Veterinary Practitioner Vol. 10 No.

June 2009

BIOCHEMICAL AND HAEMATOLOGICAL PROFILE OF FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE AFFECTED CROSSBRED COWS IN KARUR DISTRICT OF TAMIL NADU
R. Prakash Krupakaran1, T. Porcheziyan and S. Sivseelan
Veterinary University Training and Research Centre Karur-639006, T amil Nadu, India

ABSTRACT
Serum biochemical and haematological changes in crossbred cows affected with Foot and Mouth disease (FMD) were studied in Karur district of Tamil Nadu. Cattle affected by FMD developed mild anaemia, leucocytosis and lymphocytosis. Biochemical profile showed significant reduction in total protein, albumin, glucose, urea, cholesterol and calcium levels in the serum. The serum phosphorus level was found to be increased significantly. Key words : Foot and Mouth disease, cows, serum biochemistry and haematology.

Introduction Among the contagious diseases affecting cattle, Foot and Mouth disease (FMD) is one of the most important disease, affecting dairy cattle very acutely. The intensity of disease varies and results in loss of milk yield, abortion and even death of young animals. In 2008, a major outbreak of FMD occurred in crossbred cows in Karur district of Tamil Nadu. The present study was undertaken to analyze the serum biochemistry and haematology of the FMD affected crossbred animals. Materials and Methods Blood samples were collected from the FMD affected crossbred cows (around 3 years of age) maintained by small scale farmers on the basal diets available in the local area. The blood samples were collected form the jugular vein into a vacutainer c on tain in g EDTA (1 mg /m l) fo r haemato lo gical investigations and with sodium fluoride (1 mg/ml) for biochemical analysis. Haemoglobin (Hb) content of blood was estimated by Sahlis method, total erythrocyte count (TEC) and total leukocyte count (TLC) were determined by Neubaurs slide method. Differential coun t of leukocytes was carried by Giemsas stain method. Biochemical analyses were c arried o u t with th e reag ents an d p ro cedu res provided with kits (Span Diagnostics Ltd., Surat, India) . The data were analyzed statistically by ANOVA as per Snedecor and Cochran (1994). Results and discussions T he h aemato log ic al and bioc hemical profile of the FMD affected crossbred cows are given in Table 1 and 2, respectively .
1 Assistant Professor, Veterinary Biochemistry.

The normal values of the cows are correlated well with the report by Payne and Mitra (1981). In FM D affec ted animals, there w as a significant decrease (P<0.01) in Hb content, TEC and TLC. Similar observations have been recorded by Dhanda and Gopalkrishna (1948). In recovered animals, Hb content and TLC were recovering towards normal but the TEC showed further decrease indicating the persistence of depression of erythropoiesis due to the d isease. T he d ifferen tial leuc oc yte c ou nts showed increased n umber and a non-significant change in neutrophil count in FMD affected animals. The increase in TLC was mainly due to increase in lymphocytes, as reported by Coles (1986). There was significant (P<0.01) reduction in the blood glucose, serum concentrations of calcium, total protein and albumin in the FMD affected cattle, when compared with the normal animals. As the liver function is severely altered in FMD affected animals, the total protein and albumin levels may be lower than normal. As the animal is not taking feed properly, there is red uc tion in the b loo d gluc o se level. Interestingly, the phosphorus level was significantly higher (P<0.01 ) in FMD affected animals. This increase could be the result of higher ATP utilization and breakdown by the virus present in the body of the affected animals. Serum cholesterol, serum urea and globulin content in case of diseased animals were found to be decreased. The reduction in the urea content may be related to the damage of the liver. This finding is well corroborated with the earlier reports of Mohapatra et al . (2005).

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Veterinary Practitioner Vol. 10 No. 1

June 2009

Table 1 : Haematological profile of normal FMD affected and recovered animals. (n=6) Profile studied Haemoglobin (g%) Total erythrocyte count (million/cubic mm) Total Leucocyte count (103/cubic mm) Differential counts Neutrophils (%) Eosinophils (%) Basophils (%) Lymphocytes (%) Monocytes (%) * P<0.01 Table 2: Biochemical profile of normal, FMD affected and recovered animals. (n=6) Profile studied Calcium (mg/dl) Phosphorus (mg/dl) Blood glucose (mg/dl) Cholesterol (mg/dl) Serum Urea (mg/dl) Total protein (g/dl) Serum albumin (g/dl) Serum globulin (g/dl) Albumin-globulin ratio * P<0.01 Normal 10.31 r0.33 4.14r 0.34 49.15r1.55 121.33 r 5.51 25.66 r2.43 6.44r 0.14 4.45r 0.12 1.99r 0.25 2.23 FMD affected 9.06 r0.44* 8.99 r0.36* 29.18r 1.66* 117.12 r6.23* 21.98 r3.34 6.22 r0.17* 3.06r 0.12 3.16r 0.24 0.97 Recovered 9.32 r0.22 7.01 r0.33 30.12r 1.33 101.46 r5.22 18.00r 1.98 6.22 r0.21 3.03 r0.15 3.19r 0.25 0.95 Normal 12.11r 0.12 8.31r 0.14 7.82r 0.33 34.00r1.10 7.83r 0.66 0 88.50r 4.5 1.91r 0.45 FMD affected 10.76r 0.31* 2.27 r0.22* 10.78r 0.41* 30.50r 0.86* 5.66r 0.88 0 62.16r 2.00* 1.55r 0.66 Recovered 11.13r 0.18 7.01 r0.12 9.89 r0.15 33.01r 0.98 5.20 r0.55 0 61.50r 1.67 0.82 r0.30

References
Coles, F .H. (1986) Veterinary Clinical Pathology . 4 th ed., W.B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia, London. Dhanda, M.R and Gopalkrishna, V.R. (1948) Foot and Mouth diseases of animals in India . ICAR. New Delhi.

Mohapatra, A.P .K. et al. (2005) Indian Vet. J . 82: 141-144. Payne, A.K. and Mitra, D.N. (1981) Indian Vet. J . 58: 526. Snedecor, G.W. and Cochran, W.G. (1994) Statis tical Methods . 8th ed. The Iowa State University Press, Ames, Iowa, USA.

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