Pathological and bacteriological studies on reproductive tract abnormalities of she-camels ( Camelus dromedarius ), emphasizing on zoonotic importance

• Published in: Journal of advanced veterinary and animal research Vol. 7; no. 4; pp. 633 - 646
• Main Authors: Elshazly, Mohamed Osama, El-Rahman, Sahar Samir Abd, Hamza, Dalia Anwar, Ali, Merhan Essam
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bangladesh Network for the Veterinarians of Bangladesh Bangladesh Agricultural Universityת Faculty of Veterinary Science 01-12-2020; A periodical of the Network for the Veterinarians of Bangladesh (BDvetNET); Network for the Veterinarians of Bangladesh
• Subjects: Abattoirs; Abnormalities; Animal breeding; Animal husbandry; Breeding of animals; Camelidae; Camels; Camelus dromedarius; Cervix; Contaminants; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; dromedary camel; uterus; cervix; vagina; histopathology; microbiology; E coli; Economic conditions; Economic impact; Enterobacter cloacae; Genital tract; Infections; Infertility; Inflammation; Klebsiella; Lesions; Livestock; Microorganisms; Original; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Reproductive system; Salmonella; Streptococcus infections; Urogenital system; Uterus; Vagina; Zoonoses; Germany; Egypt; Dromedary camel; histopathology; microbiology; cervix; uterus; vagina
• ISSN: 2311-7710; 2311-7710
• DOI: 10.5455/javar.2020.g462

Infertility caused by reproductive pathologies plays a significant role in animal breeding and could result in massive economic losses to livestock owners. Hence, this study was designed to allocate various pathological lesions in the female reproductive tract of she-camels (
) slaughtered in Egypt and isolate the causative agents associated with those pathologies.
A total of 500 genitalia of adult nonpregnant she-camels aged between 6 and 15 years old were collected from three slaughterhouses at the Giza Governorate, Egypt, from August 2017 to August 2019. The uterus, cervix, and vagina were examined pathologically and microbiologically.
The uteri of 152 cases (30.4%), cervices of 24 cases (4.8%), and vaginae of 20 cases (4.2%) showed pathological abnormalities. The uterine inflammatory lesions were detected in 119 cases (23.8%), and the non-inflammatory lesions were detected in 58 cases (11.6%). Pathological changes of the cervix comprised 4.8%, whereas vaginal abnormalities represented 4%. The total microbial recovery rate was 28.4%, and the isolated organisms included
,
,
,
,
and
, in addition to
. Trials to isolate
and
species were negative; however, virological examination revealed the isolation of bovine herpesvirus type-1 in two cases.
Inflammatory lesions were the most prevailing pathological lesions observed along the genital tract of she-camels, and
was the most prevalent isolate. The microbiological burden from the genital discharge could be of zoonotic importance to the examiner and could be a contaminant to the environment and, consequently, human. In addition, attention should be paid toward the possibility of infected she-camels to transmit such infections to farm animals in contact.