Ventricular septal defect in sheep - case report / Defeito de septo interventricular em ovino - relato de caso

A 1-month-old uncastrated Ile de France male sheep was diagnosed with an opening in the left interventricular septal. The malformation was evidenced and confirmed through necropsy and observations of systemic histological lesions related to congenital heart disease, especially in the liver, lungs, and heart. Depending on the severity of the defect, the connection promoting free blood transit between the two heart ventricles can be associated with a series of clinical signs culminating in the animal's death. The etiology of congenital malformations in ruminants can be nutritional, toxic, hereditary, or infectious. However, these anomalies are infrequent in sheep; thus, their most common causes are undetermined. The present report describes macro- and microscopic findings related to this congenital malformation in a lamb

Eugenia pyriformis ('uvaia') intoxication of sheep / Intoxicação por Eugenia pyriformis ('uvaia') em ovinos

This study describes the clinical and pathological picture of a disease followed by death in sheep raised for subsistence, characterized by difficulty in locomotion, sternal decubitus, severe dyspnea, opisthotonos, and pedaling movements, followed by death. The disease occurred in February 2020 in the northern state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, due to the consumption of the fruits of Eugenia pyriformis ('uvaia'). All sheep that became ill later died, resulting in morbidity of 68.75% and mortality of 100%. An autopsy revealed the presence of E. pyriformis fruits with or without seeds in the rumen, in addition to the diet provided to the animals. The main histological findings consisted of edema and perivascular cuffs in the frontal telencephalon, nephrosis and glomerular necrosis, in addition to glomerulosclerosis. One sheep had heightened urea and creatinine and lower levels of non-protein thiols. Deaths ceased once animals were prevented from accessing E. pyriformis. These findings confirm that this plant was responsible for the deaths of the animals and point to the possibility of E. pyriformis having neurotoxic and nephrotoxic action on sheep