Effect of plastic foreign body impaction on rumen function and heavy metal concentrations in various body fluids and tissues of buffaloes.

Rumen impaction by plastic waste (PW) is a common condition in the developing countries where ruminants are reared under extensive grazing. As heavy metals (HM) are used in the manufacture of plastic, we hypothesized that buffaloes with PW impaction would have suboptimal rumen function and higher content of HM in the rumen fluid, sera and body tissues. Buffaloes at an abattoir were categorized into impacted with PW or not (Group C and B, respectively; n = 30/group). From the animals of group C and B, rumen fluid and sera were collected ante-mortem, while muscle, liver and kidney were collected after exsanguination. Blood and rumen fluid of stall-fed buffaloes (Group A; n = 15) served as known negative control. Rumen function was assessed by protozoal density, motility, pH, methylene blue reduction time (MBRT) and sedimentation activity time (SAT). Concentration of HM such as mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr) and copper (Cu) in the body fluids, tissues and impacted PW was estimated by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). A significant decrease in the rumen protozoal density, motility and increase (P < 0.05) in the rumen fluid pH, MBRT and SAT were observed in group C as compared to group A and B. Concentration of Pb, Hg and Cd showed a moderate to strong significant negative correlation with rumen function indicators. Quantitatively, Cu content (ppm) was highest in PW with 0.9 ± 0.04. The concentration of HM in the body fluids and tissues was significantly (P < 0.05) elevated in group C, but was below the toxic levels. In stall-fed buffaloes, Hg, Pb and Cd were undetectable in body fluids. Collectively, the results indicate that long term exposure of buffaloes to HM from PW affect the health, productivity and increase the risk of entering the food chain.

Haptoglobin and serum amyloid A as putative biomarker candidates of naturally occurring bovine respiratory disease in dairy calves.

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in dairy calves. Identification of reliable biomarkers of naturally occurring BRD is essential for ensuring early diagnosis and treatment of calves and monitoring treatment efficacy. This need is punctuated, especially in mild to moderate cases that would greatly help to decrease recurrence and the overall prevalence of BRD. The present study was conducted to investigate the changes in serum concentrations of haptoglobin (Hpt) and serum amyloid A (SAA) and association between oxidative stress and acute phase proteins (APPs) in BRD. Hpt and SAA levels significantly increased (P < .01) in BRD stressed calves as compared to healthy subjects. There was a significant decrease (P < .01) in serum albumin (Alb) concentration of infected calves as compared to controls. The oxidative stress markers revealed a significant (P < .01) increase in lipid peroxidation (LPO) and a concurrent decrease in activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), reduced glutathione (R-GSH) and catalase (CAT) in BRD. A significant correlation among APPs, extent of oxidative stress and clinical score (CS) of calves was depicted. A stepwise decrease in Hpt and SAA and increase in Alb was observed in infected calves post-treatment. These results suggest implication of oxidative stress in enhancing APPs and monitoring of APPs as a potential complement to clinical assessment of treatment in calves with naturally occurring BRD. Hpt may be useful as the most sensitive biomarker in BRD. However, the combined use of Hpt and oxidative stress biomarkers would greatly improve the diagnostic accuracy.

A rare case of Theileria annulata induced corneal opacity in a calf.

A 10 months old male cross-bred calf was presented in OPD Medicine, Referral Veterinary Polyclinic, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar with the history of anorexia, impaired vision, heavy tick infestation and diarrhoea for the last 1 week. The clinical examination revealed enlarged pre-scapular lymph nodes, prominent cloudiness in eyes and exophthalmos. The presence of Koch blue bodies in biopsied lymph nodes and a PCR assay confirmed it to be bovine tropical theileriosis associated with unique corneal opacity. Treatment with buparvaquone at a dose of 2.5 mg/kg i.m. two doses 48 h apart was successful and typical ocular manifestations completely subsided after 2 weeks of therapy.

Assessment of nebulisation of sodium ceftiofur in the treatment of calves naturally infected with bovine respiratory disease.

Twelve screened cases of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in calves were enrolled. Six of the calves were treated intramuscularly with sodium ceftiofur (1 mg/kg), and six were treated with nebulised sodium ceftiofur (1 mg/kg). Comparative evaluation of the two therapeutic modalities was based on repetitive analysis of hematological profile of calves on days 0, 5, and 10 post-therapy. The mortality rate in the group of calves treated with the nebulised sodium ceftiofur was significantly (p < 0.001) lower, and their clinical and hematological parameters returned to normal significantly (p < 0.001) faster than in calves treated intramuscularly. Nebulisation of sodium ceftiofur is the most effective treatment in calves with BRD under field conditions. Nasal lavage fluid analysis indicating a high rise of neutrophil count and macrophages may be used as an alternative method to detect pulmonary inflammation in BRD-affected calves.