Rhodococcus equi

Diagnostic spectrum

General information

Rhodococcus equi is a facultative pathogen organism in soil or horse faeces.It is the most frequent pathogen in heavy lung disease in foals aged 3 weeks to 6 months; lethality is high. Entry and predilection site is the lung (abscessation!); hematogen spreading in other organs is possible. Other entries maybe the gastrointestinal tract (diarrhoeas and ulcers) or umbilical infections. Moreover R.equi shows an affinity for
bones and joints.