Basophilic stippling and reactive lymphocytosis in bovine anaplasmosis – A case report

Resumo

Anaplasmosis is known for causing anemia in cattle. However, morphological changes in the red and white blood cells are not often described in bovine anaplasmosis cases. Thus, the aim of this work was to describe changes in blood cell morphology, such as the incidence of basophilic stippling in red blood cells and the reactive lymphocytosis, presented by a 10-month-old Jersey heifer, who was bred in a dairy farm in Juiz de Fora County (MG), Forest Zone of Minas Gerais State (Zona da Mata Mineira). The animal presented clinical signs of hyperthermia and hypocorous mucosae, which suggested hemoparasitosis. Laboratory examination demonstrated the presence of Anaplasma marginale in several erythrocytes, 13.4% of parasitemia, red blood cells presenting basophilic stippling, severe macrocytic normochromic anemia, increased total number of leukocytes resulting from the increased number of lymphocytes, some large lymphocytes with basophilic cytoplasm, and other lymphocytes showed granules in the cytoplasm. These findings are not often described in bovine anaplasmosis cases. So, this work shows the relevance of blood smear examinations to diagnose the hemoparasite, as well as to identify cellular morphological changes caused by it.