E.O. Azevedo

Contagious agalactia by Mycoplasma agalactiae in small ruminants in Brazil: first report

Two outbreaks of contagious agalactia by Mycoplasma agalactiae occurred in Paraiba State, Northeastern Region of Brazil are reported. The disease was characterized by mastitis, agalactia and polyarthritis in does and polyarthritis and conjunctivitis in kids and lambs. Fever and anorexia were also observed. Morbidy was from 26.1% to 100% in does, 36.5 to 100% in kids and 49% in lambs. In one farm 14.3% of the lactating goats and 6.4% of the kids died or were euthanized. In the other, 3.3% of the does, 36.5% of the kids and 22.9% of the lambs died and 84 affected goats were euthanized to control the disease. M. agalactiae was isolated from milk, joint exudates, nasal swabs and ear washings. The colonies were characteristic of Mycoplasma and the agent did not ferment both glucose and arginin. It was typed as Mycoplasma agalactiae by immunoperoxidase and PCR. This is the first report of M. agalactiae infection in Brazil, but the source of the infection remains unknown.

Outbreaks of rhinofacial and rhinopharyngeal zygomycosis in sheep in Paraíba, northeastern Brazil

Dois surtos de lesoes rinofaciais e dois de lesoes rinofaringeas causadas por fungos com hifas filamentosas, raramente septadas, semelhantes as dos fungos entomophthorales, sao descritos no Estado da Paraiba. Um surto da forma rinofacial afetou 5 ovinos durante a estacao chuvosa. Outro surto desta forma clinica afetou um ovino de um grupo de 40, durante a epoca seca. Os sinais clinicos da forma rinofacial foram de corrimento serosanguinolento bilateral, com aumento de volume das narinas, labio superior, e pele da face. Na necropsia, a mucosa nasal apresentava areas ulceradas de cor marrom escuro, que se estendiam desde a regiao muco-cutanea ate 10cm dentro do vestibulo nasal. A mucosa do palato duro estava, tambem, ulcerada. A superficie de corte das narinas e palato apresentava-se marrom ou avermelhada de aspecto esponjoso e friavel. Um surto de rinofaringite micotica ocorreu em uma plantacao de coco irrigado, afetando 7 ovinos de um rebanho de 60 ovinos adultos. Outro surto desta forma da enfermidade afetou um unico animal de um rebanho de 80, durante a epoca seca. Os animais apresentavam dispneia, com respiracao ruidosa devida ao bloqueio parcial das narinas, e corrimento nasal serosanguinolento. Seis dos oito animais afetados por esta forma da enfermidade apresentaram, em um olho, exoftalmia, ceratite e ulceracao da cornea. Todos os ovinos morreram ou foram sacrificados apos um curso clinico de 7-30 dias. Na necropsia exsudato amarelo consistente foi observado na regiao etmoidal, ossos turbinados, seios paranasais, palatos duro e mole, orbita, faringe, e musculos e linfonodos regionais. No estudo histologico, ambas as formas da doenca mostraram granulomas multifocais com areas necroticas eosinofilicas (material de Splendore-Hoeppli) contendo hifas com 7-30mm de diâmetro, raramente septadas, semelhantes as dos fungos entomophthorales, possivelmente Conidiobolus spp. Surtos de ambas as formas de rinite micotica sao frequentes na regiao semi-arida e em outras regioes do Brasil.

Botulismo em ruminantes causado pela ingestão de cama-de-frango

Botulismo e uma intoxicacao causada pela ingestao das toxinas produzidas pelo Clostridium botulinum, que acomete mamiferos e aves. Neste trabalho e descrito um surto de botulismo em ruminantes, ocorrido em duas propriedades localizadas no municipio de Patos, no Estado da Paraiba, Brasil. Em uma das propriedades, de um total de 88 bovinos, 85 (96,6%) vieram a obito. Na segunda, morreram 145 ovinos (96,7%), 233 caprinos (57,8%) e 30 bovinos (96,8%). Os animais acometidos apresentavam paralisia progressiva, dificuldade de locomocao, sialorreia e dispneia. A morte ocorreu entre 24 e 48 horas apos o inicio dos sinais, por parada cardio-respiratoria. Nenhuma alteracao significativa foi observada no exame post-mortem. O diagnostico de botulismo foi confirmado pela demonstracao das toxinas C e D no conteudo intestinal e na cama-de-frango utilizada na alimentacao dos animais, pela tecnica de soroneutralizacao em camundongos.

Protothecosis by Prototheca wickerhamii in goats.

This article reports a new case of protothecosis by Prototheca wickerhamii in goats. The animal presented severe respiratory difficulty and nodules, sometimes ulcerated, in the nasal vestibule, mucocutaneous junction of the nostrils and skin of the face. Prototheca wickerhamii was isolated from the lesions. The animal had no clinical or haematologiccl evidence of immunodepression. The agent was highly resistant to antimicrobial drugs. The goat was treated unsuccessfully with fluconazole and euthanised 10 months after the diagnosis of the disease. Histological lesions were necrotising pyogranulomatous dermatitis, rhinitis and osteomyelitis with myriads of walled sporangia characteristic of P. wickerhamii. It is suggested that in goats, protothecosis is characterised by a chronic, slowly progressive infection, which affects immunologically competent goats, causing multifocal, ulcerative, pyogranulomatous and necrotising lesions of the mucosa of the nasal vestibule, mucocutaneous junctions of the nostrils and skin of the face.

Perfil sanitário e zootécnico de rebanhos caprinos nas microrregiões do Cariri paraibano

This work was performed in 60 goat farms located in 15 counties of the micro regions of Western and Eastern Cariri, in Paraiba, to describe and analyze the sanitary profile of the flocks. Visits were done and the answers, obtained from questionnaires that were applied to the farmers, were used. It was observed a mortality of 20% in young animals in 80% of the farms. The presence of technical assistance in 93.3% in the studied farms, adoption of prophylactic calendar in 85% and parasitic control in 83.3% of the flocks were also observed.

Isolation of Actinobacillus seminis from a goat with clinical epididymo-orchitis in Brazil

The present study reports the first isolation of Actinobacillus seminis from a goat in Brazil. A four-year-old Moxotó breeding goat in a flock of 70 goats and 65 sheep reared together in the county of Patos, semiarid region of Northeastern Brazil, showed clinical signs of unilateral orchitis and epididymitis. Diagnosis of A. seminis infection was confirmed by association of clinical findings, bacterial isolation and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. This result suggests that A. seminis may be an additional cause of infertility in goats, and that sheep may be the source of infection because the mixed farming system allows the contact between sheep and goats in the semiarid region of Northeastern Brazil.

Ocorrência e fatores de risco associados à infecção por Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis em caprinos e ovinos do semiárido paraibano

This study aimed to determine the occurrence and risk factors associated with Cory nebacterium pseudotuberculosis infection in goats and sheep in semiarid region of Paraiba State, Northeastern Brazil. Of the 640 animals examined, 7.7% (49/640) had clinical evidence of caseous lymphadenitis. In 59.2% (29/49) of these animals there was only the scars of previously ruptured abscesses and in 40.8% (20/49) of the animals abscesses were intact. Of these 20 animals 13 (65%) goats had 14 abscesses, whereas seven (35%) sheep had eight abscesses. In both species, pre-scapular lymph node was the most involved. C. pseudotuberculosis was the agent most frequently isolated, in 15 (68.2%) samples, and in one (4.5%) coagulase-negative Staphylococcus was isolated, one (4.5%) Enterococ cus sp., one (4.5%) Proteus mirabilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and in four (18.2%) samples there was no bacterial growth. The final logistic regression model showed that animals from herds where their owners let the abscesses break naturally presented larger odds of caseous lymphadenitis (odds ratio = 8.19, 95% CI = 1.75 - 38.25, p = 0.008). We conclude that goat/sheep owners of the region should adopt preventive measures in their herds, such as early opening and drainage of superficial abscesses, and appropriate destination of the content. Such measures, in addition to regular inspection of the flock, disposal of diseased animals and introduction of non-infected animals will contribute to the control of this infection.

Infection by Mycoplasma agalactiae in dairy goat herds in the microregions of Cariri in Paraíba State, Brazil

O objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar a ocorrencia de Mycoplasma agalactiae, com o uso da reacao em cadeia da polimerase (PCR), em 30 rebanhos caprinos leiteiros nas microrregioes do Cariri Ocidental e Oriental do estado da Paraiba. Das 120 amostras de leite testadas, nove (7,5%) apresentaram amplificacao de apenas um fragmento com 360pb. As amostras que amplificaram este fragmento estavam presentes em 6/30 (20%) fazendas localizadas nos municipios de Amparo, Santo Andre e Gurjao.