The main pathogenic treponemes causing bovine digital dermatitis were identified from 17 infected herds in southern Brazil for the first time in this study using PCR. We did not find a relationship between treponeme phylogroup composition and clinical classification. Treponema phagedenis was present in all lesions. Rumen fluid was implicated as a reservoir location for these pathogens.A lthough bovine digital dermatitis (BDD) has been known to occur in Brazil since the early 1990s (1), there have been no attempts to describe the possible pathogens involved, apart from reports of histopathological (2) and electron microscopic (3) findings. Treponema species are difficult to culture, so molecular approaches are useful for detecting and identifying these spirochetes (4, 5). The present study describes, for the first time, the frequencies of the major treponeme species in BDD lesions in Brazil. Similar results in Europe, North America, and Asia (6-11) confirm the polytreponemal aspect of this clinical condition.Farms in southern Brazil where BDD infections are endemic (n ϭ 28) were identified by consulting veterinary records. Previously identified dairy cows (n ϭ 200) were individually reexamined and, if positive for BDD (n ϭ 22), were photographed and their lesions classified according to clinical stage, from M1 to M4 (12-14). Samples (n ϭ 22) were surgically excised, placed in phosphatebuffered saline (PBS) solution, and refrigerated (4°C to 8°C) until processing. The infected digit was then topically treated with antibiotics (oxytetracycline) and bandaged. Using a stomach tube, ruminal fluid (Ն50 ml of fresh fluid) was collected from 15 cows from seven different BDD-positive herds, which were chosen by convenience. From one BDD-free herd with a history of lameness but without any clinical BDD lesions detected on previous examinations of the whole herd, ruminal fluid from 10 cows was sampled for use as a negative control. All samples underwent extraction of bacterial DNA, as previously described (12,15). A nested-PCR method was used, as previously described (10). The treponeme-specific primers were called Treponema sp., Treponema medium/T. vincentii-like, Treponema phagedenis-like, and Treponema denticola/T. putidum-like (10). The research was approved by the Committee for the Ethical Use of Animals of Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná (PUCPR) (registration no. 646) in 2011.Of the herds, 17 (60.71%) had BDD lesions on the day of examination and were positive for subsequent molecular BDD detection. The lesions were in different clinical stages (14) and were classified as follows: 13.64% were M1, 45.45% were M2, 22.73% were M3, and 18.18% were M4. However, certain lesions classified as M2 or M3 contained areas that were M4 or M1. In comparison, the cows in the present study exhibited considerably more M2 lesions (45.45% versus 21.03% in the previous study) and fewer M4 lesions (18.18% versus 50.03% in the previous study) ( Table 1). The reason for this observation or why the different forms can transition f...

Eleven heifers of the Purunã cattle breed were used to evaluate wound healing by second intention. An experimental wound excision model in bovines was created by means of a skin punch of diameter 2cm. The animals were topically treated for 17 days with a saline control or decoctions of Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi (Aroeira mansa), Tabebuia avellanedae Lorentz ex Griseb (Ipê Roxo), and Casearia sylvestris Sw.(Guaçatonga) mixed with carboxymethyl cellulose. Centripetal retraction, clinical, and histological aspects of the wounds were observed until complete healing. Decoctions of T. avellanedae and S. terebinthifolius, but not C. sylvestris, had a beneficial effect on wound healing by second intention.

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Background: Lameness in dairy cows is classified as a gait change caused by multifactorial process. The phase of the peripartum causes intense physiological changes for the adaptation of late gestation and onset of lactation. The aim of this study was to characterize the changes in the biochemical profile and productive performance in dairy cows with lameness during postpartum period. A total, of 48 multiparous (2 to 3 lactations and 3-4 years old) dairy cows, that had the milk production of 9,200 kg/ dairy cow in a period of 305 days in the previous lactation, were included in the study. All cows were managed under the same conditions and nutritional regimen. Evaluation of body condition score was performed by a single person on -18, -12, -8, -5, and -2 days before parturition, at parturition, and on days 1, 7, 14, 21, 30, 45 and 60 after parturition. Milk production was recorded on days 7, 14, 21, 30, 45 and 60 after parturition and saved in the software program. Blood samples were performed on -18, -12, -8, -5, and -2 days before parturition, at parturition, and on days 1, 7, 14, 21, 30, 45 and 60 after parturition. Blood samples were assayed for albumin, calcium, cholesterol, triglycerides, non-esterified fatty acids, β-hydroxybutyrate, urea, creatinine, gamma-glutamil-transferase and total protein concentrations. Dairy cows were divided into a lame group (11) and normal group (37) based on locomotion score from parturition to seven days postpartum. Lame cows was classified if their score was > 2, and normal cows was classified if their score was ≤ 2 and free of any disease. Dairy cows that suffer by any health disorder other than lameness were excluded from this study. Cow diagnosed with lameness outside the diagnostic period were excluded from this study. The averages of the milk production, body condition score and biochemical profile were compared with the Tukey's test. Lame cows showed lower (P < 0.05) concentrations of albumin (on days -18 -12, -8, -5, -2 relative to parturition, at parturition, and on days 7, 14, 21, 45 and 60 after parturition) calcium (on days -18, -12, -8, -5 and -2 before parturition, and on days 7, 14, 21, 45 and 60 after parturition), cholesterol (on days -12, -8, -5 before parturition and on days 7, 14, 21, 30, 45 and 60 after parturition) than normal cows. Cow with lameness showed higher (P < 0.05) concentration of triglyceride (on days 7, 14, 21, 30, 45 and 60 after parturition), non-esterified fatty acids (on days 1, 7, 14, 21, 30, 45 and 60 after parturition) and β-hydroxybutyrate (on days -12, -5 and -2 before parturition, at parturition, and on days 1, 14, 21 and 30 after parturition) than normal group. Cows with lameness presented higher (P < 0.05) values of body condition score on days -18, -12 and -8 before parturition, and lower (P < 0.05) values on days 7, 14, 21, 30, 45 and 60 after parturition than normal cows. Milk production was lower (P < 0.05) for cows with lameness (on days 7, 14, 21, 30, 45 and 60 after parturition) than normal cows. Discussion: The overall pr...

Different alleles of the human and ovine prion protein gene correlate with a varying susceptibility to transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. However, the pathogenic implications of specific polymorphisms in the bovine prion protein gene (PRNP) are only poorly understood. Previous studies on the bovine PRNP gene investigated common European and North American cattle breeds. As a consequence of decades of intensive breeding for specific traits, these modern breeds represent only a small fraction of the bovine gene pool. In this study, we analysed PRNP polymorphisms in the native Brazilian Caracu breed, which developed in geographical isolation since the 16th century. A total of 10 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were discovered in the coding region of the Caracu PRNP gene. Eight of the SNPs occurred at high frequencies in Caracu cattle (variant allele frequencies = 0.10-0.76), but were absent or only rarely observed in European and North American breeds. One of the Caracu SNPs was associated with an amino acid exchange from serine to asparagine (f = 0.17). This SNP was not detected in Holstein-Friesian, Simmental and German Gelbvieh and was only rarely detected in beef cattle (f = 0.01). We found 17 haplotypes for PRNP in the Caracu breed.

Apesar dos esforços realizados nos últimos quatro anos, as taxas de mortalidade dos bezerros clonados da raça que chegam a termo são ainda altas, cerca de 50%. Demonstrou-se a ocorrência de graves distúrbios cardiorrespiratórios caracterizados por hiperfonese, presença de sopros cardíacos na 1ª e 2ª bulha associados a dispneias, respiração rude e estertores. Em consequência ao não fechamento do Forâmen de Botal e do Ducto Arterioso, há mistura de sangue arterial e venoso comprometendo a capacidade de oxigenação do sangue dos bezerros clonados. Observou-se ainda a ocorrência de macrossomia, hipoglicemia, hipotermia, anomalias das estruturas umbilicais, anemia e alopecia.

RESUMO -Com o objetivo de se determinar o período de latência da tricofitose bovina sob condições naturais de infecção, bem como testar a utilidade da escova de unha de uso humano, foram examinados 80 bovinos sadios, com menos de 3 meses de idade, que estavam em contato com animais doentes. O dermatófito Trichophyton verrucosum (Bodin 1902) foi isolado em cultivos micológicos de 32 animais (40 %), dentre os quais 25 foram acompanhados clinicamente durante 16 semanas; destes 22 adoeceram com sintomatologia característica entre duas e oito semanas após o primeiro exame. Três animais não adoeceram apesar de serem positivos. Os resultados denotam a importância da patogenia da infecção e dos animais infectados de maneira latente para os surtos de tricofitose bovina. Concluiu-se que 88 % dos bezerros adoeceram em até 8 semanas após a instalação da infecção. O uso da escova de unha constituiu-se em método válido de colheita de material para a detecção precoce da tricofitose bovina.Palavras chave: tricofitose, bovino, diagnóstico, latência.ABSTRACT -In order to establish the period of latency of bovine ringworm in natural infection and the applicability of a human nailbrush for its detection, 80 apparently healthy calves under 3 months of age and in contact with infected animals were examined. Trichophyton verrucosum (Bodin 1902) was isolated in mycological cultures from 32 animals (40%), of which 25 continued to be clinically examined during the following 16 weeks. It was observed that 22 of these animals developed ringworm lesions from 2 to 8 weeks after the first examination. Despite being positives in mycological culture, three animals did not develop any clinical sign of infection. The results have shown the importance of the infection pathogeny and latent infection for the epidemiology of bovine ringworm. In conclusion, 88 % of the calves developed clinical signs until up to 8 weeks after infection, and the hairbrush method was found useful for the early detection of bovine ringworm.