VETERINARY CLINICAL PATHOLOGY (VETERINARY JOURNAL TABRIZ)
Year:2013 | Volume:7 | Issue:2 (26)|Papers Count:8

Theileriosis is caused by an intracellular protozoan that causes great economical losses to animal husbandry in different regions of Iran . The present study was done in order to identify of Theileriaovis in hard ticks in Lorestanprovince . Amongst five different regions in Lorestan, and during the April-to-july period of the year 2012, 265 cases of hard ticks were collected from the ear and the body surface and 100 blood smears from ear veins of anemic and feverish sheep. DNA extraction was done from the salivary glands of collected ticks and PCR test was performed using a pair of 520 bp specific primer of SSurRNA gene of T. ovis. The microscopic examinations of blood smears showed that 12 samples of blood smears ( 12 %) contained the piroplasmic forms of Theileriaspcies. The PCR revealed that 37 out of 152 Rhipicephalussanguineus (24.34%) were positive for T. ovisgenum including 21 female (13.81%) and 16 male (10.52%) ticks while the other ticks were not infected by this parasite. Out of total of 265 tick samples, R.sanguineus was highest (38.35%) and Haemaphysalispunctatahad the lowest (3.01%) frequencies. Regarding the vast distribution of R.sanguineus in the area, it seems that this tick may be the main vector of T.ovis in Lorestan province, Iran.

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the ability of two herbs (Thyme and Milk thistle seed) on immunity and some blood metabolites in broiler chickens. In this study, 160 one-day-old Ross 308 broiler chicks were used. They were randomly assigned to four treatments, with 4 replicates and 10 birds in each unit. The birds were reared on litter for 21 days. Group T1 was kept as a control, the other treatments received feed containing milk thistle and thyme seeds for 3 weeks, i.e. (T2) Milk thistle seed (200 mg kg-1); (T3) Thyme seed (200 mg kg-1); (T4) a combination of thistle and thyme seed added to the basal diet (200 + 200 mg kg-1). There were no significant differences in IgA, IgG, IgM, liver enzymes activity (AST, ALT and GGT), HI titer values against Newcastle, Influenza, Bronchitis and Gambru disease virus in broilers fed different levels of herbs after challenge with (sheep red blood cells-sRBCs) (8 Percent). The results showed that with combination of milk thistle and thyme seeds in poultry diets, some variables in serum (total protein, globulin, albumin and HDL) were increased and cholesterol, LDL and triglyceride were decreased compared to control group (P<0.05). In addition, the lymphocyte and heterophil counts, were increased in birds fed a combination of diets (P<0.05). In conclusion, use of thyme and milk thistle seeds, and particularly their combination had improved some blood metabolites and decreased harmful fatty acids in blood of broiler chicks.

Leptospirosis is a world-wide zoonotic infection occurring in animals and humans. Rodents and wild animals are a major source of infection. Clinical signs in animals include fever, heamoglubinuria, jaundice, abortion, mastitis, reduced milk production, reproductive failure and death with periodic ophthalmia, abortion and stillbirths being among its important signs in horses. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the risk factors for the prevalence of leptospiral infection in horses of Gonbad area. This study was conducted on 200 horses in Gonbad area in Iran in order to determine seroprevalence of leptospiral infection. Sera were initially screened at dilution of 1:100 against 7 live serovars of Leptospira interrogans: Pomona, Canicola, Hardjo, Ballom, Icterohaemorrhagiae, AutomenalisandGrippotyphosausing themicroscopic agglutination test. The prevalence of leptospiral infection was 12% in horses. The majority of these infections were seen in horses that live in marsh and semi-marsh conditions and they accounted for 89% of positive samples. The highest number of reactors in horses (58.34%) wasdue toserovarCanicola and 33.34% of positive samples were seen in horses with many rodents living in their environment.66.67% of positive samples were seen in horses that were kept In moist and semi moist stables. The highest number of positive samples were seen in 3 to 6 years old animals, in other words prevalence of this disease is raised with increase of age. So according to the results, increasing age, living in marsh environment, moist stable presence of infected dogs and rodents, in environment are some of risks factors for prevalence of leptospiral infection.

The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of increasing energy levels of diet and heat synchronization on steroid hormones and fertility in Holstein heifers. Eighty heifers with average bodyweight of 330±20 kg were randomly allocated in equal numbers into four groups including control (A), high energy diet (B) (10% higher than NRC recommendation), heat synchronization (C) (CIDR-Ovsynch) and high energy diet + heat synchronization (D). Heifers in groups B and D were fed initially one year and 30-day pre-synchronization periods, and they were inseminated after observation of heat. Blood samples were collected after first heat signs (groups A & B) and at the beginning of synchronization in each phase of estrus cycle for the determination of plasma progesterone, estrogen and BHBA concentrations. Also, reproduction indices such as service per conception rate and intervals between first heat and AI leading to pregnancy were evaluated. The results showed that estrogen level was significantly increased (p<0.05) in estrous phase in groups C and D compared to the other groups. Progesterone level was significantly high (p<0.05) in diestrous phase in groups B, C and D compared to group A. Level of BHBA was higher in proestrous phase and it was lowest in group D in comparison to the other groups. Also, lowest service per conception rate and intervals between first heat and AI leading to pregnancy was seen in group D, although no statistical significance was observed. It was concluded that high energy diet along with heat synchronization has beneficial effects on reproduction performance, increasing steroid hormones concentration and decreasing BHBA concentration in Holstein heifers.

Vitamin A is one of the fat-soluble vitamins. Because of its particular role in different tissues and organs, various clinical signs are seen in deficiency conditions. In addition, sometimes marginal deficiency is present without obvious clinical signs but performance defects, such as infertility is seen. In present study seasonal changes of serum vitamin A in 22 Arab horses was investigated in Ahvaz. A simple and cheap method (spectrophotometrye) was used for measuring vitamin A. The results were analyzed statistically by one- way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results indicated that mean vitamin A values (20.37±1.21 mg/dl) were within normal range. The values of vitamin A in different seasons and two sexes were normal, too. Serum vitamin A value in spring was significantly higher than other seasons.

Glucans derived from yeast cell wall are promising alternatives to antibiotics, as they have been shown to improve growth performance and stimulate the immune system of immature broilers. In this study we evaluated the effect of different levels of yeast beta-glucan (YBG) on some blood parametrs of broiler chickens. In a factorial experiment based on completely randomized design (the first factor: YBG levels: 0, 0.04 and 0.08% of basal diet and sex as a second factor) 144 day old chicks (72 male and 72 female) were selected and allocated to different treatments (three replicates of each treatment). The overall experimental period was 34 days. At the end of study, two birds from each pen were randomly selected as a sample. The level of albumin, globulin, urea and total protein was measured on blood samples. Statistical analysis of the results showed that the YBG had no significant effect on albumin, globulin, urea and total protein level. But the amount of plasma albumin and total protein in female chicks was significantly higher than male chicks (p<0.05). The interaction effect of the two factors was not significant. Therefore, it can be concluded that the mentioned levels of yeast beta-glucan had no significant effect on the studied parameters.

Fibrinogen is an important coagulation factor and a positive acute phase protein and its levels increases in cases of inflammation infection and stress. The present research was done to determine whether the fibrinogen concentration, prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) can be affected by seasonal changes. In this study, the blood of ten apparently healthy cows from around Yasouj city were taken under aseptic conditions and, then the plasma was separated. The fibrinogen concentration, was assayed by sedimentation refractometry method, PT and APTT were measurement by coagolometric method. The statistical analysis indicated that there was significant difference between the mean concentration of fibrinogen in summer and winter (P<0.05), but the increase in PT and APTT was not as much that a significant statistical difference could be seen between these parameters in winter and summer (P>0.05). It is concluded that seasonal changes can affect the fibrinogen concentration but does no affect PT and APTT significantly.

Selection based on molecular markers is one of the new methods that may improve progress and accuracy of selection in animal breeding programs. The GHRH gene (Growth Hormone-releasing Hormone) is a candidate gene for marker-assisted selection strategies. Polymorphs of GHRH gene are reported to be significantly associated with milk production and constituent traits. In order to study the polymorphism of GHRH gene, blood samples were collected from 112 Sarabi cows. Genomic DNA was extracted and a fragment of 297 bp in size was amplified using polymerase chain reaction. The amplified fragments were subjected to restriction digestion with HaeIII endonuclease enzyme and the resultant digested products were run on 2% Agarose gel. The results revealed the existence of two alleles of GHRHA and GHRHB for the examined locus with frequencies of 0.19 and 0.81 respectively. Three different genotypic variants including GHRHA GHRHA, GHRHA GHRHB and GHRHB GHRHB were identified with genotypic frequencies of 0.0357, 0.3037 and 0.6607 respectively. The  c2 test showed that population is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P<0.05). These data provide evidence that sarabi cattle breed have a genetic variability, which opens interesting prospects for future selection programs, especially marker-assistant selection.