Babesiose encefálica e hepatozoonose em cães do Sertão Paraibano.

Abstract

This dissertation, presented to the Graduate Program in Veterinary Medicine of the Federal University of Campina Grande, is divided into two chapters, each chapter being represented by a scientific article. The first article, submitted to the journal Arquivo Brasileiro de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, describes the main epidemiological, clinical and anatomopathological aspects of cases of cerebral babesiosis in dogs diagnosed in the Laboratory of Animal Pathology during the period from January 2003 to December 2017. During In this study, 7 animals were diagnosed with cerebral babesiosis. Of the dogs affected four were males and three females. The ages ranged from 2 to 5 months, of which 5 were undefined (SRD) and 2 were Poodle. The majority of dogs had a hyperacute clinical course, with death occurring within 24 hours from the beginning of the first clinical signs. Most of the clinical signs were not totally specific for a neurological disease due to the hyperacute clinical course, which prevented a better clinical exploration during the care. The most consistent macroscopic findings observed during necropsy were diffusely orange liver (5/7) and splenomegaly (4/7). The most consistent changes in canine cerebral babesiosis were endothelial cell hypertrophy (7/7), leucostasis (6/7), non-suppurative meningitis (5/7). Less frequently, congestion (3/7), thrombosis (3/7), bleeding (2/7), vasculitis (2/7), and perivascular cuffs (1/7) were observed. It is concluded that cerebral babesiosis is a fatal and hyperacute disease, being considered as an important cause of death in puppies. The second article, also submitted to the journal Arquivo Brasileiro de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, describes 10 animals had Hepatozoon canis infection. The age range varied from 45 days to 9 years with half of the animals having less than 1 year. Of the 10 dogs, 6 were males and 4 were females. The clinical aspects were non-specific and variable, due to the concomitant occurrence of other diseases. Histopathologically, the most frequently observed reproductive structures of the agent were the meronts at various degrees of maturation, characterized by rounded structures in the interior showing foamy content containing a large amount of micromerozoites. Case 1 was the only one with evidence of histopathological lesions caused by infestation of the parasite in the tissues. At necropsy, liver was diffusely yellowish, with slight evidence of lobular pattern. There was also marked splenomegaly and white pulp hyperplasia. The lungs exhibited multifocal areas at rounded, reddish coalescents, distributed randomly in the cranial lobes and coalescing with intensity in the diaphragmatic lobes. In assessing the bone marrow, it was diffusely yellowish.