Sequestrum in a Lymph Node in Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP) Infection without Lung Lesions: A Case Report

Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP) is a highly contagious disease of ruminants caused by Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides (Mmm), with a major impact on livestock production and a potential for rapid spread. It is manifested by anorexia, fever and respiratory signs such as dyspnoea, polypnoea, cough and nasal discharges in cattle. Lesions of CBPP are generally confined to the organs of the thoracic cavity except in young calves where inflammation of the limb joints (usually the carpal and tarsal joints), sometimes seen with increased fluid. The characteristic type of lesions seen in the organs generally include; pleuritis, hypertrophy of the lymph nodes, unilateral marbling of the lungs in acute disease and sequestra formation in subacute to chronic cases. This case study report describes the presence of a well-developed sequestrum in a peri-bronchial lymph node at the trachea bifurcation in an animal artificially infected with Mmm causing CBPP. The epidemiological role such lesions play in the transmission of the disease in the field is not known. This requires further investigation to ascertain whether
such lesions are implicated in the transmission and perpetuation of disease. In addition such lesions would be missed at post-mortem in an outbreak as they are small and in unexpected organs leading to misdiagnosis of the disease.