Nocardioform Placentitis

Nocardioform placentitis (NP) is a pathologically unique form of focal mucoid placentitis. It is characterized by infection with gram-positive branching bacteria in the ventral aspect of the fetal side (i.e., chorioallantois) of the feto-maternal interface, creating a lymphoplasmacytic mucoid lesion with a typical pungent/soil odor.

NP was first diagnosed in central Kentucky in the mid-1980s. Since its first description, the occurrence of NP has varied from sporadic cases to outbreak years in the region. Outside Kentucky and the United States, NP has been primarily reported as isolated cases, rarely as outbreaks and with Amycolatopsis spp as the exclusive etiological agent. Four outcomes have been described in mares experiencing NP: abortion, stillbirth, delivery of a weak premature or term foal, and delivery of a healthy normal foal.