First report of coenurosis in sheep in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

Abstract

This paper reports the first case of coenurosis in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. This disease is caused by the larval stage of the tapeworm Taenia multiceps (Leske, 1780). The animal in which the disease was diagnosed was an 18-month-old ewe from an endemic area of Southern Brazil as an imported animal among a group of 30 sheep. The clinic-pathological condition was that commonly found in herbivores affected by the disease, especially sheep. Apathy, nystagmus, intermittent blindness, circling and pressing head against obstacles were the neurological signs reported. The necropsy showed that a brain lesion in the subcortex of the right hemisphere was a bladder-like cyst measuring 4 cm in diameter filled with a translucent fluid with a large number of white spherules (protoscolices) floating. In addition to the identification of the Coenurus cerebralis protoscolices, the brain tissue lesion was histopathologically described.

Clinical, pathological and molecular evaluations and CT scan screening of coenurosis (Coenurus cerebralis) in sheep and calves

“…Similar observations were found in two sheep cysts that affected the cerebellum, whereas the other eighteen sheep cysts were located in the cerebrum (cortex, parenchyma or lateral ventricles) (GONZALO-ORDEN et al, 1999). The coenurus cysts were reported in the right hemisphere of the infested sheep (BATISTA et al, 2010). The circling behavior, depression, apathy, blindness, nystagmus and intermittently hitting their heads against the walls of the stall while walking in circles are common symptoms that were observed in both sheep and calf infested with coenurosis.…”

Monitoring of parasitic cysts in the brains of a flock of sheep in Egypt

“…The adult worm inhabits the small intestine of domestic and wild canids, and dogs are the most frequent definitive host. The metacestodes (larval stages) develop in the brain and spinal cord of sheep, goats and other ungulates that have ingested eggs or gravid segments of T. multiceps, thereby inducing so-called cerebral coenurosis (BATISTA et al, 2010).…”

“…Coenurosis is a fatal disease, and death occurs as a result of encephalitis, on average 30 days post-infection (CHRISTODOULOPOULOS, 2007;BATISTA et al, 2010). In the acute phase, immature parasites migrate to the CNS, and the clinical signs together with the severity of the condition are closely related to the number of viable eggs ingested by the sheep, with intense inflammatory cell reactions occurring as a result of the parasite localization (SCALA et al, 2007;PALTRINIERI et al, 2010).…”

Aspectos epidemiológicos, clínicos e patológicos da cenurose

“…Rissi et al (2008) registraram 16 casos da doença em nove propriedades rurais do Rio Grande do Sul. Souza et al, (2008) relatou a cenurose em um ovino no estado de Santa Catarina, Batista et al (2010) relataram o primeiro caso de cenurose no estado de Mato Grosso do Sul e Giaretta et al (2013) relata um caso de cenurose cerebral em um bovino de uma propriedade no sudoeste do Rio Grande do Sul.…”

“…Uma causa comum de doença neurológica em ovinos a coenurosis ocorre principalmente em animais de seis a 18 meses de idade (Batista et al, 2010), onde se apresenta como uma lesão focal lentamente progressiva do cérebro, geralmente envolvendo um hemisfério cerebral. Como a localização e profundidade de cistos de T. Multiceps são bastante variáveis, não há sinais clínicos originais (Varcasia et al, 2009).…”