PIROPLASMOSE ASSOCIADA A ISOERITRÓLISE NEONATAL EM EQUINO: RELATO DE CASO

Abstract

Equine piroplasmosis is an infectious disease, transmitted mainly by ticks and caused by protozoa of the order Piroplasmida, among which we can mention Babesia caballi and Theileria equi. Neonatal isoerythrolysis is a disease of newborn foals that occurs in the first week of life. It is caused when the mare produces antibodies against the red blood cells of the foal, occurring ingestion of antibodies present in the colostrum of the mare and subsequent red blood cell loss that occurs both intravascularly and extravascularly. Both diseases cause an immune disorder that causes destruction of erythrocytes and can rapidly lead to varying degrees of anemia and jaundice. Thus, due to the clinical importance of this disease, the present study aimed to report a case of piroplasmosis associated with equine neonatal isoerythrolysis in a 12-hour-old foal that was attended at the veterinary hospital of the Federal University of Paraíba. Diagnosis was based on clinical signs, anatomopathological and hematological findings. The animal had severe anemia and jaundice, going to death within hours of its arrival at the clinic. The positive result of the agglutination test confirmed isoerythrolysis and, in the microscopic examination of the peripheral blood smear, the presence of hematozoa in all its extension, such as Babesia caballi and Theleiria equi. From the observed results, it was concluded that the severity of the disease was determined by the high parasitemia of the piroplasmosis, caused by transplacental transmission. And neonatal isoerythrolysis was caused by a possible maternal-fetal hemorrhage occurred during pregnancy or at birth, that released red blood cells into the mother's circulation, which were recognized as antigens and caused the release of antibodies in the colostrum ingested by the foal. While the occurrence of piroplasmosis was caused by transplacental transmission.