Systematic beach monitoring as a health assessment tool: Cetacean morbillivirus under non-epizootic circumstances in stranded dolphins.

Cetacean morbillivirus (CeMV) was identified as the etiologic agent of several epizootic episodes worldwide. Most of these studies are based on unusual mortality events or identification of new viral strains. We investigated the occurrence of CeMV under non-epizootic circumstances at a world heritage in Southern Brazil by a combination of pathologic, immunohistochemical and molecular assays. From 325 stranded cetaceans, 40 were included. Guiana dolphin (Sotalia guianensis) was the most frequent species. Interstitial pneumonia and non-suppurative encephalitis were the main pathologic findings associated with CeMV infection. Intracytoplasmic immunolabelling anti-CeMV was observed mainly in lungs and lymph nodes. All samples were negative in reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assay. Diagnosis of CeMV is challenging in areas where epizootic episodes have not been recorded and due to post-mortem changes. We observed a CeMV prevalence of 27.5%. The results described here increase the knowledge about CeMV under non-epizootic conditions in Brazil and worldwide.

Putative equine neorickettsiosis in a mare from Southern Brazil

Background: This report describes the occurrence of equine neorickettsiosis (EN) in the northern region of Paraná,southern Brazil. EN is a non-contagious infectious disease caused by the Gram-negative bacterium, Neorickettsia risticii.Equine neorickettsiosis was previously known as Potomac horse fever and monocytic ehrlichiosis. The disease occurspredominantly in the USA and Canada; data relative to EN in Brazil is scarce. The aim of this study was to report the firstcase of putative EN in the state of Paraná due to a combination of IHC and molecular testing.Case: A 2-year-old Quarter Horse was referred to a Veterinary Hospital with episodes of abdominal discomfort, fever,anorexia, tachycardia, and tachypnea. The animal reportedly demonstrated episodes of blackened and fetid diarrhea afterthe ingestion of hay. A treatment was established upon arrival at the veterinary hospital, but the mare died after 12 hoursof monitoring. An autopsy examination performed soon after death revealed severe hyperemia of the mucosa of the cecum and colon, with multifocal cecal erosions and ulcerations. The principal histological lesion observed was necrotizingenterocolitis. Additional significant histopathologic lesions included widespread lymphoid depletion affecting the spleen,tonsils, and lymph nodes. An IHC assay designed to identify the antigens of N. helminthoeca (NH) in formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissues, identified antigens of intralesional neorickettsial organisms within macrophages of themucosa of the colon. Additionally, a PCR assay designed to amplify the 16S rRNA gene of Neorickettsia, amplified thedesired amplicon, but sequencing was frustrating.Discussion: A putative diagnosis of equine neorickettsiosis was established due to the combination of epidemiologicalevidence, pathologic findings, immunohistochemical identification of intralesional antigens of neorickettsial agents, andamplification...(AU)

Putative equine neorickettsiosis in a mare from Southern Brazil

Background: This report describes the occurrence of equine neorickettsiosis (EN) in the northern region of Paraná,southern Brazil. EN is a non-contagious infectious disease caused by the Gram-negative bacterium, Neorickettsia risticii.Equine neorickettsiosis was previously known as Potomac horse fever and monocytic ehrlichiosis. The disease occurspredominantly in the USA and Canada; data relative to EN in Brazil is scarce. The aim of this study was to report the firstcase of putative EN in the state of Paraná due to a combination of IHC and molecular testing.Case: A 2-year-old Quarter Horse was referred to a Veterinary Hospital with episodes of abdominal discomfort, fever,anorexia, tachycardia, and tachypnea. The animal reportedly demonstrated episodes of blackened and fetid diarrhea afterthe ingestion of hay. A treatment was established upon arrival at the veterinary hospital, but the mare died after 12 hoursof monitoring. An autopsy examination performed soon after death revealed severe hyperemia of the mucosa of the cecum and colon, with multifocal cecal erosions and ulcerations. The principal histological lesion observed was necrotizingenterocolitis. Additional significant histopathologic lesions included widespread lymphoid depletion affecting the spleen,tonsils, and lymph nodes. An IHC assay designed to identify the antigens of N. helminthoeca (NH) in formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissues, identified antigens of intralesional neorickettsial organisms within macrophages of themucosa of the colon. Additionally, a PCR assay designed to amplify the 16S rRNA gene of Neorickettsia, amplified thedesired amplicon, but sequencing was frustrating.Discussion: A putative diagnosis of equine neorickettsiosis was established due to the combination of epidemiologicalevidence, pathologic findings, immunohistochemical identification of intralesional antigens of neorickettsial agents, andamplification...

Systemic Histomoniasis in a Leucistic Indian Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) from Southern Brazil.

The pathological and molecular findings associated with Histomonas meleagridis are described in a leucistic Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus) from Southern Brazil. The most significant gross findings were multifocal necrotizing hepatitis and diphtheric typhlitis. Histopathologic evaluation of the liver, ceca, kidney, spleen, and small intestine revealed systemic histomoniasis (SH) associated with intralesional and intravascular accumulations of histomonad organisms consistent with H. meleagridis. PCR was used to amplify the DNA of H. meleagridis from the liver, ceca, small intestine, spleen, lungs, and kidneys. Direct sequencing and phylogenetic analyses confirmed that the isolate of the flagellated trichomonad identified from this investigation is more phylogenetically related to H. meleagridis than Tetratrichomonas gallinarum, Tritrichomonas foetus, and Dientamoeba fragilis. These results confirmed the occurrence of SH in this peafowl and add to the diagnosis of this disease in birds from Brazil. This report might represent the first complete identification of spontaneous histomoniasis in a peafowl due to pathological and molecular characteristics and one of the few documented cases of SH in non-commercial birds.