Conidiobolomycosis with neurological commitment in sheep in Pará, Brazil

The study was conducted on a 3-year-old female Santa Inês sheep from a property located in the municipality of Santo Antônio de Tauá, west of Pará. The affected animal had a history of exophthalmos in the left eye, nasal discharge, and breathing difficulty for more than three months. On physical examination, the animal had a low body score, apathy, unilateral facial asymmetry, moderate unilateral left exophthalmos, mixed dyspnea and unilateral profuse serosanguinous nasal discharge. At necropsy, a large nasal mass was observed, predominantly yellowish-white with blackish-red areas, with an irregular, finely granular, moist, and friable surface. The mass invaded from the mucocutaneous junction of the left nostril to the choanae, infiltrated the frontal sinuses, the cribiform plate, and reached the meninges and the frontal portion of the brain. Microscopy of the surface of the nasal epithelium showed severe destruction of the turbinates and epithelia, evidenced by extensive areas of necrosis with a large amount of cellular debris, ulceration, and secondary bacterial infection. In the central nervous system there was pyogranulomatous meningitis with marked vessel congestion, as well as foci of necrosis and granulomatous inflammation. Immunohistochemistry showed intense staining of numerous intralesional hyphae for antibodies against Conidiobolus lamprauges. The diagnosis of granulomatous rhinitis of mycotic origin associated with the Conidiobolus lamprauges was based on epidemiological, clinical-pathological, and immunohistochemical data. RESUMO: O estudo foi realizado em um ovino, fêmea, de três anos de idade, da raça santa inês, procedente de uma propriedade localizada do município de Santo Antônio de Tauá, oeste do Pará. O animal acometido tinha histórico de exoftalmia no olho esquerdo, secreção nasal e dificuldade respiratória há mais de três meses. Ao exame físico o animal apresentava baixo escore corporal, apatia, assimetria facial unilateral, moderada exoftalmia unilateral esquerda, dispneia mista e exsudação nasal serossanguinolenta profusa unilateral. À necropsia, foi observada grande massa nasal, predominantemente branco-amarelada com áreas vermelho enegrecidas, de superfície irregular, finamente granular, úmida e friável. A massa invadia desde a junção mucocutânea do nariz esquerdo até as coanas, se infiltrava pelos seios nasais frontais, placa cribiforme e alcançava as meninges e a porção frontal do cérebro. À microscopia da superfície do epitélio