FAILURE OF PASSIVE IMMUNITY TRANSFER IN A NEONATAL FOAL: CASE REPORT
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56238/arev7n11-023Keywords:
Colostrum, FPIT, Plasma TransfusionAbstract
Failure of passive immunity transfer (FPIT) in neonatal foals has a prevalence of 10% to 18%, being the most common cause of immunodeficiency in horses. Affected animals are predisposed to diarrhea, pneumonia, omphalophlebitis, arthritis, neonatal sepsis, and even death. A crossbred male foal, one day old and weighing 30 kg, from a property located in the municipality of Montes Altos, was presented with a history of apathy. Clinical examination revealed a heart rate of 120 bpm, respiratory rate of 110 bpm, temperature of 38.4°C, capillary refill time of two seconds, pink mucous membranes, and hypoglycemia (<30 mg/dL). The mare showed poor mammary gland development, suggesting low milk production, raising the suspicion that the foal had not ingested colostrum or that the colostrum lacked adequate immunoglobulin concentrations. Blood was collected from the foal for a commercial rapid test to measure IgG levels (IgG Check®), which indicated plasma IgG concentrations below 400 mg/dL, confirming failure of passive immunity transfer. The foal was treated with a slow intravenous transfusion of 1200 ml of blood plasma collected from its own mare, and the mare was treated with Metoclopramide (0.25 mg/kg IM, twice a day for two days) to stimulate milk letdown. The present report aims to describe a case of failure of passive immunity transfer in a neonatal foal, clarifying the concept, predisposing factors, preventive measures that can be implemented on farms, and the treatment adopted for the clinical recovery of the animal in this case report.
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