Objectives: Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is an acute or sub acute viral disease of domestic and wild small ruminants that primarily affects sheep and goats. Morbidity and mortality rates for this disease can be as high as 80%. PPR is characterized by fever, oculonasal discharges, stomatitis, conjunctivitis, gastroenteritis and pneumonia. Goats are more severely affected than sheep. PPR is also known as pseudorinderpest of small ruminants, pest of small ruminants, pest of sheep and goats, kata, stomatitis- pneumoentritis syndrome, contagious pustular stomatitis and pneumoentritis complex. The aim of this study is to describe an unusual and striking glomerulitis that was observed in a case of naturally occurring sheep PPR.Materials & Methods: A dead lamb was referred to Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran for necropsy. The necropsy was performed and tissue samples from organs such as tongue, abomasum, intestines, lungs, and kidneys were fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin, embedded in paraffin and tissue sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin.Results & Conclusion: Macroscopically, severe necrotic, erosive and ulcerative stomatitis was observed in oral cavity especially on the dorsal surface of the tongue. In addition to the oral cavity, hypermic foci and erosions were seen on the mucosal surfaces of the digestive system including pyloric region of abomasum and the longitudinal folds of large intestines. In both kidneys, there were small, white, 2-3 mm foci that were scattered diffusely in renal capsular and cut surfaces. Histopathological examinations revealed epithelial cells degeneration, necrosis and erosion formation of the affected tongue. Microscopic diagnostic features of PPR including syncytial cells formation, intracytoplasmic and intranuclear eosinophilic viral inclusion bodies were observed in the epithelial cells of the tongue. Acute renal tubular epithelial cells degeneration and necrosis, segmental membranous glomerulitis and associated tubular hyaline casts were found in the affected kidneys. Based on macroscopic and pathognomonic histopathological findings, the disease was diagnosed as PPR. To the best of the authors, knowledge, there is no report on concurrent occurrence of bilateral and diffuse glomerulitis and PPR in sheep and needs further investigations.

Keywords