Neospora caninum infection in a clinically healthy calf: parasitological study and serological follow-up.

In this study a case of congenital infection in a clinically healthy calf is reported. The mother showed high antibody levels (IFAT) at 230 days of gestation (IgG titres > or = 1:1600, IgM titres > or = 1:320) and the parasite was isolated from placental cotyledonary villi at calving. The IgM values are indicative of a recent infection in the third trimester of gestation. The calf was monitored serologically for IgM and IgG from birth until slaughtering, at 8 months of age. IgM titre showed a peak at birth, while IgG peak was observed at 40-60 days of age. Parasitic isolation was obtained by biological tests using Swiss mice or VERO cell cultures inoculated with brain and spinal cord tissues. The parasitic presence in the calf was also evidenced in the myocardium with immunohistochemical method. The results are very important because they demonstrate that the period of gestation in which the cow becomes infected is an important factor in the pathogenesis of N. caninum induced abortion: in fact, the acquisition of infection in the third trimester of gestation allowed the foetus to develop a sufficient grade of immunocompetency to limit parasite multiplication with the result of a calf born clinically healthy.

Neosporosis in a dog in Italy.

Clinical neosporosis was diagnosed in a 2-month-old Pit Bull Terrier from Italy. Neospora caninum tachyzoites were found in semitendinosus muscle with myositis. The diagnosis was confirmed by immunohistochemical staining with anti-N. caninum specific antibodies. This is the first report of systemic neosporosis in dogs from Italy.

Lymphocyte dynamic patterns in cattle during a primary infection with Cryptosporidium parvum.

Changes in intraepithelial (IEL), lamina propria (LPL), and draining lymph node (LNL) lymphocytes were assessed in 9-day-old calves during primary infection with Cryptosporidium parvum and in similarly aged noninfected calves. A very low percentage of both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were found in IEL and LPL of noninfected calves. In infected compared to controls, percentages of CD2+, CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ T cells in IEL exhibited a significant increase (P < 0.05), whereas the percentage of IL2R+ increased and the percentage of IgG+ cells decreased, but neither of these changes were statistically significant. In LPL, percentages of CD2+, CD3+, CD8+, and IL2R+ T cells were increased in infected compared to noninfected calves, whereas the percentage of IgG-bearing cells decreased; but only the increase in CD3+, CD8+, and IL2R+ cells was significant (P < or = 0.05). In LNL only minimal changes were seen. In fact, the percentage of CD2+ T cells increased whereas the percentage of CD8+ T cells decreased, but neither of these differences was statistically significant. These findings indicate that T cells subsets in the ileal mucosa of naive neonatal calves are different than those of adult cattle, and that the immune response to C. parvum infection differs in ileal mucosa when compared to the regional lymph nodes.

Fatal Strongyloides stercoralis hyperinfection diagnosed by Papanicolaou-stained sputum smears.

Opportunistic infections with Strongyloides stercoralis are rare in Western countries. However, individuals with cellular immunity defects may develop a disseminated infection. We report the case of a 78-year-old Italian male who developed progressive respiratory failure six weeks after initiation of corticosteroid therapy for temporal arteritis. Infective filariform Strongyloides stercoralis larvae, found in the sputum one day before death, clarified the complex clinical picture. It is advisable that before and during immunosuppressive treatments, the stools and body fluids of patients should be screened for parasites.