Occurrence of Capillaria sp. in the liver of sheep (Ovis aries ) in a slaughterhouse in the state of Acre, Brazil.

Paulo Eduardo Ferlini Teixeira,Rosângela Rodrigues-Silva,Fernanda Barbosa De Almeida,Leandro Batista Das Neves,Fernanda Bittencourt De Oliveira,Christiane Leal Corrêa,Daniel Daipert Garcia,Luis Cláudio Muniz Pereira,Alba Cristina Miranda De Barros Alencar,José Roberto Machado-Silva

doi:10.1590/s1984-296120180030

Abstract

Although sheep farming has grown in the state of Acre over the past four decades, little is known about occurrences of helminthiases in the herds of this region. The objective of the study was to assess the occurrences of non-intestinal helminthiasis among sheep slaughtered in Rio Branco. A total of 110 sheep livers were inspected from two slaughter batches (july 2014 and march 2015) in a slaughterhouse in Rio Branco. Livers with macroscopic lesions were photographed and were then subjected to histopathological analysis under an optical microscope. The macroscopic lesions showed small nodes with inflammatory characteristics and areas of fibrosis, which appeared to be calcified, thus suggesting a granulomatous reaction. Of the 110 evaluated livers, we noticed 110 nodules in total; these nodules have an average size of 0.5 cm. The histopathological analysis showed alterations to the architecture of the hepatic lobe, with multiple foci of necrosis and polymorphonuclear cells. Two samples revealed the presence of helminths from Nematode class and Capillaria sp. eggs identified by the typical morphology and morphometry. This seems to be the first report of Capillaria sp. in sheep livers in Brazil, and it serves as an important alert regarding animal health surveillance and control and regarding the Capillaria sp. zoonotic role in humans.

Highlights

Sheep farming has been shown to be an attractive investment in developing countries (LEROY et al, 2015)
The objective of the present study was to assess the possibility of occurrences of non-intestinal helminthiasis among sheep slaughtered in the municipality of Rio Branco, the capital of the state of Acre
Other histopathological findings, dispersed in the hepatic parenchyma and linked to the presence of Capillaria sp., were verified: presence of pseudolobules formed by groups of hepatocytes with strings arrangement without defined lobular architecture, surrounded by fibrous tissue originating from the portal spaces, containing numerous proliferative bile ducts, multiple necrosis foci, in addition to the formation of hepatic abscesses, consisting of polymorphonuclear cells, with poorly delimited and irregular margins (Figure 2B)

Summary

Introduction

Sheep farming has been shown to be an attractive investment in developing countries (LEROY et al, 2015) Brazil has followed this trend with herds distributed mainly in the northeastern and southern portions of the country (RIBEIRO & GONZÁLEZ‐GARCÍA, 2016). Ruminants may be infected by other gastrointestinal nematodes that are considered to be less epidemiologically important, such as Capillaria bovis Schnyder, 1906 This species has been reported in cervids in France (JUSTINE & FERTÉ, 1988, 1989), Canada (DIES & COUPLAND, 2001) and Turkey (BOLUKBAS et al, 2012), wild deer in Norway (DAVIDSON et al, 2014) and sheep in India (JAIN & KAMLAPUR, 1969)

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