This study aimed to evaluate the sonographic characteristics of the udder and teats and to determine the Doppler indexes of mammary artery in healthy and undergoing subclinical and clinical mastitis goats. Thirty animals among Saanen and Alpine Brown goats were arranged in three groups, healthy goats (HG), goats with subclinical mastitis (SMG) and goats with clinical mastitis (CMG). Using the B-mode, the sonographic characteristics (echotexture and echogenicity) and biometry (diameter and area of the udder cistern, diameter and area of the teat cistern and thickness of the teat wall) were evaluated. Using Doppler ultrasonography, the vascular indexes of the mammary artery were obtained. It was observed hyperechogenicity with solid component in the gland cistern when comparing animals with clinical mastitis and healthy mammary tissue. Regarding the echotexture of the breast tissue, there was heterogeneity in the mammary parenchyma on the three groups, for the milk, it was observed homogeneity for animals on HG and SMG and heterogeneity for animals on CMG. Grey-scale quantitative assessment revealed increase in echogenicity (mean value) for all the structures when comparing the three groups. Biometry did not reveal statistical difference between groups, for none of the evaluated structures. Doppler examination of the mammary artery showed the decrease of end diastolic velocity and raise of pulsatility index between groups. The association of B-mode and Doppler ultrasonography is useful for the evaluation of the udder of dairy goats with mastitis. It is a sensitive and specific method for the study of this disease. Doppler mode was unable to establish reliable criteria for diagnosis of subclinical mastitis. Moreover, the quantification of echogenicity is a useful technique for the evaluation of the milk in animals with mastitis; therefore, it is suggested that it can be used as complementary technique for the diagnosis of mastitis in goats.

Communication [Comunicação]Conventional and Doppler ultrasonography on a goat with gangrenous mastitis [Ultrassonografia convencional e Doppler em cabra com mastite gangrenosa]

Serum protein concentrations, including acute phase proteins (APPs), of goats and ewes with naturally acquired Sthaphylococcus aureus mastitis were determined by means of SDS-PAGE electrophoresis to evaluate the relevance of these APPs as biomarkers of the disease in these species. Fifteen healthy goats and 5 goats with naturally acquired staphylococci mastitis, as well as fifteen healthy ewes and 5 ewes with staphylococci mastitis were submitted to daily blood sampling during 7 days. In goats, an increase of 570%, 125%, 621%, and 279% in serum concentrations of ceruloplasmin, fibrinogen, haptoglobin and α 1 -acid glycoprotein, respectively, was observed. In sheep the increase in serum concentrations of ceruloplasmin, fibrinogen, haptoglobin and α 1 -acid glycoprotein was of 337%, 90%, 461%, and 225%, respectively. Our results indicate that these APPs have considerable potencial as early and sensible biomarkers of mastitis caused by S. aureus in goats and sheep.

El objetivo del estudio fue evaluar el potencial de intoxicación subcrónica de Crotalaria pallida en ovinos. Se utilizaron seis carneros, alimentados con heno y agua potable ad libitum, y 200 g/animal/día de ración balanceada comercial. Los ovinos fueron distribuidos en un grupo control (G1) con dos animales y un grupo experimental (G2) con cuatro animales. En la dieta de G2 se incluyó 8 g de materia seca (MS) de C. pallida por kilogramo de peso vivo durante 28 días. Todos los animales fueron evaluados clínicamente c/24 h. Se les pesó y se tomaron muestras de sangre para hemograma y perfil hepático y renal en los días 0, 14 y 28 posexposición a C. pallida. Los animales fueron sacrificados al final del estudio para la toma de muestras para análisis histopatológico. No se encontraron diferencias significativas entre grupos con respecto al examen clínico, hemograma y bioquímica sanguínea; sin embargo, en el estudio histopatológico se evidenció engrosamiento moderado de los septos alveolares en pulmón, cambio vacuolar severo en hígado y proteinuria moderada en riñón en los animales expuestos a C. pallida.