v.14, n.1, 13
Diagnostic Exercise from The Latin Comparative Pathology Group
Bovine congenital babesiosis
Luan Cleber Henker, Marina Paula Lorenzett, Saulo Petinatti Pavarini
Clinical History: A crossbred, stillborn bovine fetus, with nine months of gestation, was submitted for postmortem examination. The dam that aborted was a 2-year-old heifer that did not have any additional clinical signs. The owner observed several late-term abortions and stillbirths in this farm during the referred calving season.
Necropsy Findings: Necropsy findings included moderate accumulation of light red fluid in the abdominal and thoracic cavities, mild hemoglobin imbibition, as well as collapsed lungs (Figure 1). The liver was markedly enlarged, had rounded edges, and moderate, diffuse yellow discoloration. The gallbladder was filled with thick, grumous bile, and the spleen was moderately enlarged. The kidneys had moderate diffuse dark red discoloration, and the urinary bladder was distended with dark-red urine (Figure 2). The grey matter of the brain and the spinal cord was markedly pink-red discolored (Figure 3). Squashes of the spleen and brain were prepared and routinely stained with PanóticoRápido® (Laborclin, Brazil) (Figure 4).
Follow-up questions: • Name of the condition; • Etiological agent; • Mechanism of pathogen transmission in this case; • Typical gross findings; • Typical microscopic findings.
