Nervous form of listeriosis in buffaloes

Abstract

Listeriosis is a disease that affects several animal species, including humans, and has three different forms of presentation: encephalic, reproductive, or septicemic. The nervous form is caused mainly by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. In Brazil, this disease has already been described in sheep, goats, and cattle. There are no reports of the disease in buffaloes in Brazil and worldwide. The objective of this study was to describe an outbreak of listeric meningoencephalitis in buffaloes in the state of Pará, Brazil. The outbreak occurred in a property located in the municipality of Bujaru, in the eastern Amazon, from May to July 2016. In a herd of 47 buffaloes, three animals (Cases 1, 2 and 3), aged <40 days, presented a neurological condition with locomotion difficulty characterized by paralysis of the four limbs, hypoesthesia, lateral recumbency, and death. Morbidity was 6.38% and lethality was 100%. At necropsy, no significant macroscopic lesions were found. Samples of the central nervous system were collected, fixed in 10% buffered formalin, and routinely processed for histopathological analysis. The main microscopic changes observed were unilateral microabscesses in the brainstem composed predominantly of mononuclear cells, with fewer polymorphonuclear cells, and perivascular cuffs composed mostly of mononuclear cells and few neutrophils. Samples of Cases 1 and 2 revealed Gram-positive bacteria in the areas of necrosis by the Gram’s stain technique. Samples of Case 1 were positive in immunohistochemistry for L. monocytogenes. Diagnosis of the nervous form of listeriosis was based on epidemiological data, clinical profile, and immunostaining for Listeria monocytogenes. Results showed that listeriosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis in buffaloes with nervous signs.

Listeria monocytogenes at the interface between ruminants and humans: A comparative pathology and pathogenesis review

“…33,155,187,289,308 Moreover, studies in the southern hemisphere frequently report listeriosis cases in ruminants unrelated to silage feeding and occurring during the warmest months of the year or during the transition from rainy to dry season. 237,247,248,256 As listeriosis cases can occur all year round in both hemispheres and with different diets, it appears likely that additional factors contribute to infection.…”

“…In wild, farmed, and other domesticated ruminant species, CNS infection follows the pattern of rhombencephalitis in adult animals and septicemic episodes in young animals. 50,125,137,237,306 Clinical signs of rhombencephalitis are similar in all ruminant species and commonly appear unrelated to stressful conditions or any other clinical sign. 198,210,289,309 Several studies claim a prolonged incubation period lasting between 2 and 6 weeks.…”

Extracutaneous Melanotic Melanoma with Nervous System Involvement in a Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)

“…Differential diagnosis was also performed for other diseases that present with nervous clinical signs, such as rabies, Ipomoea asarifolia poisoning, bovine herpesvirus type 5 encephalitis, brain abscesses, listeriosis, lead poisoning, and salt poisoning [ 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ]. In Brazil, rabies in herbivores has high morbidity and lethality and can affect different species on the same property.…”

Thalamic Melanosis in Goats

“…Outra enfermidade infecciosa capaz de cursar com alteração na coloração do SNC é a listeriose [10]. Entretanto, a sintomatologia neurológica e a inflamação mononuclear associada a microabscessos observada no neurópilo são alterações característica da forma neurológica da listeriose em ruminantes [21], não observadas na melanose talâmica.…”