Pathological changes in the pericardium and meninges of cattle associated with Clostridium chauvoei

Abstract

Twenty-nine cases of Clostridium chauvoei infection in cattle were investigated over a two-year period. Fourteen had lesions of myositis only, eight had lesions of both myositis and fibrinous pericarditis, six had lesions of fibrinous pericarditis only and one had lesions of purulent meningitis only. Cl chauvoei was identified in all the lesions using the fluorescent antibody technique.

Histopathological, immunohistochemical and biomolecular diagnosis of myocarditis due to Clostridium chauvoei in a bovine

“…According to UZAL et al (2003), germination of C. chauvoei in the myocardium is commonly associated with stress during vaccination. Specifically, in the present report, the age of the affected animal (9 months) is consistent with other reports of clostridial myocarditis (MALONE et al, 1986;UZAL et al, 2003;ASSIS et al, 2010).…”

“…Comparatively, the macroscopic and microscopic lesions described here were similar to those described previously by MALONE et al (1986) and relatively different from those described by UZAL et al (2003), who reported a diffuse necro-hemorrhagic myocarditis not associated with fibrino-necrotic pleuritis.…”

“…The classical myonecrosis is usually found in cattle up to 24 months old and is characterized by an acute neutrophil necrotizing myositis that mainly affects skeletal muscle. However, visceral myonecrosis is rarely diagnosed and can affect the heart, the sublingual muscles and the diaphragm (MALONE et al, 1986;UZAL et al, 2003;HARWOOD et al, 2007). In Brazil, the only report of visceral myonecrosis in cattle is a retrospective study that evaluated formalin-fixed tissues and diagnosed the disease using immunochemistry.…”

“…When musculoskeletal necrosis is evident, visceral lesions are considered a secondary consequence of the primary infection. In a study evaluating cases of myonecrosis caused by C. chauvoei, MALONE et al (1986) reported visceral myocarditis as the primary source of infection in 21% of cases. On the other hand, UZAL et al (2003) evaluated an outbreak in which all animals had exclusively cardiac lesions associated with the presence of C. chauvoei.…”

“…There are two distinct forms of blackleg in cattle: a classical and visceral form, both of which are usually fatal (MALONE et al, 1986;UZAL et al, 2003;ASSIS et al, 2010). The classical myonecrosis is usually found in cattle up to 24 months old and is characterized by an acute neutrophil necrotizing myositis that mainly affects skeletal muscle.…”