Diagnosis of Sarcina ventriculi-derived haemorrhagic abomasitis in lambs by histopathology and real-time PCR

This study aimed to diagnose Sarcina ventriculi in lambs with haemorrhagic abomasitis using histopathological and real-time PCR methods. The material used in this study consisted of 43 abomasum tissues recovered from lambs presenting bleeding, ulcer, gas or a combination of these in the abomasum, that were brought for necropsy to the Department of Pathology of the Veterinary Faculty, Selcuk University. The recovered samples were stored in a 10% formaldehyde solution for histopathological examinations and in Eppendorf tubes at −20 °C for PCR examinations. All the samples were analyzed by histopathological and PCR methods. While S. ventriculi pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC) amplicon was determined by real-time PCR in 17 cases, the packaged form of Sarcina-like bacteria was found microscopically in 3 cases only. In this study, the diagnosis of S. ventriculi in cases of lambs presenting bleeding, ulcers and gas in the abomasum or haemorrhagic abomasitis simultaneously at the necropsy was performed using histopathological and real-time PCR methods; in parallel, the real-time PCR method for the diagnosis of S. ventriculi-derived haemorrhagic abomasitis in lambs was also optimized.