Wild boars represent a potential dissemination source of important pathogens to public and animal health, since they can host several pathogens. This study aimed to evaluate the health profile of wild boars hunted for population control in the state of Santa Catarina (SC), south of Brazil. For this study, tissue and blood samples were collected from 61 wild boars hunted from October 2017 to November 2018. All 61 serum samples were screened for antibodies by different assays, presenting the following seroprevalence: 52.4% for porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2); 21.3% for Leptospira spp.; 19.7% for Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae; 13.1% for hepatitis E virus (HEV); and 9.8% for influenza A virus (IAV). No seroreaction was observed for Brucella spp. and classical swine fever virus (CSFV). At necropsy, the main lesions observed were evidence of pulmonary metastrongylid parasites, haemorrhagic lymph nodes and white-spotted liver. Histopathological analyses mainly showed interstitial pneumonia, bronchopneumonia and bronchi-associated lymphoid tissue (BALT) hyperplasia. There was a significant association between metastrongylid parasitism and BALT hyperplasia in lungs. Pathological findings of wild boars indicate that the assessed individuals were not exposed to notifiable diseases, such as CSFV, African swine fever virus and foot-and-mouth disease, which cause economic damage by non-tariff trade barriers. However, the detection of antibodies against PCV2 and M. hyopneumoniae, pathogens that impact commercial production, indicates the circulation of these agents, with frequency variation in wild populations. This shows the potential risk of pathogen transmission among domestic swine populations and free-living ones. The detection of antibodies against zoonotic agents such as HEV, IAV and Leptospira spp., other than characterizing the pathogens' circulation in these populations, suggests a potential risk to public health and pig farming, depending on the interactions established with the environment, humans and domestic swine. K E Y W O R D S emerging diseases, necropsy, pig health, public health, wild boars How to cite this article: Severo DRT, Werlang RA, Mori AP, et al. Health profile of free-range wild boar (Sus scrofa) subpopulations hunted in Santa Catarina State, Brazil.

Background: Locomotor system diseases are quite common in the field practice in dairy cattle and represent an important cause of economics losses. The rupture of the gastrocnemius muscle has been reported in humans, cattle, horses, camels and llamas. It can be complete or partial. The rupture of muscle as well as sacral fractures are infrequent, and consequently not commonly reported in veterinary medicine. The aim of this work was to report a case of bilateral gastrocnemius rupture in a dairy cow related to a sacral (S2) fracture.Case: A 3-year-old Holstein cow with lameness and urinary incontinence was presented for clinical examination. After three days, clinical signs progressed to sternal recumbency and difficulty to keep normal posture. While standing, the cow’s tarsal joint showed a 90o degree angle with tibia, in a manner that the metatarsal bones were completely leant on the ground. Also, a marked enlargement in both gastrocnemius area were observed. The animal was in good body condition and alert,although unable to maintain both hind limbs extended straight, and was not able to raise the tarsal joint off the ground. Physiological parameters presented normal values. Due to the poor prognosis, euthanasia and necropsy were conducted. At necropsy, it was observed that in both hind limbs the gastrocnemius muscle was ruptured, presenting severe diffuse dark red color, severe enlargement, and moderate diffuse edema and emphysema. The rupture was complete and observed at both muscular insertions in the calcaneus bone. Besides the muscular alterations, the animal had a 2 centimeters fracture on the second sacral vertebra, associated with focally extensive hemorrhage in the spinal canal and meninges. Histologically the main findings were degeneration and severe diffuse necrosis of muscle fibers associated with severe hemorrhage, and mild infiltrate of neutrophils.Discussion: Fractures in cattle may occur due to multiples causes, however farm management and facilities play an important role in the incidence of these disorders. Slippery floors along with groups composed of animals of different sizes and ages are a major cause of injury in this species. The consequence of a vertebral fracture vary greatly according to the location and extent of the injury, the degree of spinal cord compression and which spinal anatomical structures are involved. Besides the direct damage caused by the fractures in the bone’s stability, changes can also occur in related structures, such as muscles and tendons, which are extremely important for the animal to maintain its normal stance and move adequately. One example is the trauma of gastrocnemius muscle that is found sporadically due to struggling. In this case it is conjectured that the pain and the spinal cord compression at the fracture’s location, lead to difficulty for the animal to rise, culminating with the ruptured muscles by overexertion. The characteristic position adopted by the animal was useful to establish the diagnosis, although necropsy was necessary to confirm it. Once the occurrence of this condition is infrequent, this report becomes important to aid veterinarians in order to differentiate it from other diseases of the musculoskeletal and nervous systems, including toxic conditions as Senna sp. and ionophore poisoning, besides nutritional myopathies such as vitamin E and selenium deficiency. Coxofemoral luxation and infectious diseases such as rabies and botulism should also be considered.

This work aimed to characterize the clinic-pathological presentation of an outbreak of auricular and laryngeal chondritis in pigs. Visits were made to pig farms, where the clinical history was obtained, and clinical and postmortem examinations were performed. In those farms, 3% to 4% of pigs presented otohematomas, which started in the nursery and extended to the finishing phase. Moreover, some finishing pigs presented with respiratory distress, initially characterized as inspiratory dyspnea, associated by an uncommon respiratory stridor and culminating in death. Grossly, nursery piglets had enlarged ears, and on the cut surface, the cartilage was fragmented and associated with blood clots. In the finishing phase, in addition to auricular lesions, the epiglottis and arytenoid cartilages were thickened and distorted, which partially occluded the lumen. Microscopically, the laryngeal and auricular cartilages were fragmented, displayed a loss of matrix basophilia, and were surrounded by lymphohistiocytic inflammatory infiltrate, with occasional multinucleated giant cells and fibrosis. The lesions exclusively affected elastic cartilages. The disease in finishing pigs led to increased mortality and was a differential diagnosis to respiratory challenges. It was not possible to determine the factor that triggered this condition; however, a nutritional association is suspected. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report of primary auricular and laryngeal chondritis in pigs.