DOENÇAS DE BEZERROS BOVINOS E BUBALINOS EM MATO GROSSO DO SUL DIAGNOSTICADAS NO LABORATÓRIO DE ANATOMIA PATOLÓGICA DA UFMS (2014-2024)

Abstract

Mato Grosso do Sul plays a key role in beef cattle production. Calf mortality is a challenge, impacting profitability levels due to increased production costs. Most studies indicate digestive and respiratory diseases as the main causes of death, especially in dairy farming systems, both in Brazil and in other countries. This study analyzed the archive of necropsy reports from the Laboratory of Pathological Anatomy of the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul (LAP-UFMS) over a period of eleven years. The objective was to identify the causes of death of cattle and buffalo calves, from one day to one year of age, extracting information on the etiologies and their frequencies of occurrence. The data obtained were compiled, relating the etiology of the diseases with a defined age range (0-1 month, 2-5 months, 6-8 months and 9-12 months), and discussed in relation to epidemiological and pathological aspects. Of the reports that were suitable for the study, 87.7% were cases of beef calves, 45.2% of which were of the Nelore breed. Infectious and parasitic diseases predominated, accounting for 74.5% of the diagnoses, with emphasis on rabies (22.9%), which occurred in all age groups. In cattle up to 3 months old, bacterial septicemia was the most common diagnosis (7.6%). Septicemic salmonellosis had a significant frequency (6.3%), equivalent to that of blackleg, with a higher incidence in calves up to 3 months old and 4 to 8 months old, respectively. Other prominent causes include tick-borne diseases (6.7%), enteritis (5.7%) and pneumonia (2.9%). In diseases that encompass non-infectious diagnostic categories, they were included and grouped into miscellaneous diseases (5.7%), toxic and toxi-infectious diseases (5.7%), deficiency and metabolic diseases (4.9%), diseases caused by physical agents (4.2%), congenital diseases (3.9%) and neoplasms (1%). Outbreaks of monesin poisoning, encephalomyelitis, serositis caused by Chlamydia pecorum, and cases of eimeriosis and enteritis of undetermined cause were identified in buffaloes. This study reinforces the need for continuous surveillance and improvements in health management to promote animal health and the sustainability of livestock farming. Part of this study, Chapter II, with reports formatted for publication in a scientific journal, of the outbreak of chlamydiosis in buffaloes and the description of “Wischnewsky spots” in a calf that died of hypothermia.