Necropsies of eight horses infected with Strongylus equinus and Strongylus edentatus

Ponies (n = 8) approximately 18 months old, were infected with 20,000 to 30,000 infective larvae of Strongylus equinus with less than 10% contamination with Strongylus edentatus larvae and necropsied 7 months post-infection. Lesions were present in the omentum, liver, pancreas, ventral colon, caecum and occasionally in the lungs. There were numerous intraabdominal adhesions and severe multiple granulomatous omentitis. Pancreatic damage, which characterises S. equinus, was exceptionally mild and was manifested mainly by slight periductular infiltration of eosinophils. Granulomas associated with larvae were found in the connective tissue associated with the pancreas. Larvae were recovered from the flanks, the peritoneum, the caecum and the kidney. Larval recovery was low, with a high percentage of the total number of larvae recovered in some of the carcasses being S. edentatus.