale visible mucous membranes and difficulty walking. A blood test, which had been done ante-mortem on the second cow, showed marked anemia and hypoalbuminemia. The necropsy of this cow revealed a large amount of Mecistocirrus digitatus inside the abomasum. Most of the recovered nematodes were immature adults (fifth stage larvae) and the stomach content had an average egg count of only 3.0 per gram. The necropsy was essential in identifying the M. digitatus infection as the cause of death. Clinical symptoms of the first cow were very similar and thought to be the result of blood loss from an M. digitatus infection.
