Abstract
The etiology and pathologic findings of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in adult dairy cows (n = 35) from a commercial dairy herd in Southern Brazil were investigated. Pulmonary samples were examined for histopathologic patterns and specific features within these patterns, while immunohistochemical (IHC) assays were designed to detect the intralesional antigens of viral infectious disease agents and Mycoplasma bovis. Pneumonia was diagnosed in 91.4% (32/35) of these cases; neither pneumonia nor any of the infectious disease pathogens evaluated occurred in three cows. The presence of multiple respiratory pathogens in 75% (24/32) of these cases indicated the complex origin of pneumonia in cattle. Interstitial pneumonia, necrosuppurative bronchopneumonia and suppurative bronchopneumonia were the principal patterns of pulmonary disease identified by histopathology. The most frequent pathogens identified by IHC were bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV; n = 18), M. bovis (n = 16) and bovine alphaherpesvirus type 1 (BoHV-1; n = 14), followed by bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV; n = 11) and bovine parainfluenza virus type 3 (BPIV-3; n = 5). Obliterative bronchiolitis and peribronchial lymphocytic cuffings were the characteristic histopathologic features associated with M. bovis. Necrohemorrhagic bronchitis with bronchial angiogenesis was associated with BoHV-1. Necrotizing bronchitis and bronchiolitis were associated with BVDV, BoHV-1 and BRSV. Ballooning degeneration of the bronchial and bronchiolar epithelia was associated with BRSV and BoHV-1. This is the first report from Brazil that correlated the histopathologic findings of BRD with the associated infectious disease agents by immunohistochemistry. M. bovis was frequently detected in the tissues of cows with fatal pulmonary disease during this study and may be a possible primary disease pathogen associated with the development of BRD in dairy cows. Additionally, the histopathologic features identified within patterns of pulmonary disease during this investigation may be an efficient diagnostic tool to associate histopathologic findings with specific agents of BRD in dairy cows.