Enteric Pathology of cattle calves naturally infected with corona virus in Jabalpur region Shrivastava D.P.1, Swamy Madhu1,*, Dubey Amita1 1Department of Veterinary Pathology, College of Veterinary Science & A.H., NDVSU, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India *Corresponding author: e-mail: vetpath@rediffmail.com
Abstract Bovine corona virus (BCV) is one of the most frequently occurring viral agents causing neonatal calf mortality. Rectal faeces collected during necropsy from 38 calves with the history of diarrhoea and gross lesions of enteritis were found positive for Corona virus antigen by ELISA. The tissue samples of intestine, mesenteric lymph nodes and liver collected from eight animals were processed for histopathological studies. Shortening of ileal villi and desquamation of epithelial cells in the lumen were observed in all cases. The colonic mucosa was severely damaged and coated with thick granulocyte rich fibrinopurulent pseudomembrane. Colonic crypts consisted of epithelial cells showing pyknosis, karyorrhexis, granular degeneration, hydropic degeneration, and hyaline droplets. It was concluded that the coronvirus infection mainly affects the ileum and colon in calves leading to diarrhoea and dehydration; its prevalence in calves of Jabalpur region could be an important contributing factor to high incidence of bovine calf mortality in this area. Top Keywords Bovine corona virus, Colon, Cattle calf, Enteritis, ELISA. Top |