Antioxidant Status and Biochemical Alterations in Chlamydia abortus and Coxiella burnetii Infected Small Ruminants.

Saadullah, Muhammad; Ahmed, Ishtiaq; ur Rehman, Aziz; Kashif, Muhammad; Rafique, Muhammad Kamran; Yousaf, Muhammad Shahbaz; Meraj, Muhammad Tahir; Tehreem, Arfa; Saeed, Muhammad Adnan; Saleemi, Muhammad Kashif; Nazir, Shahid; Ur Rehman, Tauseef

Chlamydia abortus and Coxiella burnetii are gram-negative abortifacient bacteria that cause abortion in livestock animals, thus, leading to severe economic losses to farmers. This study aimed to assess oxidative stress and serum-biochemical changes due to C. abortus and C. burnetii infection in small ruminants. A total of 168 serum samples from sheep (n=84) and goats (n=84) were tested for the presence of antigenspecific antibodies against C. abortus and C. burnetii using indirect ELISA. The serum samples of seropositive and healthy animals were tested to determine the concentration of catalase and malondialdehyde (MDA) using standard laboratory procedures. The concentration of total protein (TP) and albumin in serum was determined using commercially available kits. Results of ELISA showed that the number of positive samples of C. abortus was 2.4% in sheep and 7.1% in goats, whereas that of C. burnetii was 13.1% in sheep and 25% in goats. The catalase concentration in seropositive animals (1.39±0.27 kU/l) was significantly lower (P<0.05) whereas that of MDA (2.90±0.82 µM/l) was higher than in healthy animals i.e., 2.65±0.55 and 1.25±0.85, respectively. The total protein and albumin concentration of C. abortus affected animals was 6.4±0.4 g/dL and 3.1±0.4 g/dL, respectively and found significantly lower (P<0.05) than that of healthy ones (7.4±0.3 g/dL and 3.7±0.3 g/dL). Statistical analysis revealed that species and flock type played a significant part (P<0.05) in the prevalence of C. burnetii. However, no significant association was found between risk factors and infection due to C. abortus. This study's findings suggest that antioxidant treatments or vaccination strategies can be beneficial to counteract the adverse effects of these infections on small ruminants.

COXIELLA burnetii; OXIDANT status; ABORTION in animals; OXIDATIVE stress; SERUM albumin

Pakistan Veterinary Journal, 2024, Vol 44, Issue 4, p1153

0253-8318

Academic Journal

10.29261/pakvetj/2024.283