Pythiosis

Members of the oomycetous genus Pythium are ecologically and physiologically unique. They occur in soil and aquatic habitats worldwide.Pythium species are important plant pathogens causing seed decay, pre-emergent and post-emergent damping off, root rot of seedlings, and rot of stored foodstuffs. In addition, some species of Pythium have been reported to cause disease in fish. Pythium insidiosum, however, is the only member of the genus that has been recognized as a mammalian pathogen. Chandler et al. coined the term pythiosis to include all clinical and pathological manifestations caused by P. insidiosum in mammals. In horses, the disease has been long known as bursatee, leeches, granular dermatitis, hyphomycosis destruens equi, phycomycosis, espundia, summer sores, and swamp cancer. Pythiosis in mammals is characterized by the development of cutaneous, subcutaneous, blood vessel, and intestinal lesions and, less frequently, by the involvement of bones and lungs. If not treated, the disease progresses rapidly, becoming life-threatening.