myocarditis and leptomeningitis in feedlot cattle: case report and occurrence in South America.

Abstract

We investigated deaths in a group of feedlot steers in Argentina. The main findings in 3 steers autopsied were pulmonary congestion and edema, necrotizing myocarditis, pericarditis, suppurative leptomeningitis, and bronchopneumonia.was detected by bacterial culture and immunohistochemistry in the hearts of the 3 animals. Partial sequences of the 16S rRNA gene of aisolate had 99% similarity with othersequences in GenBank. Most reports ofsepticemia in cattle originate from North America and western Europe. There is scant information about cardiac histophilosis in South America. A survey of diagnostic laboratory personnel in 7 South American countries documented various forms of bovine histophilosis in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Venezuela.