The aims at identifying and describing the occurrence ofanatomopathological and histopathological changes in Nile tilapia juveniles, naturally infected with Francisella noatunensis subsp. orientalis (Fno). The Nile tilapias of this study were cultivated in net cages in the region of the Araguari River basin, Minas Gerais, Brazil, and due to a mortality rate ranging from 40 to 60%, 64 fish samples were collected and sent for examination in the laboratory. At necropsy, granuloma-like nodules were observed in the spleen 59/64(92.2%), kidney 24/64 (37.5%), and liver 09/64 (14.1%). Fno was detected in 98% (49/50) of the samples by PCR. Upon analysis, astrong correlation was observed between external and internal lesions, since granulomatous lesions present in the spleen and kidney of the same animal simultaneously were also accompanied by skin ulcers, suggesting that the cutaneous lesion is related to the presence of Fno in tilapia and can be used as an indication for early diagnosis. Thus, the high prevalence of Fno observed in this research study allows characterizing an outbreak in the region. It is noteworthy that especially regarding the consumption of tilapia meat, although there are zoonotic species in the Francisella group, the zoonotic potential of Fno is not yet known and should be further studied.
Leptospirosis is a zoonosis that affects several species of domestic and wild animals and is an important cause of economic losses in cattle in Brazil. In this study, we determined the prevalence of bovine leptospirosis in the Triângulo Mineiro region, Minas Gerais, Brazil, identified the most frequent serovars of Leptospira interrogans, and examine the renal pathological changes associated with the disease. Samples of blood serum and kidney fragments from 100 bovine females were collected in cattle abattoir. In the serological investigation 48% of the cows were positive. The serovars for which there were more reactive animals were Wolffi (24%), Hardjo (21%) and Hebdomadis (18%). Among the positive samples, 14/48 showed antibody titers greater than 1:100, and 70.83% of the seropositive animals responded to more than one Leptospira interrogans serovar. Only one farm did not have seropositive cows and in nine farms studied, six (66.66%) presented seropositive animals to the Hebdomadis serovar. At the histopathological examination, the most frequent microscopic lesions in positive animals were hyalinization (81.25%), congestion (81.25%) and hydropic degeneration (70.83%). However, these histopathological alterations were also found in kidneys of animals negative to serology, such as hyalinization (80.77%), congestion (48.07%) and hydropic degeneration (55.77%) and these findings are unrelated to positivity. Histopathological examination of the kidneys is not indicated to replace the serological diagnosis of leptospirosis, and may be used only as a complementary examination. Despite the low frequency of seropositive animals in the Triângulo Mineiro region, the disease is present in a large number of farms. Noteworthy is the high frequency of serovar Hebdomadis and it can be considered an emerging serovar in the region. The evaluation of the frequency of this serovar in other regions becomes important, and once verified should result in the recommendation of the inclusion of this serovar in the leptospirosis control.