Clinico-pathological and Biochemical Aspects of Foot and Mouth Disease in Calves

The aims of this study were to evaluate the prevalence of foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) nonstructural protein (NSP) antibodies in calves serum using competitive enzyme linked immunosorbent assay technique (c-ELISA), to verify the clinical forms of the disease, and to asses the histopathological changes of myocardial form and some biochemical changes with regard to FMD. A total of 222 calves blood samples were collected from both sexes from various farms in the Mosul city, Iraq. Twenty clinically healthy calves were used as control. The overall seroprevalence of FMD in calves was 48.64%, clinical form was 86/222 (38.74%) and myocardial form was 22/222 (9.90%). Calves with clinical form were statistically significantly higher in prevalence than myocardial form (P< 0.05). Clinical examination of diseased calves revealed vesicles in the mouth and on their feet, with rope salivation, fever and polypnea. Other calves exhibited heart problems manifested as murmur sounds, irregular heart rhythm, tachycardia and most of these calves were recumbent, unable to suck their dams and died within 24 – 72 hrs. Pathological examination of dead calves showed presence of tiger-heart, which is the pathognomic gross lesions of acute form of FMD with severe ischemic infarction and focal myocarditis associated with infiltration of inflammatory cells mainly of mononuclear type. The biochemical profile of clinically infected calves revealed significant increase in AST, ALT, LDH, creatinine, BUN, glucose, and a significant reduction in total protein, albumen, globulin, while there was no substantial variance in the levels of total bilirubin, cTn-I, calcium, and phosphorus compared with the control group (P< 0.05). In the calves with myocardial form there was a substantial rise in the levels of LDH, BUN, cTn-I, and calcium in comparison with the control group (P<0.05). This study concluded that FMD causes clinico-pathological and biochemical changes in calves and myocarditis associated with FMD always terminates with death of infected calves.