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Pathological observations of tick‐borne fever and intercurrent bacterial infections in lambs
Author(s) -
Daniel Roger Graham,
Carson Amanda,
Evans Carol,
Cookson Rachel,
Wessels Mark
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
veterinary record case reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.165
H-Index - 4
ISSN - 2052-6121
DOI - 10.1136/vetreccr-2016-000367
Subject(s) - medicine , anaplasma phagocytophilum , veterinary medicine , pneumonia , meningitis , pathological , pericarditis , tick , pathology , pleurisy , immunology , surgery , pleural effusion , antibody , borrelia burgdorferi
Eighteen lamb deaths were recorded in a group of 250 ewes and lambs, following turnout onto newly rented upland pasture, in the spring of 2016. Three lambs were presented for postmortem examination and found to have heavy tick infestations. Some of the lesions found grossly at postmortem examination were similar to those described in a single lamb investigated by the Wales Veterinary Science Centre at Aberystwyth during the spring of 2015, from a different farm. Gross lesions identified in these three lambs included splenomegaly, lymphadenopathy, pneumonia, fibrinous pericarditis, pleurisy, peritonitis and meningitis. Laboratory findings included positive PCR results for Anaplasma phagocytophilum , the causal organism of tick‐borne fever (TBF), in all three lambs, and secondary bacterial infections. This report describes a range of lesions, some of which are different to those commonly associated with TBF infection. The pathogenesis and means of diagnosis are also discussed.