Immuno-biochemical Characterization of Diarrhoea in Calves Affected with Colibacillosis and Mixed Infectons

Calf diarrhoea is one of the most commonly encountered disease syndrome and is the significant cause of economic losses in dairy industry. Economic losses associated with the disease include decreased performance, high morbidity and mortality and the expenses of medication and labour to treat the sick calves. The effectiveness of treatment and control of herd epidemics of diarrhoea in calves is frustrating and causes heavy economical losses. Immuno-biochemical alterations in diarrhoea are complex in nature. A good immuno-biochemical diagnostic workup is important for successful treatment and preventive measures. Under present investigation immuno-biochemical characterization of calf diarrhoea was undertaken on 100 clinical cases and ten apparently healthy calves of 0–4 months age group. The mean serum IgG (mg/ml) and IgM (mg/ml) values in healthy and colibacillosis affected diarrhoeic calves were 18.16±1.74 and 1.60±0.02; and 14.80±1.82 and 0.70±0.01, respectively. There was significant decrease in the serum IgG and serum IgM values in colibacillosis affected diarrhoeic calves. There was association of colibacillosis with the deficiency of plasma immunoglobulins. The risk of development of infectious diseases was greater in calves in which there had been failure of passive transfer of maternal immunoglobulins. Thus colostrum feeding may reduce the risk of diarrhoea in neonatal calves.