Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: MARILAINE CARLOS DE SOUSA

CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL STUDY IN NORTHEAST DONKEYS (Equus asinus) POISONED BY COPPER

 IN THE STATE OF BAHIA

ass, liver disease, cupric toxicity

Copper poisoning, in general, occurs in animals that consume this microelement beyond their nutritional needs or associated with nutritional imbalances with other minerals. It also occurs as a result of changes in excretion and hepatic metabolism. The objective of this study is to describe, for the first time, the clinical epidemiological and anatomopathological data of copper poisoning in donkeys in the State of Bahia. Four outbreaks of copper poisoning were monitored in donkeys of the Jumento Nordestino breed. The animals came from a farm located in Serra Preta – Bahia, where they had lived for around two years along with other donkeys kept under the same nutritional, health and environmental management conditions. All donkeys were vaccinated against rabies and herpes. Blood samples were taken from all donkeys to perform blood counts and biochemical tests. All animals showed neurological clinical signs and worsening of the clinical condition. Due to the unfavorable prognosis, they were sent for necropsy. During the necropsy, fragments of liver, kidney, lung, spleen, spinal cord, brain, heart, stomach, intestines and muscles were collected. In addition, liver samples were taken to measure copper, iron, zinc and molybdenum levels. CNS fragments were collected and sent for direct immunofluorescence (DIF) testing for the rabies virus. On the properties where the animals were previously located (Euclides da Cunha and Canudos), soil and plant samples were collected in order to determine mineral levels. Necropsy revealed blackened liver, cerebral edema and gastric ulcers in all animals. Microscopically, brownish pigment was observed in hepatocytes, cerebral and spinal neurons, renal tubular epithelium, endothelium and spleen. In the liver, rhodanine staining showed copper. The diagnosis of the four outbreaks of copper poisoning in donkeys in the state of Bahia was based on the association of clinical, anatomopathological and histopathological findings. In the present study, a blackened liver was seen in all donkeys and, therefore, considered an anatomopathological change characteristic of chronic copper poisoning in this species. In donkeys, no reported cases of copper poisoning were found in the literature, this being the first study that portrays its occurrence in donkeys of the Jumento Nordestino breed in the State of Bahia.