Fatal Rhodococcus equi infection in goats in Southern Brazil / Infecção fatal por Rhodococcus equi em caprinos no Sul do Brasil

ABSTRACT

Background: Rhodococcus equi is a Gram-positive, aerobic, cosmopolitan coccobacillus present in the soil and in feces of birds and a large variety of domestic mammals. It is the etiologic agent that commonly causes pneumonia in foals. This case report describes the clinical signs, lesions and the microbiological analysis of samples collected from three goats infected with Rhodococcus equi in a farm in southern Brazil.Cases Three Boer goats died one week after presenting clinical signs that included diarrhea, ruminal atony and anorexia (Goat 1); abortion, progressive weight loss, appetite loss, pale mucosas and tachycardia (Goat 2); and submandibular edema and anemia (Goat 3). Upon necropsy, it was shown that all goats presented multiple liver nodes between 0.5 and 3.0 cm in diameter. When sectioned these nodes presented yellowish contents that were not resistant. Additionally, Goat 2 presented nodes with caseous contents in mesenteric lymph nodes and lungs, which were similar to those observed in the liver. Upon necropsy, samples of organs were collected and fixed in 10% formaldehyde for histopathological analyses and kept under refrigeration for microbiological analyses. Histopathological analyses of liver, lung and lymph node of all goats revealed the presence of multifocal necrotic areas associated with the deposition of basophilic granular material (mineralization)...(AU)

RESUMO

Rhodococcus equi é um cocobacilo Gram- -positivo, aeróbico, cosmopolita, presente no solo [7] e nas fezes de pássaros e de uma grande variedade de mamíferos domésticos [5]. A infecção por R. equi comumente relaciona-se aos diagnósticos de broncopneumonia supurativa em potros, associada ou não a colite ulcerativa [2], peritonite, pleurite, pericardite e artrite [8]. Em caprinos a bactéria foi isolada de abscessos pulmonares e hepáticos [5] e, além disso, existem relatos de infecção determinando abscessos em tecido ósseo, costelas e vertebras cervical e torácica [4]. Este relato descreve os sinais clínicos, os aspectos anatomopatológicos e análise microbiológica da infecção por Rhodococcus equi em caprinos no Sul do Brasil...(AU)