We investigated the occurrence of infectious pathogens during an outbreak of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in a beef cattle feedlot in southern Brazil that has a high risk of developing BRD. Nasopharyngeal swabs were randomly collected from steers ( n = 23) and assessed for the presence of infectious agents of BRD by PCR and/or RT-PCR assays. These included: Histophilus somni, Mannheimia haemolytica, Pasteurella multocida, Mycoplasma bovis, bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV), bovine coronavirus (BCoV), bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), bovine alphaherpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1), and bovine parainfluenza virus 3 (BPIV-3). Pulmonary sections of one steer that died with clinical BRD were submitted for pathology and molecular testing. The frequencies of the pathogens identified from the nasopharyngeal swabs were: H. somni 39% (9 of 23), BRSV 35% (8 of 23), BCoV 22% (5 of 23), and M. haemolytica 13% (3 of 23). PCR or RT-PCR assays did not identify P. multocida, M. bovis, BoHV-1, BVDV, or BPIV-3 from the nasopharyngeal swabs. Single and concomitant associations of infectious agents of BRD were identified. Fibrinous bronchopneumonia was diagnosed in one steer that died; samples were positive for H. somni and M. haemolytica by PCR. H. somni, BRSV, and BCoV are important disease pathogens of BRD in feedlot cattle in Brazil, but H. somni and BCoV are probably under-reported.

Brief Communication Cryptococcosis is a mycosis of humans and other animals that is caused by the Cryptococcus neoformans/C. gattii species complex of organisms. To date, this complex is divided into C. neoformans and C. gattii; C. neoformans has 5 known molecular types (VNI-IV, VNB), and 4 distinct lineages (VGI-IV) are identified in C. gattii. 3,12 However, 2 major reorganizations of the Cryptococcus complex of organisms have been proposed. In the first proposal, C. neoformans var. grubii and C. neoformans var. neoformans are to be considered as separate species, with the inclusion of 5 species within C. gattii. 8 The second proposal suggested a simpler reorganization containing only groups of organisms: the Cryptococcus neoformans species complex (var. grubii and neoformans) and the C. gattii species complex. 12 Cryptococcosis is not often reported in goats, although cryptococcosis has been described in goats with meningitis, 1 pneumonia, 1 and mastitis. 20 In most of these cases, the species definition of Cryptococcus was not confirmed. 7,21 C. neoformans var. gattii (C. gattii species complex) was identified in 5 goats with pulmonary, hepatic, and encephalitic disease in Spain. 1 Cryptococcomas (cryptococcal granulomas) are spaceoccupying granulomatous reactions within parenchymatous organs. 18 Cryptococcomas have been described in the cow, 15,16 dog, 9 cat, 2 horse, 17 and sheep, 19 with a few descriptions in goats. 14,21 We describe herein the pathologic, histochemical, and immunohistochemical findings associated with pulmonary and encephalitic cryptococcosis in a goat, and add to the documentation of encephalitic cryptococcomas in goats. A 3-y-old, mixed-breed, nanny goat from the rural region of the city of Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, central-west Brazil, was presented to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Universidade de Cuiabá (VTH-UC). The owner reported that the goat demonstrated progressively abnormal behavioral changes during the 30 d prior to clinical evaluation. The animal was reared semi-extensively in a herd of 15 goats without a previous history of disease. No other goats 816358V DIXXX10.1177/1040638718816358Pulmonary and encephalitic cryptococcosis in a goatHeadley et al.