Clinical, haemato-biochemical, and ultrasonographic findings of abomasal impaction and abomasal ulcers in buffaloes.

The current study evaluated the clinical, ruminal, haemato-biochemical, and ultrasonographic findings of abomasal disorders' affected buffaloes grouped as abomasal impaction (n = 18) and abomasal ulcers (n = 15). The abomasal disorders' screening was based on clinical examination and confirmed by ultrasonography. The most common clinical findings of the buffaloes affected with abomasal disorders include depressed demeanour (96.97%), absence of rumination (87.88%), abdominal guarding (87.88%), sunken eye balls (81.82%), tachycardia (78.79%), tachypnea (72.73%), and kyphosis (63.64%). The average rumen motility, respiratory rate, and pulse rate for abomasal impaction and abomasal ulcers were 0.28, 33.37, and 83.44, and 0.33, 35.87, and 92.60, respectively. The faecal occult blood test (benzidine test) revealed the presence of melena in all the buffaloes diagnosed with abomasal ulcers (100%). The ultrasonographic examination of the abomasal impaction group revealed increased abomasal size with no movement of the abomasal contents. The ultrasonographic imaging of abomasal ulcer-affected buffaloes showed irregularity in the abomasal wall-outline with moderately echogenic abomasal contents and a layer of fibrin at the affected area. Nine buffaloes had ultrasonographic evidence of peritonitis. The abomasal contents of buffaloes with positive benzidine test (n = 15) were screened for Clostridium perfringens by a polymerase chain reaction and were found positive for cpa toxin yielding 900-bp length. The rumen protozoal count was higher in healthy buffaloes, while the sedimentation test, (time) methylene blue reduction test, (time) and chloride levels were higher (P < 0.01) in the buffaloes affected with abomasal disorders. Haematological findings revealed a higher haematocrit, total leucocyte count, neutrophils, and eosinophil proportion and lower haemoglobin, total erythrocyte count, and lymphocyte proportion without affecting the fractions of monocytes and basophils. Furthermore, the buffaloes affected with abomasal disorders showed lower albumin, phosphorus, and potassium and higher aspartate transaminase, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine kinase, creatinine, and chloride concentrations. The present study projects clinical signs, ruminal parameters, and haemato-biochemical parameters as better indicators of abomasal disorders; however, ultrasonography is the sole diagnostic aid for the confirmation of abomasal disorders in buffaloes.

Risk factors, clinical indicators, and pathological findings of abomasal ulcers in tropical dairy buffaloes.

The current study aimed at identifying the risk factors and initial diagnostic aids for abomasal ulcers. The risk factor analysis confirmed a significant association (P < 0.05) of abomasal ulcers with concentrate-rich diets (OR, 4.795; CI, 1.212-15.974) and concurrent disorders (OR, 2.978; CI, 0.987-8.980), while the buffaloes in early lactation (OR, 2.777; CI, 0.703-10.972) showed a higher tendency (P = 0.078) for the disorder. The depressed demeanour, dark or black manure (melena), anemia, tachycardia, decreased milk production, anorexia, tachypnea, absence of rumination, abdominal guarding, kyphosis, and tachypnea were the most frequent clinical signs. Subjecting the abomasal fluid for cultural isolation, gram staining, and stormy clot fermentation test identified the presence of clostridium perfringes, while screening through uniplex PCR detected cpa toxin. The buffaloes affected with type-3 and 4 abomasal ulcers exhibited a higher peritoneal fluid to serum ratio of total protein, albumin, and glucose with a low (P < 0.01) serum-ascites albumin gradient (SAAG) concentration compared to reference values of healthy buffaloes. The first two principal components of PCA explained 54.50% of the total variances with lymphocytes, creatine kinase, and rumen chloride levels as the top contributors to dimension I, and albumin, total protein, sodium, and methylene blue reduction time (MBRT) for rumen liquor as the major contributors to dimension II. The vector plot revealed lymphocytopenia, decreased hemoglobin, hypoalbuminemia, hypokalemia, decreased rumen pH, neutrophilia, eosinophilia, leucocytosis, greater MBRT, and higher rumen chloride, serum creatine kinase, and blood urea nitrogen as the major indicators for abomasal ulcers. Histopathological studies revealed infiltration of inflammatory cells in the mucosa along with multifocal areas of necrosis, degeneration, and eroded muscle structure. The study projected a few high-scored clinical signs and extremely variable clinical indicators as initial diagnostic aids of abomasal ulcers, which can be confirmed by ultrasonography and peritoneal fluid examination.

Associations between Animal Welfare Indicators and Animal-Related Factors of Slaughter Cattle in Austria.

Three cattle welfare indicators (lameness, dirtiness, and abomasal disorders) were evaluated in 412 slaughter cattle in a cross-sectional study in Austria. The aims of this study were (1) to evaluate the prevalence of lameness, dirtiness of slaughter cattle, and abomasal disorders; and (2) to determine the association between these welfare indicators and animal-related factors (e.g., housing type, carcass weight, transportation and waiting duration of the animals). The lameness prevalence was 0.73%, the abomasal disorders prevalence was 52.43%, and 88.59% of all cattle were contaminated. The latter result indicates that the cattle were kept in a dirty environment. The occurrence of abomasal disorders was associated with cattle housing systems (p ≤ 0.00) and slaughter weight (p = 0.03). The odds for abomasal disorders were 28.0 times higher for cattle housed on slatted flooring compared to cattle kept in a tethered system. The chance for occurrence of abomasal disorders was 3.6 times higher for cattle with a low carcass weight compared to cattle with a high carcass weight. Furthermore, significant associations were found between dirtiness (also referred to as cleanliness or contamination) and husbandry system, sex, and breed. Cattle housed in deep litter boxes had 40.8 times higher odds of being contaminated compared to cattle in a tethered housing system. Cows (odds: 32.9) and heifers (odds: 4.4) had higher odds of being contaminated with feces compared to bulls, whereby female calves (odds: 0.09) and male calves (odds: 0.02) had significantly lower odds of being contaminated. Furthermore, the breeds Brown Swiss (odds: 0.26) and Holstein-Friesian (odds: 0.14) had a significantly lower chance of being contaminated compared to Simmental cattle. Other collected factors, such as production system, transportation duration, life days of the cattle, average daily weight gain, carcass classification, and fat coverage, showed no association with the collected welfare indicators. The study presented here indicates that welfare indicators evaluated for slaughter cattle are suitable to assess cattle welfare, and improvements in husbandry may positively impact both the abomasal physiology and cleanliness of cattle.

Welfare Assessment in Calves Fattened According to the "Outdoor Veal Calf" Concept and in Conventional Veal Fattening Operations in Switzerland.

The "outdoor veal calf" system was developed to encounter the demand for a veal fattening system that allows for reducing antimicrobial use without impairing animal welfare. Management improvements including direct purchase, short transportation, vaccination, three-week quarantine in individual hutches, and open-air housing in small groups in a roofed, straw-bedded paddock with a group hutch were implemented in a prospective intervention study (1905 calves, 19 intervention and 19 control farms, over one year): antimicrobial use was five times lower in "outdoor veal" farms compared to control farms (p < 0.001), but it was crucial to ensure that antimicrobial treatment reduction was not associated with decreased animal welfare, i.e., that sick animals were not left untreated. Welfare was assessed monthly on the farms, and organs of 339 calves were examined after slaughter. Cough and nasal discharge were observed significantly (p ≤ 0.05) less often in intervention than in control farms, mortality (3.1% vs. 6.3%, p = 0.020) and lung lesion prevalence (26% vs. 46%, p < 0.001) were lower; no group difference was seen in abomasal lesion prevalence (65% vs. 72%). Thus, besides reduced antimicrobial use, calf health and welfare were improved in "outdoor veal calf" farms in comparison to traditional operations.

Measuring sucrose in blood after oral administration to detect abomasal ulcers in calves.

Abomasal ulcers are common in cattle, especially in calves, and to date, there is no reliable antemortem method for diagnosis, to our knowledge. We assessed if measuring sucrose in blood after oral administration in calves could be used to identify animals with abomasal ulcers. Terminally ill calves (n = 12; part A) and calves designated for slaughter (n = 123; part B) were given a sucrose solution per os, and blood samples were taken 15, 30, 60, 90, and 120 min (part A) or 30 and 60 min (part B) after administration. The calves were then euthanized or slaughtered, and their abomasa were examined. Serum samples were analyzed using highperformance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and data were analyzed using general linear mixed models. Calves both with and without affected abomasa had increasing sucrose values over time without significant differences. Also, there was no relationship between the size of the mucosal lesion and sucrose values.

Abomasal and Third Compartment Ulcers in Ruminants and South American Camelids.

Abomasal ulcers are frequent incidental findings in necropsies of domestic ruminants and South American Camelids (SAC) or in slaughter animals and are a frequent cause of death in the most affected group of cattle, veal calves. Their true prevalence and significance is unknown owing to limitations in diagnosing the condition in live animals. This article discusses types of ulcers, possible causes of ulceration, and the clinical consequences, symptoms, and differential diagnoses, as well as further diagnostics in cattle, small ruminants and SAC. The limited treatment options and possibilities for prevention are reviewed.

Surgical Management of Abomasal Disease.

Abomasal diseases are common in cattle. Many of these diseases can be managed surgically. This article briefly discusses the various surgical diseases affecting the abomasum. The pathogenesis, surgical procedures, and prognosis are reviewed. Abomasal displacements in cattle are a focus, because surgical correction of these conditions represents the bulk of abomasal surgeries in ruminants. Surgical principles of conventional surgery as well as minimally invasive techniques for correction of abomasal displacements are discussed. The surgical management of other abomasal diseases such as intraluminal abomasal obstructions and abomasal ulcers are also reviewed.

Characterization of mucosa-associated bacterial communities in abomasal ulcers by pyrosequencing.

Abomasal ulcers are important pathological alterations of the gastrointestinal tract in cattle and are exceptionally hard to diagnose in vivo. The microbiome of the abomasum in cattle with or without ulcers has hardly been studied to date, and if so, the studies used culture-dependent methods. In the present study, the bacterial communities associated with abomasal ulcers of slaughter cows, bulls, and calves in Austria were described using 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing. Sequences were clustered into 10,459 operational taxonomic units (OTUs), affiliating to 28 phyla with Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes and Tenericutes dominating (96.4% of all reads). The most abundant genera belonged to Helicobacter, Acetobacter, Lactobacillus, and novel Mycoplasma-like phylotypes. Significant differences between the microbial communities of healthy and ulcerated calves compared to cows and bulls could be observed. However, only few statistically significant differences in the abundances of certain OTUs between healthy and ulcerated abomasal mucosa were found. Additionally, near full-length 16S rRNA gene sequences of the most abundant phylotypes were obtained by cloning and Sanger sequencing (n=88). In conclusion, our results allow the first deep insights into the composition of abomasal mucosal bacterial communities in cattle and describe a hitherto unknown high diversity and species richness of abomasal bacteria in cattle. Our results suggest that bacteria may have only limited involvement in the etiology of abomasal ulcers. However, future research will be needed to verify the contribution of bacteria to abomasal ulcer formation as presence or absence of bacteria does not necessarily correlate with etiology of disease.