Suppurative meningoencephalitis secondary to a Trueperella pyogenes-induced mandibular abscess in a free-ranging gray brocket deer (Mazama gouazoubira)

Trueperella pyogenes is an opportunistic pathogen, most commonly affecting ruminants and pigs. A female free-ranging gray brocket deer (Mazama gouazoubira) had an abscess in the masseter muscle associated with an osteolysis and osteomyelitis in the adjacent right mandibule, with a fistulous tract to the orbit and through the optic foramen into the skull, causing a suppurative meningitis. Histologically, the abscess was characterized by a neutrophilic and histiocytic inflammatory infiltrate with myriad of Gram-positive rod-shaped bacteria, and a focally extensive suppurative and histiocytic leptomeningitis of the ventral portions of the brain. Aerobic microbiologic culture, MALDI-ToF, and PCR identified T. pyogenes.