Salmonella enterica serovar Stanley intrauterine infection in a stillborn calf - case report

Abstract

The aim of this study was to report the response to a bacterial intrauterine infection in a calf. A stillborn calf, dam’s blood and amniotic fluid were submitted for examination. Necropsy of the calf was performed and IgG1, IgG2, IgM, IL-6 in the calf’s serum, Il-6 in the dam’s serum, and amniotic fluid were estimated. During necropsy, fluid in pleural and peritoneal cavities stained with haemoglobin and diagonal fissures in the aortic arch endothelium were found.Salmonella entericaserovar Stanley was isolated from the spleen, lungs and abomasal fluid.Histopathological examination revealed: inflammatory infiltration and haemorrhages in lungs and small perivascular haemorrhages in the frontal cortex and near the lateral ventricles of the white matter, focal gliosis in the frontal cortex, and neuronal atrophy of the dentate gyrus with diffuse glial cells proliferation in the brain. The concentration of IgG1in the calf’s serum was increased and IL-6 was detected in both the dam’s blood and amniotic fluid. Necropsy, bacterial culture and immunological findings in the stillborn calf confirmed the intrauterine infectionwithSalmonellaStanley as the cause of death. Meanwhile, neonatal diarrhoea (incidence 46%) with high mortality (54%) occurred on the same farm. From diarrhoeic calves,SalmonellaTyphimurium andS.Enteritidis were isolated. Based on available literature this is the first evidence ofSalmonella entericaserovar Stanley isolation from a stillborn calf.