Systemic mucormycosis caused by Lichtheimia ramosa in a pregnant cow

Abstract

Mucormycosis is a life-threatening fungal disease caused by opportunistic pathogens present in the environment. This report presents a case of a Lichtheimia ramosa infection that manifested as characteristic lesions in various visceral organs of a pregnant cow in Korea. The post-mortem examination revealed the cause of death to be mucormycosis. The fungi isolated from the liver were found to be Lichtheimia spp. Analysis of the fungi using Internal Transcribed Spacer gene sequencing facilitated the identification of Lichtheimia ramosa. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first clinical case of angioinvasive mucormycosis in cattle.