Predictors of blood ionized calcium concentration in sick adult cattle.

BACKGROUND: Data on the factors affecting blood ionized calcium concentration (ciCa2+ ) and diagnostic performance of serum total calcium concentration (ctCa) measurements to detect abnormal blood iCa2+ status are lacking in sick adult cattle. OBJECTIVE: Assess the association of ciCa2+ with venous blood pH, plasma concentrations of chloride (cCl), sodium (cNa), and potassium (cK), and ctCa, and total protein, albumin, and globulin concentrations in sick adult cattle. ANIMALS: Two-hundred and sixty-five adult cattle (≥1-year-old) with different diseases. METHODS: Prospective study. Whole blood pH, ciCa2+ , cNa, cK, and cCl were measured using a blood gas and electrolyte analyzer, whereas ctCa, and total protein, and albumin concentrations were determined using an autoanalyzer. The relationship between ciCa2+ and venous blood pH, plasma cCl, cNa, cK, and ctCa, and total protein, albumin, and globulin concentrations was investigated. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated for ctCa for diagnosis of abnormal ciCa2+ . RESULTS: Sensitivity of ctCa measurements to detect abnormal ciCa2+ was 66.0% whereas specificity of ctCa measurements was 72.3%. Serum total calcium concentration measurements accounted for 42% of adjusted blood ionized calcium (iCa2+ 7.40 ) concentration variance. Plasma cCl, and cK had explanatory power of ciCa2+ 7.40 , accounting for an additional 21% and 9% of the variance, respectively. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Serum tCa measurements failed to accurately predict blood iCa2+ status in ill adult cattle. Serum tCa concentrations and plasma cCl were the strongest predictors of ciCa2+ in sick adult cattle.

The relationship between serum cytokine profile and vitamin D in calves with neonatal diarrhea.

It is important to know the characteristics of the immunological response in newborn calf diarrhea, which is often caused by bacterial, viral and protozoal pathogens. Cytokinesare proteins that serve as chemical messengers to regulate theinnate and adaptive arms of theimmune response. Changes in circulatory cytokine levels provide valuable information for understanding the pathophysiological process and monitoring disease progression and inflammation. Vitamin D has important immunomodulatory effects, which include enhancing the innate immune system and inhibiting adaptative immune responses. The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between serum cytokine profile and vitamin D level in neonatal calves with diarrhea. The study population was comprised of 40 neonatal calves, 32 of which had diarrhea and 8 of which were healthy calves. The calves with diarrhea were allocated to four groups according to bacterial (Escherichia coli), viral (Rotavirus, Coronavirus) and protozoal (Cryptosporidium parvum) etiologies. Circulatory vitamin D metabolites (25-hydroxyvitamin D, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D) and cytokines (TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-1ß, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13 and IL-17) in the calves were determined. There was no statistically significant difference among the groups in 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels. 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D levels were higher in Coronavirus and E. coli groups compared to the controls. Serum levels of all cytokines except for IL-13, were higher in E. coli group than those of the control group. As a result, differences in serum cytokines and vitamin D levels according to etiological factors in calf diarrhea indicate that vitamin D may play a role in the immune response in the disease.

Investigation of canine chaphamaparvovirus, canine bufavirus, and canine adenovirus in dogs with diarrhea: First report of novel canine bufavirus in Turkey.

Viral enteritis is a significant cause of death among dogs younger than 6 months. In this study, the presence of canine chaphamaparvovirus (CaChPV), canine bufavirus (CBuV), and canine adenovirus (CAdV) was investigated in 62 diarrheal dogs previously tested for other viral pathogens (canine parvovirus type 2, canine coronavirus, and canine circovirus). CBuV was detected in two dogs (3.22%) and CaChPV in one dog (1.61%). One dog tested positive for three parvoviruses (CPV-2b, CBuV, and CaChPV). All dogs tested negative to CAdV-1/CAdV-2. A long genome fragment of one of the two identified CBuVs and of the CaChPV was obtained and analyzed. New Turkish CBuVs had high identity rates (96%-98% nt; 97%-98% aa) with some Italian CBuV strains (CaBuV/9AS/2005/ITA and CaBuV/35/2016/ITA). The phylogenetic analysis powerfully demonstrated that these viruses belonged to a novel genotype (genotype 2). A part of the genome ChPV-TR-2021-19 revealed high identity rates (> 98% nt and > 99% aa) with some Canadian CaChPV strains (NWT-W88 and NWT-W171) and the Italian CaChPV strain Te/37OVUD/2019/IT. This study is the first report on the detection of CBuV-2 and the concomitant presence of three canine parvoviruses in Turkey. The obtained data will contribute to the molecular epidemiology and the role in the etiology of enteric disease of new parvoviruses.

Circulatory cytokines during the piroplasm stage of natural Theileria annulata infection in cattle.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokine response from a broad perspective in cattle with natural Theileria annulata infection. Ten cattle naturally infected with T. annulata and eight healthy cattle were included in this study. A total of 11 cytokines, including tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13, and IL-17 were evaluated in serum samples using commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. There was no statistical significance for serum TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-5, IL-6, and IL-17 levels between the T. annulata infected and healthy cattle. In contrast, the median serum levels of IFN-γ (p = .023), IL-2 (p = .066), IL4 (p = .0016), IL-10 (p = .00087), IL-12 (p = .00018), and IL-13 (p = .023) were significantly higher in T. annulata-infected cattle than in healthy cattle. The results of the present study revealed that in the intraerythrocytic stage of tropical theileriosis, a very pronounced anti-inflammatory response occurs as well as an ongoing inflammatory process.

Predominance and first complete genomic characterization of canine parvovirus 2b in Turkey.

Viral enteritis is a significant threat to domestic dogs. The two primary pathogens that cause viral enteritis in dogs are canine coronavirus (CCoV) and canine parvovirus (CPV). In this study, we investigated the occurrence of CPV-2, CCoV, and canine circovirus coinfection by characterizing circulating subtypes of CPV-2 in faecal samples from symptomatic dogs admitted to veterinary clinics located in Ankara, Elazig, Kayseri, and Kocaeli provinces of Turkey, between 2019 and 2022. Virus detection by PCR and RT-PCR revealed that CPV-2 was present in 48 (77.4%) samples, and no other agents were detected. Based on the occurrence of the codon GAT at positions 1276 to 1278 (coding for aspartate at residue 426) of VP2, all CPV-2 isolates were confirmed to be of the CPV-2b subtype. The complete genome sequences of two CPV-2b isolates showed a high degree of similarity to and phylogenetic clustering with Australian and East Asian strains/isolates. The predominant CPV strain circulating in the three different regions of Turkey was found to be a CPV-2b strain containing the amino acid substitutions at Y324I and T440A, which commonly contribute to immune escape. This is the first report of complete genomic analysis of CPV-2 isolates circulating in symptomatic domestic dogs in Turkey. The evolution of CPV-2 has raised questions about the efficacy of current vaccination regimes and highlights the importance of monitoring the emergence and spread of new CPV-2 variants.

Evaluation of the Freestyle Optium Neo H point-of-care device for measuring blood glucose concentrations in sick calves.

BACKGROUND: Data on the performance of a glucometer in calves with different diseases are currently lacking. OBJECTIVE: The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the reliability of a point of care glucometer in calves affected by different diseases relative to a traditional bench-top autoanalyzer. ANIMALS: One hundred ninety-six calves with different disorders in a referral hospital. METHODS: Prospective study. Venous blood samples were used for the determination of glucose concentrations in blood and plasma using the Freestyle Optium Neo H and autoanalyzer, respectively. Data were subjected to Passing-Bablok regression and Bland-Altman plots. The Freestyle Optium Neo H was the test method and the autoanalyzer was the reference method. The diagnostic performance of the glucometer relative to the autoanalyzer was assessed using 3 different plasma glucose concentrations. RESULTS: The Passing-Bablok regression for the glucometer against the reference method revealed the presence of both proportional bias (1.12; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07-1.18) and constant bias (-11.25; 95% CI, -16.0 to -7.70). The glucometer yielded 92.2%-100% sensitivity and 86.4%-96% specificity for the assessing glucose concentration based on different concentration thresholds. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: The Freestyle Optium Neo H showed proportional and constant biases relative to the reference method. The glucometer showed poor performance according to criteria recommended by the International Standards Organization and the American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology. However, the glucometer determined hypoglycemia with high sensitivity and specificity therefore it might be used to diagnose hypoglycemia in calves with different diseases until calf-specific POC glucometers are developed.

Evaluation of cardiac troponin I in serum and myocardium of rabbits with experimentally induced polymicrobial sepsis.

Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening condition, and it is frequently complicated by myocardial damage. Data on myocardial damage in rabbit caecal ligation and puncture (CLP) models are limited, although numerous animal models have been used to study sepsis-associated myocardial damage. This study aimed to investigate the effect of CLP on cardiac muscle by measuring serum cardiac troponin I (cTnI) concentrations and by detecting both histopathological changes and cTnI immunoreactivity in cardiomyocytes in rabbits. After CLP was performed in rabbits, blood samples were taken from the jugular vein at 0, 4, 8, and 12 h for haematological and biochemical analyses. At the end of the experiment, all of the rabbits were euthanised to examine the histopathological changes and the cTnI immunoreactivity in cardiac muscle tissue. No changes in serum cTnI concentration were observed in the experimental group (EG) or control group (CG) at 0 and 4 h. In EG, the mean serum cTnI concentrations were 0.230 ± 0.209 and 1.177 ± 0.971 ng/ml at 8 and 12 h, respectively. In CG, the mean serum cTnI concentrations were 0.032 ± 0.014 and 0.031 ± 0.021 ng/ml at 8 and 12 h, respectively. Moreover, cytoplasmic cTnI immunoreactivity decreased in EG compared with that in CG (P<0.01). The results demonstrated that CLP induced a systemic inflammatory response and caused myocardial damage in rabbits.