Bovine Coronavirus-Associated Winter Dysentery in Cattle: Clinical, Molecular, Hematological, and Some Biochemical Findings from a Herd Outbreak
33rd World Buiatrics Congress, İstanbul, Türkiye, 6 - 07 Eylül 2026, ss.370-371, (Özet Bildiri)
- Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Özet Bildiri
- Basıldığı Şehir: İstanbul
- Basıldığı Ülke: Türkiye
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.370-371
- Atatürk Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
BACKGROUND and OBJECTIVE: Winter dysentery is an acute and highly contagious disease of adult cattle associated with bovine coronavirus (BCoV), and it usually involves the digestive system and sometimes the respiratory tract. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical, molecular, hematological, and biochemical findings observed during a BCoV associated winter dysentery outbreak in a cattle herd and to assess the potential supportive value of serum iron and selected laboratory parameters in affected animals.
MATERIALS and METHODS: The animal material of this study consisted of 23 cattle from the same herd, including 14 clinically affected animals and 9 clinically healthy controls. Blood samples (10 mL) were collected from the vena coccygea of all animals. One portion was transferred into K3-EDTA tubes for hematological analysis, whereas the remaining portion was placed into gel and clot activator tubes for serum biochemical analyses, including serum iron measurement. In addition, nasal swabs and stool samples were taken from clinically affected animals and sent to a virology laboratory for molecular diagnosis. They were analyzed by PCR for the coronavirus nucleoprotein gene region.
RESULTS: Clinically affected cattle predominantly exhibited bloody, mucoid diarrhea, while some also showed cough, nasal discharge ranging from serous to mucopurulent, and anorexia. Of the 14 clinically affected animals, 9 (64.3%) were positive for BCoV by PCR in at least one sample type. A total of 12 samples tested positive, and 3 animals showed concurrent positivity in both respiratory and digestive samples, suggesting involvement of both systems in some cases. Hematological analyses showed that white blood cell, lymphocyte, eosinophil, and basophil counts were significantly lower in affected cattle than in healthy controls, whereas mean platelet volume and plateletcrit values were significantly higher. Biochemical analyses revealed significantly lower serum iron and total protein concentrations in affected animals (p<0.05).
CONCLUSIONS: The findings support a herd-level outbreak of BCoV-associated winter dysentery and indicate that BCoV may be present in both digestive and respiratory samples of clinically affected cattle. The high proportion of PCR-positive animals and the concurrent positivity in both sample types in some cases suggest that BCoV played an important role in the outbreak and may be associated with multisystemic involvement. The observed hematological and biochemical alterations further indicate systemic effects of the disease. Decreased serum iron may represent a supportive laboratory finding, although its diagnostic value should be confirmed in larger studies including PCR confirmed cases.