2026 Volume 79 Issue 4 Pages e35-e40
A 3-month-old Holstein calf presented with hindlimb paralysis and astasia. Palpitation during physical examination identified a fluctuating mass in the right dorsal region, and an abscess in the eighth thoracic vertebra was suggested by ultrasonographic and radiographic examinations. At autopsy, an encapsulated abscess was discovered that had formed with significant dissolution and perforation of the affected spinous process and vertebral arch. The abscess extended into the spinal canal, and the deformed vertebrae compressed spinal cord from the dorsal side. In addition, similar abscesses were also observed in the liver and root of the tongue. Bacteriological examination revealed that Fusobacterium necrophorum subsp. necrophorum was isolated from all abscesses. Immunohistochemically, F. necrophorum antigens were detected in the abscess tissue and suppurative lesions. In this case, it was suggested that the pathogen may have invaded from the umbilical cord after birth, formed abscess in the liver, and then subsequently spread hematogenously to the thoracic vertebra.
