PALAVRAS-CHAVE

RESUMO.-A ultrassonografia é um método de diagnóstico por imagem que permite a avaliação de diferentes órgãos e estruturas corpóreas de maneira não invasiva. No entanto, a avaliação subjetiva das imagens caracteriza um dos grandes entraves na utilização desta técnica de diagnósti-co, havendo necessidade de mecanismos que minimizem a subjetividade do exame e a divergência na interpretação dos achados ultrassonográficos. Desta forma este trabalho objetivou caracterizar a ecogenicidade do parênquima e mediastino testicular de ovinos utilizando a técnica do histograma escala-cinza. Foram utilizados 30 animais divididos em três grupos de acordo com a faixa etária (FE): de três a seis meses (FE1), sete a 12 meses (FE2), 13 a 18 meses (FE3) e realizadas varreduras testiculares nos planos frontal, sagital e transversal, elaborando ao final um histo- Ultrasound is a diagnostic imaging method that allows a no invasive evaluation of different organs and body structures. However, the personal evaluation of images is one of the major hampers in using this technique. In order to reduce this drawback, it is necessary to find out tools that can help diminish the divergence in the interpretation of sonographic findings. Therefore, this study aimed to identify features of the parenchyma's and mediastinum's testis of sheep echogenicity using the technique of gray scale histogram. 30 animals were divided into three groups according to age (FE): three to six months (FE1), seven to 12 months (FE2), 13 to 18 months (FE3). The testicular scans were performed in the frontal, sagital and transverse views, and the gray scale histograms were analyzed. It was observed that such parenchymal as the mediastinum testis echogenicity gradually increased with the aging of the animals, with mean and standard deviation of 95.00±19.05 and 94.35±18.82 for the echogenicity parenchyma of the right and left antimere, respectively, and 127.95±12.97 to 126.59±11.78, for the right and the left mediastinum. The technique of gray scale histogram was an efficient method for determination of testicular echogenicity, enabling the establishment of normal standards that may assist future research in monitoring testicular development as well as for detecting pathologies. For exclusive regimes of extensive farming, as the western lowland region of Maranhão, is a valuable tool for use in social projects of the State to attend the family farm.

No abstract

Caprine arthritis encephalitis and Maedi-Visnaare lentiviruses affecting goats and sheep, respectively. Despite the literature having studies about these diseases, there is a constant demand and the need to study the health status of flocks that exploit economically. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the frequency of small ruminant lentiviruses explored in regional locations of Chapadinha and Itapecuru Mirim, that compose the microregion of Low Parnaíba, Maranhão, Brazil, as well as analyze the spatial distribution of outbreaks in the studied regions. Therefore, 241 properties were visited, where blood was collected in 1150 sheep and 1260 goats and tested by agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID). Epidemiological questionnaire was applied and collected the geographic coordinates. There was a low frequencyfor lentivirus, with 0.39% (5/1260) of goats and 0.08% (1/1150) of sheep. Regarding the spatial analysis, the reagent flocks were distributed in strategic cities for commercialization throughout the microregion. There was a low occurrence of lentiviruses.The municipalities of Cantanhede and Pirapemas of the regional of Itapecuru Mirimand Brejo and Magalhães de Almeida had reagent flocks for CAE. Whereas the municipality of Matões do Norte presented flock reagent to Maedi-Visna, this belonging to the regional of Chapadinha.

Paratuberculosis is an infectious, chronic, and incurable disease that affects ruminants, causing enteritis and chronic granulomatous lymphadenitis, characterized by malabsorption syndrome, its agent is the Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP). Thus, the objective of this work was to identify and characterize MAP in buffalo herds slaughtered in Baixada Maranhense region. Samples of intestines, mesenteric lymph nodes, and ileocecal valves were collected from 115 buffaloes slaughtered at Baixada Maranhense slaughterhouses to perform the diagnosis by histopathological examination using staining with Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) and Ziehl-Neelsen, bacterial isolation, and real-time PCR. In the histopathology by H&E staining, there was evidence suggestive of paratuberculosis in 30% (31/115) of the buffaloes. With Ziehl-Neelsen staining, acidfast bacilli (AFB) were visualized in 27% (26/115) of the tissue samples analyzed. MAP was isolated in 4.3% (5/115) of the fecal samples subjected to bacterial culture. The samples inoculated in HEYM with mycobactin J produced colonies identified with MAP according to their own morphological characteristics such as round, white, smooth and slightly rough, alcohol-acid staining, and slow growth with 8 weeks of incubation and mycobactin dependence. The agent confirmation was performed in five bacterial isolates (4.3%) and 15 (13%) fragments of jejunum, ileum, and mesenteric lymph node by the IS900 real-time PCR technique. The results of the present study demonstrate the subclinical occurrence of paratuberculosis in flocks of buffalo slaughtered in slaughterhouses of Baixada Maranhense.