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A Second

Chance Faced with a rare lung disease plus a liver disease that was

virtually unknown, it took a team effort to save Chance.

At twenty-seven Chance is an older horse, but he still Laboratory. The pathologist at the lab found severe
enjoys going for a ride with his owner. Last winter inflammation and fibrosis of Chance’s lungs, and
Chance started losing weight and energy. A visit to diagnosed Equine Multinodular Pulmonary Fibrosis
his veterinarian resulted in several abnormal blood (EMPF), in conjunction with Equine Herpesvirus. The
test findings that made her concerned about his liver big surprise: they also found herpes and fibrosis in his
function, so she referred Chance to the CCVM for liver.
further evaluation.
EMPF was first discovered in horses in 2007, and equine
Dr. Ana Pacheco is a large animal internal medicine herpes in the liver is very rare, so Dr. Pacheco was faced
specialist at CCVM. She examined Chance, performed with a lung disease that had only recently been studied,
an ultrasound, and ordered a complete blood workup. and a liver disease that was virtually unknown.
The ultrasound showed an unexpected result: not only
did his liver appear abnormal, but also his lungs. Dr. Dr. Karen Labbe, a veterinarian who was completing
Pacheco ordered x-rays of his chest which revealed a fellowship at CCVM, was part of the team caring
large nodules on his lungs. She had those biopsied and for Chance. She combed through recently published
sent the tissue to the Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic studies, and was able to find a couple of cases in an
12 • Oregon State University Carlson College of Veterinary Medicine