Valvular endocarditis associated with Helcococcus ovis in a cow in Southern Brazil

EnglishA 4-year-old cow with a history of breathing difficulty, progressive weight loss, and muffled heart sound was treated for a period of two weeks, but died and underwent necropsy examination. Macroscopic examination revealed heart with vegetative proliferative lesion firmly adhered to pulmonary valve, lungs with marked consolidation, and the presence of thrombus in vessels. There were grade II ulcers in abomasal mucosa associated to blood clots. Microscopic examination revealed marked thickening of the pulmonary valve due to the proliferation of fibrous connective tissue, inflammatory neutrophil infiltration, fibrin deposition, and a significant number of coccoid basophilic bacteria. Septic thromboemboli were present in the large and small pulmonary blood vessels suggestive of embolic pneumonia. The bacterial culture of the valve showed growth of small, nonhemolytic colonies that demonstrated satellitism to coagulase-negative staphylococci contaminating colonies, which were subjected to 16S gene sequencing and were compatible with Helcococcus ovis in GenBank. This was the first report of H. ovis endocarditis in cattle in South America portuguesUm bovino, femea, 4 anos com historico de dificuldade respiratoria, perda de peso progressiva e som cardiaco abafado, foi tratado por um periodo de duas semanas, porem veio a obito e foi submetido a exame de necropsia. No exame macroscopico, notou-se coracao com lesao proliferativa vegetativa firmemente aderida em valva pulmonar, pulmoes com consolidacao acentuada, e presenca de trombos no interior de vasos. Havia ainda ulcera abomasal grau II em mucosa associada a coagulo sanguineo. No exame microscopico notou-se acentuado espessamento da valva pulmonar por proliferacao de tecido conjuntivo fibroso, infiltrado inflamatorio de neutrofilos, deposicao de fibrina e acentuado numero de miriades bacterianas basofilicas cocoides. Tromboembolia septica foi vista no interior de vasos pulmonares de pequeno e medio calibre, sugestivo de pneumonia embolica. Em cultivo bacteriano da valva notou-se crescimento de colonias pequenas, nao hemoliticas que demonstravam satelitismo a colonias contaminantes de estafilococos coagulase negativa, essas foram submetidas ao sequenciamento do gene 16S e foram compativeis com Helcococcus ovis no GenBank. Este foi o primeiro relato de endocardite por H. ovis em bovino na America do Sul