Acute Suppurative Thyroiditis Complicated with Hepatic Degeneration in a ‎Yankassa Sheep: A Postmortem Report

Suppurative thyroiditis is a rare but potentially fatal bacterial disease. Most bacterial infections of the thyroid gland occur via the pyriform sinus fistulae and by hematogenous spread from systemic bacterial diseases. A 2 year-old Yankasa ewe was presented with complaint of anorexia, weakness and a swelling 4-5cm around the ventral neck region near the larynx. Swelling was identified as abscesses. The cut section of the gland contained a thick creamy purulent exudate from which Staphylococcus aureus was isolated. Microscopically there was necrosis and accumulation of neutrophils and macrophages in the thyroid gland. The liver showed fatty degeneration of the hepatocytes. Staphylococcus aureus, a pyogenic bacterium is a normal micro biota but can also be an opportunistic pathogen especially with immunosuppression. Most of the published literature on acute suppurative thyroiditis are related to humans. Hence in this report we present a rare case of thyroiditis caused by Staphylococcus aureus in Ovine species.