The present study concluded that many pathological lesions in female genitalia of functional significance play a major role in infertility in goats

The present study was aimed to determine the seroprevalence of CAE in the Indian goats of both organized and unorganized sector and risk factors associated with caprine arthritis encephalitis virus infection (CAEV). A total of 360 sera samples collected from Agra-Mathura and Bareilly (UP), Rajasthan, Raipur-Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh), Srinagar-Ladakh (J&K) were screened for the presence of antibodies against anti-CAEV 135 SU antigen by cELISA, using commercially available CAEV antibody test kit (Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis Virus Antibody Test Kit, cELISA, VMRD, Inc, USA). Twelve goats out of 360 were found seropositive to CAEV antibodies that constituted 3.33% with an overall prevalence rate of 0.03 ranging from 0.01 to 0.04. Association between risk factors and serological status of goats was statistically analyzed by employing univariable analysis using chi-square test. Correlation between sex of animal and herd type as a risk for CAEV infection was found statistically significant. However, the numbers of seropositive animals were insufficient to achieve any meaningful statistical correlation between CAEV and other risk factors. The results showed that CAEV antibodies are circulating in Indian goats and disease prevalence in the goat herds is influenced by many risk factors which warrant the implementation of control measures to prevent entrance of positive reactors and spread in the coming future.

Experimental study using characterized Clostridium perfringens type D isolates (CIRG-14018) was undertaken to study the pathology of C. perfringens type D enterotoxaemia in goats. Twelve healthy 3–6 months old Barbari goat kids were utilized in present study and they were initially inoculated with starch solution in abomasum, followed by intra-duodenal inoculation of whole culture and trypsin activated culture supernatant of C. perfringens type D in five animals each. Two control kids were inoculated with sterile Robertson's cooked meat media (RCMM). Blood samples were collected at 0, 24, 48 and 72 hours post-inoculation (HPI) for haematology. All four kids inoculated with whole culture and another four kids inoculated with trypsin activated culture supernatant developed diarrhoea and dyspnea shortly after inoculation. The most important necropsy findings included pulmonary oedema and congestion, mild enterocolitis, sub-capsular renal haemorrhages and exudation of clear straw coloured to sero-sanguineous fluid in abdominal and thoracic cavities. The inoculated C. perfringens type D in intestinal contents and tissue (ileum) was confirmed by culture and isolation in RCMM, clostridium supplemented brucella blood agar and egg yolk agar as well as by toxinotyping multiplex PCR. Immunohistochemistry revealed the presence of epsilon toxin in villi and crypt epithelial cells in ileum. Haematology showed anemia, leukocytosis and erythrocytopaenia, while urinalysis showed proteinuria and glycosuria in whole culture and culture supernatant treated kids. Chief histopathological lesions were comprised of mild to moderate necrotic enterocolitis, eosinophilic interstitial pulmonary oedema and severe coagulative necrosis in tubules with interstitial haemorrhages in kidney and perivascular and perineuronal oedema in brain. In present study, experimental enterotoxaemia was induced successfully in goats, although the pathological changes were of lesser intensity compared to the naturally occurring enterotoxaemia in goats. How to cite this article: Kumar, R., Gururaj, K., Pawaiya, R.V.S., Mishra, A.K., Chaturvedi, V., Varshney, M., Andani, D., Jena, D., Sharma, A., Gangwar, N.K. and Singh, R. (2019). Pathology of experimental Clostridium perfringens type D enterotoxaemia in goatse. Indian J. Vet. Pathol., 43(2): 94–103.

A total of 134 goat kids were necropsied during January, 2015 to December, 2016 at ICAR-CIRG, Makhdoom, Mathura (U.P.) as well as at field outbreaks occurred in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. On the basis of gross lesions suspected to be of enterotoxaemia, kidney, lung, brain, liver and spleen tissue samples along with intestinal loops were collected from 84 cases for isolation and histopathological studies. Isolation and culture studies in Robertson cooked meat media (RCMM) revealed gas production along with turbidity, while Gram's staining showed stumpy or slender Gram-positive rods with truncated or plumby ends characteristic of anaerobic Clostridium perfringens. On CLS- BBA, greyish, rounded raised or flat colonies with double zones of hemolysis, and on EYA, opalescence indicative of lecithinase activity were observed. Gross pathological changes were congestedand haemorrhagic distal ileum filled with watery contents, sub-capsular ecchymosis on kidneys, petechial haemorrhages on spleen, congestion of liver, congestion and emphysema of lungs, and meningeal congestion of brain. Microscopically, ileum showed necrosis andloss of mucosal lining epithelium, shortened height of villi and infiltration of inflammatory cells in the lamina propria. Kidney showed interstitial haemorrhages and edema with infiltration of inflammatory cells. Lungs had congested blood vessels and large areas of ruptured alveoli. Liver exhibited sinusoidal and central vein congestion with cytoplasmic vacuolation and necrosis of hepatocytes. Spleen evinced congestion and haemorrhages of capillaries of red pulp. Brain sections revealed congestion of meningeal and parenchymal bold vessels and perineuronal edema in the cerebral cortex and cerebellum. Enterotoxaemia was diagnosed in 27.38% (23/84) of necropsied kids.

Mycotic pneumonia was diagnosed in a three months old lamb based on gross, histopathology and special staining studies. Clinically, the animal was apparently healthy but on post-mortem examination, lungs revealed small, multiple, coalescing nodules embedded in the parenchyma. Histological sections of lungs revealed diffuse necrotic and granulomatous inflammation with numerous, branched filamentous PAS positive fungal hyphae surrounded by lymphocytes and neutrophils. This finding is confirmatory in the diagnosis of multifocal embolic mycotic pneumonia with intralesional identification of aseptate branched fungal hyphae characteristic to Zygomycetes spp. from histological sections of lungs in absence of isolation and other confirmatory tests.