CLINICO-DIAGNOSTIC STUDIES ON HEPATIC AFFECTIONS OF AGED BUFFALOES

Abstract

study was conducted on 100 aged female buffaloes (average 7 years) slaughtered inthe slaughter houses in Assiut Governorate, to clarify the parasitic and bacterialetiologic agents causing hepatic affections as well as their histopathological picture. Preslaughteringfecal samples by sedimentation technique revealed that 9 cases (9%) wereinfected with Fasciola gigantica and 2 cases (2%) with Fasciola hepatica. Mixed infectionwith two species were detecting in 9 cases (9%). Seventy six (76%) of the investigatedanimals showed gross hepatic lesion, where 20 cases (26.32%) were infected with adultFasciola worm, 40 cases (52.63%) showed chronic hepatitis (26.32% multilobularcirrhosis; 19.73% biliary cirrhosis and 6.58% Glissonian cirrhosis). The last 16 cases(21.05%) revealed necrotic hepatic lesions. Bacteriological examination of theseaffected liver samples showed that 52 (68.4%) revealed positive bacterial growth onculture media either in the mixed form (83.17%) or in single form (16.83%). All fasciolainfected livers showed positive bacterial isolation. Multilobular cirrhosis was the mostform of chronic hepatitis showing bacterial isolation (35.64%) followed by biliarycirrhosis (13.86%). Staphylococcus spp. represented the most prevalent bacterialisolation (43.56%) followed by E. coli (21.78%) and Actinomyces pyogenes (15,84%).Streptococcus pyogenes and Enterobacter aerogenes were also recovered in proportionof 9.90 and 5.94%, respectively. It was concluded that livers of slaughtered aged femalebuffaloes showed a very high proportion of gross and histopathological lesions ratherthan they were considered as hazardous source of mixed different bacterial especiallythey showed positive Fasciola infection.