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This is the first confirmed report of Encephalitozoon cuniculi (E. cuniculi) in farm meat rabbits located in Northern Mexico. Eighty young rabbits exhibited clinical signs of this zoonotic emerging disease, like torticollis, ataxia, paresis, circling, and rolling. Samples of brain, kidney, and liver were examined for histology lesions. For the first time the lesions caused by E. cuniculi were graded according to their severity (I, II, and III) and the size of the granulomas (Types A, B, and C). The main cerebral injuries were Grade III, coinciding with the presence of Type C granulomas. The cerebral lesions were located in the cortex, brain stem, and medulla. The renal lesions were also Grade III distributed throughout cortex and renal medulla, with no granuloma formation. The involvement of hypersensitivity Types III and IV is suggested. All of the rabbits were seropositive to E. cuniculi by CIA testing, suggesting that this zoonotic and emerging pathogen is widely distributed among animals intended for human consumption. We believe this work could be used as a guide when examining E. cuniculi and will provide direction to confirm the diagnosis of this pathogen.

Most of the natural cases of pneumonia in feedlot cattle are characterized by a longer clinical course due to chronic lung lesions. Microscopically, these lesions include interstitial fibroplasia, bronchitis, bronchiectasis, bronchiolitis obliterans, and epithelial metaplasia of the airways. Herein, the aim was to review, under a medical perspective, the pathologic mechanisms operating in these chronic pneumonic lesions in calves. Based on the similarities of these changes to those reported in bronchiolitis obliterans/organising pneumonia (BO/OP) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in human beings, calves are proposed as an alternative animal model.