Ruminant forestomach and abomasal mucormycosis under rumen acidosis

Spores of Absidia corymbifera were inoculated orally into sheep with ruminal acidosis produced by feeding barley. Lesions, which developed in forestomachs of all four inoculated cases, included desquamation of superficial layers of the mucosae and focal necrosis from lamina propria to muscular layers. Granulomatous lesions were in the submucosa of three sheep. Lesions in the abomasum (two sheep) included focal necrosis, diffuse hemorrhages, and infiltration of neutrophils. All lesions were accompanied by mycotic proliferation. These results show that A. corymbifera can invade forestomach mucosae through degenerate epithelium resulting from ruminal acidosis.