Performance of broiler chicken on dietary supplementation of protected organic acids blend.

1. The fatty acid coated organic acids blend was evaluated for its potential as a growth promoter.2. A six-week experiment was conducted following a completely randomised design. One-day old broiler chicks (n = 384) were randomly divided into four dietary groups (eight replicates per group). Diet treatments were an unsupplemented basal diet or containing 0.3, 0.6 and 1 g/kg of a coated organic acid blend. Birds were evaluated for growth performance, carcass traits, immune-competence, total viable count and gut villus height.3. The broiler chickens fed with 1 g/kg organic acids blend showed significantly higher body weight gain with improved feed conversion ratio and lower mortality than those fed the basal diet.4. The carcass traits vis. eviscerated yield, dressing percentage, breast yield and relative weight of giblets, were significantly better in the group fed with 1 g/kg coated organic acids blend with reduction in abdominal fat.5. Significantly higher cell-mediated, humoral immune responses and villi height with higher lymphoid organ weight (bursa and thymus) and a significant decrease in the total viable count were recorded in birds fed 1 g/kg organic acids blend.6. The results indicated that dietary inclusion of coated organic acids blend (1 g/kg) improved growth performance, carcass traits, immunity, and gut health in broiler chicken and reduced total viable count and abdominal fat, indicating its potential role as a promising growth promoter in poultry.

Clinical, hematobiochemical, and pathological findings and therapeutic management of viperine snake envenomation in zebu cattle.

The present investigation was carried out to study the epidemiology, clinical signs, bleeding profile, kidney function, and pathology and to evaluate the therapeutic protocol for viperine snake envenomation in zebu cattle over a period of 14 years. A total of 98 cases of viperine bite were reported with the highest incidence during monsoon months in grazing male zebu cattle. Ascending swelling over the affected limb with lameness or asymmetrical swelling over the face with dyspnea was a consistent clinical finding. Increased bleeding tendency was invariably observed in ailing cattle with major bleeding from the site of the bite. Hematobiochemistry showed neutrophilic leukocytosis, thrombocytopenia, prolonged capillary blood clotting time, and elevation of BUN and creatinine. The characteristic gross pathological lesions observed were widespread petechial to ecchymotic hemorrhages in the lungs, liver, heart, spleen, abomasal mucosa, and intramuscular or subcutaneously at the site of bite. Histopathological examination revealed presence of necrohemorrhagic changes within the liver, heart, kidneys, skeletal muscles, and subcutaneously or intradermally at the site of bite. Diagnosis of viperine snakebite was made based on circumstantial evidence of bite, progressive swelling, and bleeding at the site of bite. The severity was assessed based on prolongation of capillary blood clotting time, thrombocytopenia, and kidney dysfunction. Therapeutic protocol comprising polyvalent anti-snake venom along with supportive therapy for 5-9 days showed encouraging results with 88.30% survival rate. In conclusion, the precise diagnosis of viperine snake envenomation in cattle can be made from history and typical clinical signs while severity and treatment can be monitored based on bleeding profile.

Isolation and molecular characterization of fowl adenovirus from inclusion body hepatitis cases in Western India during 2019-2021.

Background: Inclusion body hepatitis (IBH) resulted in a substantial economic loss in Western India during 2019 to 2021. Aims: The study aimed to characterize fowl adenovirus (FAdV) from field outbreaks. Methods: The study was conducted on 290 liver samples from 66 poultry flocks. The samples were subjected to histopathology and molecular detection, followed by phylogenetic typing of the partial hexon gene of the virus. Results: Spiking mortality (14%) was recorded from day 21 to day 35 with peak mortality at the 28th day of age. The necropsy showed a pale and enlarged liver with hemorrhagic and yellowish necrotic foci, accumulation of straw-colored transudate in the pericardial sac which resulted in a flabby appearance of the heart, heart enlargement, and hemorrhages on the spleen, enlarged and congested kidneys. The virus inoculation resulted in stunting and poor feathering with hepatomegaly, hemorrhages and yellowish necrotic foci on the liver as well as greenish discoloration, and kidney swelling in SPF embryonated chicken eggs. Out of 29, 16 liver samples yielded 1219 bp amplicons specific to hexon gene fragments. The sequence and phylogenetic analysis identified 14 isolates as FAdV species E serotype 11 and two as species D serotype 8b. Conclusion: The results indicated that FAdV-8b and FAdV-11 strains are involved in disease outbreaks in western India.

Isolation and molecular characterization of infectious bursal disease virus circulating in western and central India.

Background: Infectious bursal disease (IBD) caused substantial economic loss in central and western India during 2020 and 2021. Aims: The study was conducted to characterize IBD virus (IBDV) from field outbreaks. Methods: The study was conducted on 360 samples from 42 poultry flocks. The samples were subjected to histopathology and molecular detection, followed by phylogenetic typing of the partial VP2 gene. Results: The mortality ranged from 15.25 to 60.18%. The necropsy showed hemorrhages on thigh muscles, mottled spleen, swelling of kidneys and bursae with hemorrhages, and cheesy exudate. Histopathology revealed extensive necrosis and depletion of follicular lymphoid cells within the cortex and medulla, along with widespread hemorrhages, edema, and cystic cavities in the bursa. The field isolates showed cytopathic effects in the seventh passage. The cytopathic effects included swelling, rounding, granulation of cytoplasm around the nucleus, fragmentation of the infected cells, and detachment. The reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction amplified 664 bp partial VP2 gene. The phylogenetic analysis identified 19 field isolates as very virulent IBDVs (vvIBDVs) and three as classical strains. Conclusion: The results indicated that different vvIBDV strains are involved in disease outbreaks in central and western India.

A Case of Intranasal Hemangioma and Concurrent Tetracycline-induced Ulcerative Gastritis in Dogs.

Incidence of drug-induced gastritis and ulceration in human medicine is well established. Besides, unilateral hemangioma, a unique concurrent case of tetracycline induced gastric toxicity in a dog, characterized by gastritis and ulceration is being reported here. Grossly, the appearance of gastric ulcers mimicked the appearance of Italian pizza. Histological examination further supported drug-induced etiology in this case. This is probably the one of the few cases in the annals of veterinary medicine to be documented as drug-induced gastric toxicity in dog.