MISDIAGNOSIS OF ILEITIS COMMON
Veterinary pathologist Kent Schwartz says about one-third of the grow-finish diarrhea cases submitted to the Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory test positive for Lawsonia — the organism that causes ileitis. Another third of the cases are associated with salmonella and the last third consist of TGE, circovirus, brachyspira, parasites, etc.
According to Schwartz, circovirus and hemorrhagic bowel syndrome (HBS) are enteric diseases easily confused with ileitis at necropsy. “The hemorrhagic form of ileitis can cause sudden death with blood in the intestine, as do HBS and volvulus,” he says. “If there is any autolysis at necropsy, these are sometimes difficult to differentiate without the aid of microscopy or additional laboratory testing.”