Oesophageal and gastric gongylonemiasis in a donkey

Members of the genus Gongylonema are nematodes that commonly infect ruminants, particularly sheep and goats. An 11-year-old donkey mare was referred to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, School of Veterinary Medicine, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, northeastern Iran, with a history of acute colitis. At post-mortem examination, there were several white to pink zigzag tracks in the mucosa of the oesophagus and the stomach which contained long white worms. Microscopic examination of the parasite revealed that it was Gongylonema pulchrum.