Gregory Duarte Juffo

Causas de aborto bovino diagnosticadas no Setor de Patologia Veterinária da UFRGS de 2003 a 2011

The main causes of abortion in cattle diagnosed from January 2003 to December 2011 are described. A total of 490 fetuses from several Brazilian states were evaluated. Specific causes of abortion were found in 46.7% of the cases,and protozoan abortions, especially by Neospora caninum, were detected in 33% (162/490). Bacterial abortions corresponded to 6.3 % (31/490), followed by fungal ones to 0.8% (4/490). In two aborted fetuses (0.4 %), a co-infection with two agents could be identified. Non-infectious diseases could be associated with 3% of the abortions and congenital malformations with 2.6%.

Decreased expression of cardiac troponin C is associated with cardiac lesions in Amorimia exotropica poisoned cattle

The plants which cause sudden death of cattle in Brazil occupy a leading position for losses in the cattle industry. Amorimia exotropica is one of the plants pertaining to this group. Diagnostic findings in these cases may be inconclusive; further knowledge is necessary. This paper identifies cardiac lesions through anti-cardiac troponin C (cTnC) immunehistochemistry performed in tissues from cattle poisoned after consumption of A.exotropica in southern Brazil. Heart fragments from nine A. exotropica-poisoned cattle were studied immunohistochemically using anti-human cTnC as the primary antibody. In the hearts from all of the poisoned cattle, there was a sharp decrease in the cTnC expression level in the cytoplasm of groups of cardiomyocytes. A significant decrease in anti-cTnC immunoreactivity occurred particularly in degenerated or necrotic cardiomyocytes. Occasional groups of cells showed complete loss of immunolabeling. In the remaining intact cardiomyocytes from poisoned cattle and in cardiomyocytes from six cattle that died from other causes there was intense cytoplasmic staining.

Intoxicação espontânea por Sorghum sudanense em bovinos leiteiros no Rio Grande do Sul

Descreve-se um surto de intoxicacao espontânea por Sorghum sudanense (aveia de verao, capim-sudao) em um rebanho de bovinos leiteiros no municipio de Triunfo, Rio Grande do Sul. Essa planta e utilizada como forrageira em diversas regioes do estado; entretanto, intoxicacoes ocasionais sao associadas com a formacao de acido cianidrico por hidrolise dos glicosideos cianogenicos presentes na planta. Vinte e nove vacas Holandesas foram colocadas, no final do dia, em um potreiro de 800m2, onde uma pastagem estabelecida de capim-sudao rebrotava e atingia 30cm de altura. Na manha seguinte, quase todo pasto havia sido consumido e tres vacas foram encontradas mortas. Nao foram relatados sinais clinicos, mesmo porque os animais nao foram observados durante a noite. Exceto pela presenca de folhas mastigadas de capim-sudao nas proximidades da entrada do rumen, nao foram observadas alteracoes macro ou microssopicas. Amostras da planta de diferentes locais no potreiro foram positivas no teste do papel picrossodico. Esses achados sugerem que as tres vacas foram afetadas por intoxicacao cianidrica secundaria ao consumo de Sorghum sudanense.

Geotrichum candidum as a possible cause of bovine abortion

Geotrichum spp. are ubiquitous, saprotrophic fungi found in soil, organic matter, and silage, as a contaminant in food products and in the digestive tracts of mammals. The current study reports a case of Geotrichum candidum infection with dermatitis in an aborted bovine fetus with skin and lung lesions. A 6-month-old aborted male Holstein Friesian fetus displayed unusual lesions on the skin of the abdomen, thorax, and head, which was excessively thickened and wrinkled. These changes corresponded to orthokeratotic hyperkeratosis, neutrophil accumulation in the stratum corneum, a pyogranulomatous inflammatory infiltrate, and superficial dermal necrosis. Moderate suppurative multifocal pneumonia was observed. Large numbers of mononuclear cells and occasional fibrin thrombi within blood vessels were found in the lungs, brain, and cerebellum. Gridley staining revealed fungal structures within the skin lesions. The mycological exam demonstrated the growth of G. candidum, and phase contrast microscopy conducted on the abomasal fluid revealed hyphae compatible with this agent. The skin lesions observed, in association with the fungus isolated, indicated that the abortion was due to G. candidum infection of the bovine fetus.

Equine salmonellosis in southern Brazil

The Salmonella sp. genus is identified in several species, and the zoonosis it causes is one of the most important types worldwide. The specifics of salmonellosis vary according to the function of the serovar involved, the species affected, age and predisposing factors. However, few cases of equine salmonellosis have been reported. This study presents ten confirmed salmonellosis cases in equines in southern Brazil. Six were adult animals with stress factors preceding the disease, while four were foals, three of which presented with hyperacute manifestations. The main clinical signs were diarrhea, anorexia, and hyperthermia. Lesions varied in distribution and severity, although fibrinonecrotic or necrohemorrhagic enteritis was observed in all animals, mainly in the large intestine (large colon and cecum—8/10) and small intestine (3/10). Substantial liquid content, mainly hemorrhagic, was observed in all animals. The most characteristic microscopic lesion was mucosa necrosis, which is often accompanied by fibrin deposition, followed by necrosis of follicular centers and vascular changes. Bacterial isolation revealed seven isolates. Five were serotyped, and the serovars Typhimurium and Anatum were associated with two cases each, while Muenster was associated with a case whose lesion pattern varied. Immunohistochemical staining was positive in all cases. All diagnoses were based on the clinical history, macroscopic and histological lesions, and the bacterial isolation and/or immunostaining associated with histological lesions.

Ocurrence and caracterization of bovine abortion caused by Brucella abortus infection in southern Brazil

La brucelosis causada por Brucella abortus es una enfermedad zoonotica contagiosa que causa abortos en las vacas, asi como alteraciones articulares y reproductivos en los toros. En 469 fetos bovinos abortados analizados en un periodo de nueve anos, nueve (1,92%) se debieron a B. abortus infeccion. El diagnostico se baso en los estudios de lesiones macroscopicas, histologicas, microbiologicas, serologicas, inmunohistoquimicas y hallazgos moleculares. La edad gestacional de los fetos oscilo de 6 a 9 meses. Los principales hallazgos macroscopicos se caracterizaron por una descarga de pus en la cavidad nasal, traquea y bronquios, y depositos de fibrina pleural y pericardico, ademas de los pulmones se han observado manchas blancas en el parenquima y las zonas rojas en los lobulos apicales. En la region intercotiledonaria de tres placentas examinadas, hubo areas enrojecidas intercaladas con zonas redondas de color amarillo-blanco bien definidos, con paredes engrosadas en la superficie de los cotiledones. Microscopicamente se observo bronconeumonia necrosupurativa, neumonia intersticial y placentitis necrosupurativa con areas de vasculitis, la mineralizacion, y la trombosis. Brucella abortus fue aislado de los tejidos fetales de siete de los nueve casos investigados. La prueba de inmunohistoquimica fue positiva en cuatro casos, y la PCR amplifica el material genetico de las bacterias en tres. La infeccion con B. abortus tiene que ser considerado como una posible causa de aborto en el ganado en el sur de Brasil