Intoxicação espontânea por Cestrum intermedium em bovinos no Sudoeste do Estado do Paraná

Abstract

Outbreaks of Cestrum intermedium poisoning affected cattle from dairy herds in Salgado Filho, Southwest of Paraná, southern Brazil, with death of sixteen from 72 animals of four small properties. The onset of the acute clinical signs and death within 24h were reported. High animal density and many shrubs identified as C. intermedium that showed signs of having been consumed by the animals were noticed in all farms. Two animals were necropsied and the most important findings were congested conjunctival and vulvovestibular mucosae; hemorrhages and enhanced lobular pattern in the liver; hemorrhages, congestion and edema in the lung; splenic and brain congestion, and multifocal hemorrhages in the heart. Tissue samples from these two bovines were evaluated. Histological lesions were marked in the liver, such as severe centrolobular necrosis and hemorrhage, what is indicative of acute toxic liver disease. In the brain tissue, astrocytic changes were observed in the white matter of the cerebrum and cerebellum, and in the gray matter of the cerebellum. They were characterized by cell swelling with large and eosinophilic cytoplasm, pyknotic and sometimes eccentric nucleus. These astrocytic changes features were demonstrated by immunohistochemical techniques using the anti-S100 protein and anti-glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), with a strongly positive immunostaining for both antibodies. The paper aims to emphasize on neurological lesions of acute hepatotoxicity in cattle.