Indian Journal of Comparative Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases

Diarrhoea caused by rotavirus and Escherichia coli are the major causes of piglet mortality. The clinicopathological and hematological data for piglet diarrhoea caused by rotavirus (RV) alone or in combination with enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) is very meager. Thirty numbers of caesarian derived and colostrum deprived piglets were experimentally infected with rotavirus alone or in combination with ETEC to study the clinico-pathological and haematological alterations. Experimentally infected piglets showed elevation of body temperature (103–105°F) followed by profuse diarrhoea and dehydration. The diarrhoeic faeces in RV infected piglets were acidic (pH 6.5–7.0) and contained variable amount of flocculent materials. Diarrhoeic faeces of piglets simultaneously infected with RV and ETEC were free of flocculent materials and were slightly alkaline (pH 7.5–8.0). Comparatively, diarrhoea was more severe in the piglets simultaneously infected with RV and ETEC than those infected with RV alone. Haematological study in RV infected piglets showed higher PCV percentage (42.72±1.61) as compared to the control piglets (33.84 ± 0.63) along with lymphopenia and neutrophilia. Piglets simultaneously infected with rotavirus and enterotoxigenic E. coli showed higher PCV percentage (43.40±2.02) and neutrophilia with lymphopenia.