First report of Trypanosoma vivax outbreak in dairy cattle in São Paulo state, Brazil

This is the first description of a Trypanosoma vivax outbreak in the state of São Paulo (municipality of Lins). Fever, jaundice, decreased milk production, weight loss, profuse diarrhea, abortion, anemia, leukocytosis and hyperfibrinogenemia were observed in the affected animals. Thirty-one cows and calves died out of a total of 1080 in the herd. Three cows showed neurological symptoms like dysmetria, ataxia, muscle weakness, ptyalism, lymph node enlargement and submandibular edema. Flagellated hemoparasites were observed in blood smears. The species was diagnosed as T. vivax by means of PCR. This T.vivax strain showed resistance to diaminazene aceturate and the infection spread quickly at the herd. From the ELISA test, 599 serum samples (98.36%) were positive for anti-T.vivax IgG antibodies. This outbreak occurred during a very dry period, which indicates that other factors were involved in the outbreak, such as absence of tabanids and large populations of Haematobia irritans and Stomoxys calcitrans. The increases in these populations may have been due to the use of biosolid waste from sugar and ethanol plants in the sugarcane plantations surrounding the dairy farm.

Lipid and glucose profiles of dairy buffaloes during lactation and dry period

The purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of lactation and dry period in the constituents of lipid and glucose metabolism of buffaloes. One hundred forty-seven samples of serum and plasma were collected between November 2009 and July 2010, from properties raising Murrah, Mediterranean and crossbred buffaloes, located in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Biochemical analysis was obtained by determining the contents of serum cholesterol, triglycerides, beta-hydroxybutyrate (β-HBO), non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and plasma glucose. Values for arithmetic mean and standard error mean were calculated using the SAS procedure, version 9.2. Tests for normality of residuals and homogeneity of variances were performed using the SAS Guide Data Analysis. Data were analyzed by ANOVA using the SAS procedure Glimmix. The group information (Lactation), Farm and Age were used in the statistical models. Means of groups were compared using Least Square Means (LSMeans) of SAS, where significant difference was observed at P ≤ 0.05. It was possible to conclude that buffaloes during peak lactation need to metabolize body reserves to supplement the lower amounts of bloodstream lipids, when they remain in negative energy balance. In the dry period, there were significant changes in the lipid profile, characterized by decrease of nutritional requirements, with consequent improvement in the general conditions of the animals.