We determined the prevalence of diseases and pathogens associated with mortality in beef cattle in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, based on pathology laboratory submissions. Postmortem examinations were conducted on 1,277 beef cattle that died between 2008 and 2018. Information regarding age, time of the year, breed, and regional location were analyzed statistically. Most cattle were from the surrounding region of Porto Alegre, and 78.7% of the analyzed cases had diagnostic value. The diagnostic category with most cases was infectious and/or parasitic diseases (60%), followed by toxic and toxicoinfectious (25%). Most cases occurred in the fall. Major disease conditions identified included hemoprotozoal infection (18.2%), rabies (8.2%), and plant intoxications by Senecio spp. (8.5%) and Pteridium arachnoideum (4.6%). Hemoprotozoal infection occurred at a higher frequency in young cattle, mainly in animals up to 1 y old. Intoxication by Senecio spp. was more frequent in cattle 2–3 y old.

This study described the epidemiological, clinical, pathological and bacteriological aspects of Mannheimia haemolytica pleuropneumonia in goats associated with shipping stress. Forty goats transported from the Northeast to the Southern region of Brazil died during shipment, or 2-3 days after unloading. Clinical signs included dyspnea, mucopurulent nasal discharge, and coughing. All goats were necropsied, and multiple tissues were collected for histopathological analysis and involved agent identifications. All lungs showed pulmonary consolidation, predominantly affecting the cranioventral lobes, in addition to the marked fibrinous pleuritis, pleural thickening, and pleural adhesions, that affected 90% of the goats. Histologically, there was fibrino-suppurative pleuropneumonia characterized by a diffuse neutrophilic infiltrate admixed with fibrin. Non-hemolytic [85% (34/40)] and hemolytic [15% (6/40)] species were obtained in bacteriological culture. Fir Mannheimia spp. was reported in 26 isolates and subsequently confirmed as M. haemolytica (99% identity), after amplification and partial sequencing of the 16S rDNA gene. Stress may trigger the development of bacterial pleuropneumonia in goats, and non-hemolytic strains of M. haemolytica may cause this condition in goats with severe immunosuppression.

Objectives: This study aimed to characterize the cytologic, pathologic and immunohistochemical (IHC) aspects of feline giant-cell sarcoma. Methods: Biopsy and necropsy reports from the Department of Veterinary Pathology were retrieved, and 13 cases of pleomorphic sarcoma (PS) were selected according to the established epidemiologic, pathologic and IHC criteria. All samples were fixed in 10% formalin, routinely processed for histology, and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Samples also underwent IHC testing for vimentin, ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule 1 (Iba-1), desmin, actin and S-100. Results: The mean age of the affected cats was 9.5 years, and females were over-represented. Most neoplasms were observed in the flank, lateral thorax, limbs and interscapular region, and were >2 cm in diameter. Cytology analysis revealed highly cellular preparations with three distinct populations (spindle cells, small round cells and multinucleated giant cells) in a dense eosinophilic stroma. Histologically, PS was composed of a combination of these three populations. IHC labeling for vimentin and Iba-1 was strongly positive for spindle cells and multinucleated giant cells, respectively. Desmin/actin showed variable labeling among the samples. S-100 was negative in all samples. Conclusions and relevance: PS is a neoplasm of mesenchymal origin, also known as malignant fibrous histiocytoma. The predominant subtype in this study that affected the cats was the giant-cell type, characterized by the presence of multinucleated giant cells among spindle-shaped cells. These findings are similar to those described in human patients; thus, a comparison between the neoplasms seen in these species might be useful, and the knowledge of biologic behavior and overall treatment approach for humans could be extrapolated to cats.

Ocular involvement in systemic diseases is frequent in cats; however, without concurrent clinical and ophthalmic examinations with gross and/or histologic analysis of the eye, these findings can be underdiagnosed. This article aims to provide gross, histologic, and immunohistochemical characteristics of ocular lesions from cats submitted to necropsy, focusing on those caused by systemic infectious agents. Cats that died due to a systemic infectious disease were selected based on necropsy diagnosis and presence of ocular lesions. Gross, histologic, and immunohistochemical findings were recorded. From April 2018 to September 2019, 849 eyes of 428 cats were evaluated. Histologic abnormalities were seen in 29% of cases, which were classified as inflammatory (41%), neoplastic (32%), degenerative (19%), and metabolic/vascular (8%). Macroscopic changes were present in one-third of eyes with histologic lesions. Of these, 40% were attributed to inflammatory or neoplastic diseases associated with infectious agents. The most important infectious agents causing ocular disease in this study were feline leukemia virus, feline infectious peritonitis virus, and Cryptococcus sp. The most common ocular abnormalities associated with infectious agents were uveitis (anterior, posterior, or panuveitis), optic neuritis, and meningitis of the optic nerve. Ocular lesions secondary to systemic infections in cats are frequent; however, these are not always diagnosed because gross lesions are less common than histologic lesions. Therefore, both gross and histologic evaluation of the eyes of cats is recommended, mainly for cases in which the clinical suspicion or necropsy diagnosis suggests that an infectious agent might be related to the cause of death.