Acta Vet. Brno 2025, 94: 187-192
Cutaneous histoplasmosis in a roadkill European badger (Meles meles), Czech Republic
Histoplasmosis is caused by a thermally dimorphic ascomycete fungus, Histoplasma capsulatum. Europe has long been considered a non-endemic area for histoplasmosis; however, in recent decades, sporadic cases of histoplasmosis have been confirmed in the European badger (Meles meles) in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. In 2014, an adult male badger carcass was found on a highway on the outskirts of the city of Brno (Southern Moravia, Czech Republic). A gross pathological examination revealed a good overall body condition prior to receiving multiple traumatic injuries from a car impact. However, multiple irregular nodular lesions measuring up to 5 cm in diameter were observed on the skin of the ventral part of the body and the thoracic limbs. Histopathology revealed a granulomatous inflammatory reaction in the lesions, with abundant macrophages multifocally forming large multinucleated giant cells, lymphocytes, plasma cells and scarce granulocytes. The macrophages contained oval to spherical 2.5–3.0 μm yeast-like structures in the cytoplasm. These stained mildly to moderately with haematoxylin and eosin and well with periodic acid Schiff, revealing a small central nucleus surrounded by a clear zone. Other organs showed no macroscopic or microscopic pathology. The internal transcribed spacer rDNA sequence from the skin was identical to a sequence previously detected in a H. capsulatum-infected badger in Germany. This case report detailing cutaneous histoplasmosis in a European badger marks the first documentation of H. capsulatum in the Czech Republic and emphasises the potential for early detection of new and emerging pathogens through wildlife disease monitoring.
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Funding
This research was supported through project FVHE_Pikula_2023ITA25. The funders had no role in the study design, data analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript. We are grateful to Dr. Kevin Roche for correcting and improving the English text.
