In this study we describe the epidemiology, clinical signs, and pathology of an outbreak of avian aspergillosis in alternative breeding in the southern region of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Between the fifth and tenth day of life, 360 chicks from a flock of 4000 developed unspecific clinical signs and died. The birds were housed in a reused aviary litter, without previous treatment. In 11 six-day-old female ISA Brown chicks (Gallus gallus domesticus), necropsy revealed firm, yellowish-white, multinodular lesions extending from the pleura to the lung parenchyma. Histologically, a granulomatous, multifocal to coalescent pneumonia was observed. Granulomas were characterized by central necrosis, with heterophil and epithelioid macrophage infiltration and presence of countless Y-shaped intralesional septate hyphae morphologically compatible with Aspergillus spp. The diagnosis through isolation confirmed Aspergillus fumigatus. We highlight the importance of aspergillosis as a primary cause of diseases in the respiratory tract of young birds in alternative breeding. Measures to prevent aspergillosis mainly regarding the reuse of aviary litter are essential in poultry husbandry to prevent economic losses, reduce environmental contamination and mitigate the potential risk to public health.

Background: A listeriosis outbreak in a sheep fattening feedlot in the Southern Region of Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil is described. This disease is caused by Listeria monocytogenes and represents a risk to public health since it affects not only ruminants but also humans. This agent is widely spread in the environment, such as in the soil and water. It is also found in decaying vegetable matter and the feces and fluids of domestic animals. The aim of this study was to describe a listeriosis outbreak in sheep raised in feedlots, its epidemiology, and to establish the importance of this disease in this type of sheep management system, evaluate the possible sources of infection, and suggest ways to control it.Cases: Sheep were kept in a 2-sector shed, one with east solar orientation and the other with west solar orientation, the latter with free access to domestic birds. Sheep were fed silage and concentrate. Seven sheep were affected, 5 died and 2 recovered. Clinically, the sheep displayed loss of balance, excessive drooling, and tremors; one exhibited circling, head deviation, apathy, nystagmus, lateral recumbency, paddling, and labored breathing. At necropsy, macroscopic lesions were not found, and histologically several micro-abscesses and perivascular cuffs with lymphocytes, macrophages, and neutrophils were present in the brain stem. Listeria monocytogenes suspected colonies were observed in the microbiological culture, and the bacteria was identified by biochemical analysis. The immunohistochemistry test in brain stem sections was positive for the antibody BD DifcoTM Listeria O Antiserum Poly Serotypes 1 and 4.Discussion: A listeriosis outbreak in a feedlot sheep was confirmed through epidemiological findings, histological lesions, bacterial culture, and immunohistochemistry analysis. This infection is frequent in sheep fed silage of poor quality or other food with improper storage and lack of hygiene. In the present outbreak, the bacteria were isolated from silage. However, it is likely that domestic birds, which were raised in the same place and had free access to the west sector of the feedlot, were the initial source of infection, because the sheep from the opposite sector (east) did not get ill. The disease caused by environmental contamination or through contact with fluids and feces of ducks, chickens, cattle, and pigs has already been described in outbreaks that occurred in the central region of Rio Grande do Sul. Sheep aggregation in feedlot systems is also a favorable factor for the development of the bacteria and the occurrence of outbreaks because the accumulation of feces and urine cause humidity on the stalls. This allows outbreaks to occur in other seasons of the year, such as in the outbreak reported herein. The exchange of silage that served as food for sheep was another control measure, and new cases were not reported 8 months after these procedures were taken. In the outbreak studied, 2 sheep that exhibited clinical signs were treated with oxytetracycline and recovered. Some authors report that treatment for listeriosis is inefficient because neurological lesions are irreversible. Nonetheless, other studies have reported the recovery of some animals when they were treated with oxytetracycline or a combination of oxytetracycline and dexamethasone or ampicillin and gentamicin like in the outbreak described in this paper.Keywords: Listeria monocytogenes, central nervous system, silage, feedlot, ovine.

No abstract

This study aimed to verify the occurrence of Dioctophyme renale in stray dogs in the city of Pelotas, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The Laboratório Regional de Diagnóstico of the Universidade Federal de Pelotas received 146 wandering dogs for necropsy, sent by the City Hall of Pelotas from March 2012 to January 2020. Among the necropsied animals, seventeen dogs (11.64%) were diagnosed with dioctophymosis. Among these dogs, 11 were parasitized with one specimen in the right kidney, two dogs presented two specimens in the right kidney, and in other two dogs, the parasites were in the abdominal cavity. In one dog, two parasites were found in the left kidney; in another dog, both kidneys were parasitized, with two parasites in the right kidney and one in the left kidney. The data obtained in this study showed that the occurrence of D. renale in stray dogs in the city of Pelotas is high, and D. renale mainly parasitizes the right kidney.

In this study, an outbreak of spontaneous poisoning by Dodonaea viscosa (D. viscosa) in a herd of dairy cattle in the municipality of Capão do Leão, Rio Grande do Sul, was investigated. Three deaths occurred in a batch of 16 Jersey cattle, aged between three and four years, kept in a native field. The clinical signs observed were apathy, decreased production, and anorexia, with death occurring within approximately 48 h after the onset of signs. The three cattle were necropsied, and tissue samples were sent for histopathological examination. Necropsy findings included serosanguineous fluid in the abdominal cavity, intestines with congested serosa, and marked mesenteric edema. The mucosa of the abomasum of two of the animals was hemorrhagic with bloody content, and among the ruminal content of a bovine, leaves with morphological characteristics compatible with D. viscosa were observed. The livers of the three animals were enlarged, with accentuation of the lobular pattern. Histologically, centrilobular coagulation necrosis with congestion and hemorrhage was observed in the liver. Vacuolization and degeneration of hepatocytes were observed in the mid-zonal and periportal regions. The diagnosis of poisoning by D. viscosa leaves was based on epidemiological data, necropsy findings, and histopathological alterations. The presence of the plant in the rumen and in the grazing site of the affected cattle was essential for the diagnosis.

O objetivo desse estudo foi identificar e descrever as principais doenças que acometeram galinhas criadas em sistemas alternativos, encaminhadas ao Laboratório Regional de Diagnóstico da Faculdade de Veterinária da Universidade Federal de Pelotas (LRD/UFPel), entre os anos de 2000 e 2020. Foram revisados os protocolos de necropsia de galinhas domésticas encaminhadas ao LRD/UFPel, nos últimos 20 anos. Nesse período foram recebidas 565 amostras correspondentes a cadáveres e órgãos de galinhas domésticas, sendo 229 de criações alternativas. Dos 229 casos, 203 (88,64%) tinham diagnóstico conclusivo. As principais doenças diagnosticadas foram bacterianas com 79/203 (38,92%) casos, seguidas das parasitárias 59/203 (29,06%). Dentre as doenças bacterianas, as salmoneloses foram as mais frequente com 26/79 casos, sendo isolados 22/26 biovares Gallinarum e 4/26 Pullorum. Das doenças parasitárias, as parasitoses mistas foram as mais prevalentes com 37/59 casos, associadas principalmente ao nematódeo intestinal Ascaridia galli. As principais causas de morte nas aves desse estudo foram as parasitoses mistas, seguidas das salmoneloses aviárias (tifo aviário e pulorose). O sistema de criação e o manejo sanitário inadequado, tanto das aves quanto do ambiente, foram os principais fatores relacionados à ocorrência das doenças infecciosas diagnosticadas no LRD/UFPel.

RESUMO O objetivo deste estudo foi identificar as principais doenças de felinos na região sul do Rio Grande do Sul. Foram revisados os protocolos de necropsia e das amostras biológicas de felinos encaminhados ao Laboratório Regional de Diagnóstico da Faculdade de Veterinária da Universidade Federal de Pelotas (LRD/UFPel), no período de 1978 a 2018. Nesse período foram recebidas 1633 amostras de felinos, sendo 363 (22%) entre os anos de 1978 e 1999 e 1270 (78%) entre os anos de 2000 e 2018. Com relação aos diagnósticos, 457 felinos (28%) apresentaram tumores benignos ou malignos, sendo os tegumentares e os mamários os mais frequentes. As doenças bacterianas, fúngicas, virais, parasitárias, sem agente definido e as intoxicações totalizaram 554 casos (33,9%), destacando-se a esporotricose, com 12,8% dos diagnósticos. Concluiu-se que, na região sul do RS, o encaminhamento de felinos para diagnóstico aumentou significativamente após o ano 2000, comprovando que a espécie passou a ter maior importância como animal de companhia. Concluiu-se, também, que as neoplasias têm papel relevante entre as doenças de felinos e que a esporotricose é uma das mais importantes zoonoses na região.

Bovine tuberculosis (BTB) is an infectious and zoonotic disease with socioeconomic importance, responsible for economic losses in livestock due to the decrease in animal productivity, mortality, bovine carcass condemnation and restriction on exportations. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the epidemiological aspects of this disease through a descriptive analysis and time series of cases of bovine tuberculosis diagnosed at the Laboratório Regional de Diagnóstico (LRD) of the Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Pelotas (UFPel) from 2000 to 2015. A survey was carried out in the LRD database of cases diagnosed as tuberculosis in cattle during this period. The incidence rate of BTB ([cases/population] x 100000) was calculated. Qualitative variables (sex, age, race, origin, type of material and presumptive diagnosis) were analyzed in a descriptive way, aiming to establish the profile of affected animals, characterize the municipalities in which the disease is originated and also fix the main referral organs for diagnosis. The time series analysis was performed using the Gretl statistical software 1.9.12 (GNU Regression, Econometric and Time-series Library). To verify the existence of the stationary distribution, the test of Dickey-Fuller was used, considering a value of p<0.05. During this period, 331 cases of BTB were diagnosed in the LRD. The present study identified that the predominant profile of the bovines affected by tuberculosis was female bovine aged more than two years old and crossbreed; the main organ sent for histopathological examination was lymph nodes. The microregion of Pelotas presented the highest incidence of the disease. There was also a tendency of a decrease in the incidence rate of this disease over the years, absence of seasonal influence in the occurrence of the disease and no cases of epidemics occurred from 2002 to 2015 in the area covered by the LRD-UFPel.