Diagnosis of caprine pneumonia: impact of vitamin D deficiency and other risk factors in its incidence

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Animal Medicine, Zagazig University

2 Department of Animal Medicine (Internal Medicine), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University

3 Department of Surgery, Anesthesiology and Radiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University

4 Department of Animal Medicine (Infectious diseases), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Sharkia, Egypt.

5 Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Egypt

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to apply different methodsfor diagnosis of caprinepneumonia and to study the correlation between vitamin D concentration and the immunoglobulins (IgG, IgM, IgA) in goats up to one year in response to pneumonia.
From October 2018 to February 2021, a total of 107 baladi goats were includedexamined; 20 apparently healthy goats used as control group (group I, n=20) and 87 pneumonic baladi Baladi goats were diagnosed on the basis of clinical symptoms, ultrasonographic, chest x-ray findings. Serum vitamin D, IgG, IgM and IgA levels were also measured. Pneumonic goats (group II, n= 87) were subdivided into two groups according to their vitamin D levels; pneumonic goat with normal vitamin D level (groupII a, n= 38) and pneumonic goat with decreased vitamin D levels (groupIIb, n= 49). Pneumonic goats were presented with fever, dullness, tachypnoea, bilateral mucoid or mucopurulent/purulent nasal discharge, cough, dyspnea and abnormal lung auscultation. Ultrasonography, the pneumonic consolidation exhibits a liver like echotexture. Abnormality in the chest x-ray revealed increased opacity that may be more gray or white and cotton wool like appearance. Pneumonic goats with reduced vitamin D concentration (group IIb)were also found to havealso revealed significantly lower IgG and IgM concentrations in comparison to both group I and group II a. Vitamin D was positively correlated with IgG. Histopathologically, the pneumonic lesions include interstitial pneumonia, acute suppurative bronchopneumonia and acute fibrinous bronchopneumonia.

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