eChapters

Introduction

Hypoglycemia Spiking mortality syndrome is a disease in broilers, characterized by low mortality with sudden onset of high mortality. The affected birds are clinically hypoglycemic.

There is no known aetiology.

Key Points

• Hypothermia occurs when an individual's body temperature drops below its critical level.

• Excessive heat loss or inadequate thermoregulation can lead to this condition.

• It can be minor or severe. Mild hypothermia is harmless, while moderate to severe hypothermia is an emergency.

Before trying to understand Hypothesis Testing and Experimental Designs, we should be conversant with the concept of Probability Distribution.

5.1 PROBABILITY DISTRIBUTIONS

Let us look at an example to grasp the essence of a probability distribution. Let us rotate a pair of dice and observe the sum by totalling the numbers that turn upon in both the dice. Let us call this sum by a random variable X. When the first dice shows up number 1, the second dice could show 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. Likewise, when the first dice shows up number 2, the second dice could show 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6. If we continue the experiment this way until all the possibilities are exhausted, the sample space will contain 36 elements. The distribution that can be observed will contain a sum = 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12. The starting sum will be = 2, because when both the dice show the number 1, the sum 1 + 1 = 2. Likewise, the maximum sum in the distribution will be 12, when both the dice show up a number 6. If we write the values of the random variable (sum) with associated probabilities, it is called a probability distribution.

Key Points

• Patient assessment is only half of the disease diagnosis process.

• Using animal physiological values as a reference point can help measure a patient's health.

• Laboratory results support the patient's evaluation results.

• Patient evaluation findings suggest bodily system involvement.

Introduction

The patient assessment includes the owner's complaint, history, physical examination, and clinical examination of the animals (Fig. 1.1). Proper animal assessment is only part of the illness diagnosis process. Sometimes, evaluation results can be indicative of a medical condition. As a result, at the initial stage, assessing the animal aids in making a confirmation diagnosis. Given its significance, an assessment of the animal must be performed or obtained before concluding the laboratory finding, if available. Assessment can be conducted in several steps, each of which is detailed in the next paragraph. The physiological vital parameters of animals are crucial reference points to conclude the evaluation findings.

Blood Sample collection

Blood samples (5 ml per goat) will be collected aseptically from the jugular vein in a vacutainer tube (B.D. Bioscience, Germany) containing EDTA as anticoagulant and transferred to the laboratory in an ice box.

Isolation of Genomic DNA

The Genomic DNA will be isolated from the blood samples by ‘Phenol: chloroform isolation’ method as described by Sambrook and Russel (2001). The steps for isolation of genomic DNA are as follows:

Key Points

• Allergies are widespread among animals.

• Common allergens include food and drugs.

• Allergic reactions can occur through inhalation, skin contact, or eating.

• Housed cattle develop hypersensitivity pneumonitis, a persistent respiratory illness.

• Chronic exposure to spores in moldy, dusty hay is linked to the disease.

• There are two types of hypersensitivity: acute (also known as anaphylaxis or shock) and delayed.

Key Points

• Drug poisonings can be acute or chronic and result in the development of clinical signs and symptoms that may lead to animal disability or death, as well as extreme physiological and/or psychological changes.

• Drugs are substances that are used to prevent, treat, diagnose, and relive disease conditions by changing the physiology and/or psychology of the individual.

• Certain veterinary drugs have a specific antidote to counteract poisoning cases, while other veterinary drugs do not, and supportive therapy is required to counter these poisonings.

• Over-the-counter (OTC) medications, which are defined as human drugs or nutritional supplements that are available without a prescription, have potential risks for use in animals due to their increased toxicity.

Introduction

Many veterinary medications, which are used to treat both animals and birds, have the potential to poison the species to whom they are provided. These medications' toxic effects are mostly caused by giving them to the wrong species, at the wrong doses, or in the wrong combinations of medications. Certain medication poisonings can be identified due to patient individuality and eccentricities. As a result, there are many cases of these poisonings. This chapter discusses the poisoning caused by frequently and carelessly used veterinary medications, such as the toxicity of antibiotics and antibacterials, the toxicity of antiparasitic drugs, the toxicology of analgesics, the toxicity of cough treatments, the toxicity of the digestive system, the toxicity of vitamins, and the toxicity of topical preparations.

Almost all imaging techniques employed in human medicine are being followed in canine medicine but radiography and ultrasonography ( abdominal and cardiac) are the most commonly used clinical diagnostic techniques. Computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and nuclear techniques are also being used in the teaching establishments.

Radiography

Use of radiography (Figure 42) as a diagnostic technique is wide spread in canine and feline medicine across the world. It is considered the first step in evaluating the skeleton, thorax and abdomen. For evaluating the abdomen, radiography is considered as complimentary to sonography. Canine practice is more like pediatrics requiring assistant to control the patients (dog sand cats). No anesthesia or sedation is generally required for radiography. But if the patient has painful lesion such as fracture or luxation, suitable anesthesia / sedation should be used for making the animal cooperative during radiography for better visualization of the lesions.

Immunity

Immunity is the resistance of body against extraneous etiological factors of disease, which is afforded by the interaction of chemical, humoral and cellular reactions in body. This is an integral part of the body without, which one cannot think of life. During the process of evolution, nature has provided this defense mechanism in the bodies of all living creatures particularly of higher animals and man, that protects them from physical, chemical and biological threats. It can be classified as natural or paraspecific and acquired or specific immunity.

Natural/paraspecific immunity

There are some species which are resistant to particular diseases due to presence of natural resistance against them e.g. horse, pig, cat are resistant to canine distemper virus; dogs are resistant to feline panleucopenia virus, chickens are resistant to anthrax. Even within species, there is natural resistance that protects some individuals while others are susceptible e.g. Indian deshi cattle Zebu (Bos indicus) is quite resistant to piroplasmosis in comparison to Bos taurus. Besides, there are the mechanisms or barriers in body provided by nature.

Introduction

Anatomy of the immune system in birds differs from that in mammals. Immune cells are present in primary lymphoid organs (PLO) and secondary lymphoid organs (SLO). In birds, thymus and bursa of Fabricius (cloacal bursa) are primary lymphoid organs. Secondary lymphoid organs include the spleen, bone marrow, Harderian gland, aggregates of lymphoid tissue in various organs; i.e. in the gut called gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT); in bronchi called bronchial- associated lymphoid tissue (BALT). SLO contains aggregates of lymphocytes and antigen presenting cells. Birds do not have lymph nodes.

In PLO, the lymphoid cells are processed for differentiation and maturation. T lymphocytes differentiate and mature in the thymus, whereas B lymphocytes mature in bursa of Fabricius. Functional lymphocytes move from PLO to SLO. Like mammals, birds defend the body against pathogens through innate immunity (non-adaptive immunity) and adaptive or acquired immunity. Under innate immunity system, physical barriers present in birds play their important role preventing the entry of pathogens into the body. Physical barriers are feathers, skin, aggregates of lymphoid cells in various organs and ciliary defence in the respiratory system. Phagocytosis is first defence for pathogens entering the body, evading the physical barriers. Phagocytic cells include mainly heterophils and macrophages. Natural killer cells (NK cells), thrombocytes and complement also help in innate immunity.

Adaptive immunity is a particular defence which develops when the innate immunity is inadequate to impart protection. Adaptive immunity is antigen specific. T cell, B cell and macrophages play a major role in adaptive immunity. Adaptive immunity is brought about by antibodies (humoral immunity) or also by cells (cell-mediated).

Depressed immune responses have been observed frequently in cancer patients. Cancer and other stress are known to affect different components of the immune system. Cancer treatment is relying mainly on surgery, anti-cancer chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Most chemotherapeutic agents are responsible to myeloid toxicity, which leads to leukemia and immunosuppression affecting both humoral and cell-mediated immunity. This is a very serious disadvantage of chemotherapy besides they are cytotoxic drugs.

Definition

IDD (immunodeficiency diseases) occur when there is a failure of the immune system to protect the host from infectious organisms or the development of cancer.

IDD are disorders of immune system that result in immunological deficiency. Immunodeficiency could be from defects in

i. B and T- lymphocytes

ii. Granulocytes

iii. Complement

This chapter focuses on the structure, classes, properties and biological functions of immunoglobulins. It introduces the basic antibody molecule, including heavy and light chains, variable and constant regions, antigen-binding sites and Fc fragments. The characteristics of IgG, IgM, IgA, IgE and IgD are examined in relation to their distribution and immune functions. Questions cover primary and secondary immune responses, placental transfer, mucosal protection, allergic reactions, complement activation and agglutination. The chapter also addresses antibody affinity, avidity, isotypes, allotypes, idiotypes, class switching and Bence-Jones proteins. It provides essential knowledge of how antibodies recognize antigens and contribute to immune protection and diagnosis.

• General considerations

 • Agglutination

 • Slide agglutination test

 • Tube agglutination test

 • Capillary tube agglutination test

 • Plate agglutination test

 • Hemagglutination test

 • Hemagglutination-inhibition test

 • Coagglutination test

• Allergic Tests

 • Single intradermal test

 • Tuberculin test

 • Johnin test

 • Double intradermal test

 • Comparative test

• Mallein test

 • Immunofluorescence Techniques

 • Direct method

• Indirect method

 • Immunoperoxidase Techniques

 • Detection of antigen

Materials and Reagents Required
1. Fixative- cold acetone or methanol
2. Ethanol – 70%, 90% and 100% for rehydration and dehydration
3. Xylene for clearing
4. Washing buffer (phosphate buffer saline)- PBS
5. Hydrogen peroxide – for endogenous peroxidase blocking
6. Normal horse serum or any other serum: 2.5% horse serum or any other serum can be used to block non-specific epitopes.
7. Ki67 mouse primary antibody
8. Secondary antiboy kit - Impress Excel kit (Cat no. MP-7601; Vector Laboratories, NY, USA) or a similar kit from other vendors like Biogenex (Figure 22; left panel).
9. Peroxide substrate kit—Immpact NovaRed (cat no. SK-4850; Vector Laboratories, NY, USA) for developing a red color signal (Figure 22; right panel).

Background
Immunostaining is a technique used to visualize specific proteins or antigens within cells. In milk somatic cells, immunostaining is employed to identify and quantify various cell types, study their functional characteristics, and diagnose diseases. Immunostaining can be used to identify and characterize different cell types based on the expression of specific surface markers. For example, CD45 is a leukocyte marker, while cytokeratins are markers for epithelial cells. In addition to the research on mammary gland biology, immunostaining is a valuable tool for studying the biology of the mammary gland. It can be used to investigate the expression of genes involved in milk production, cell differentiation, disease processes and even pregnancy detection. For example, galectin-3-binding protein (LGALS3BP) is a gene with elevated expression in the PBMCs of early pregnant buffaloes (Sharma et al., 2023). In this chapter, we have investigated the protein expression of LGALS3BP in milk somatic cells to determine if immunopositive cells are present in milk. Apart from this, stem cells in milk can be identified using markers like CD133, CD73, CD44,and other cell surface markers (Coni et al., 2023).

Background
Immunocytochemistry is the immunostaining of a specific cell or its components in a cell smear. It is a technique to visualize a specific protein or an antigen in cells based on an antigen- antibody interaction (Figure 10). The site of antibody-antigen binding can be visualized by color development (enzymechromogen system) or fluorescence. The macrophages can be visualized in the smear of peripheral blood mononuclear cells by immunocytochemistry using antibodies against macrophages. We need to use a light or fluorescent microscope to detect color or fluorescence, respectively.

Introduction
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents one of the most significant public health challenges of modern times. The discovery of antibiotics in the early 20th century revolutionized medicine, transforming once-fatal infections into manageable conditions and enabling life-saving procedures such as organ transplantation, chemotherapy, and joint replacement surgery. However, the overuse and misuse of antibiotics in human medicine, veterinary practice, and agriculture have accelerated the development of resistant microorganisms. Today, infections caused by resistant pathogens claim millions of lives worldwide each year, with the World Health Organization warning of a postantibiotic era in which minor injuries or routine surgeries could again become life-threatening. Although AMR is often framed within the context of hospital-acquired infections and clinical treatment failure, its implications extend much further. In particular, AMR has significant consequences for physical and health fitness. For athletes, soldiers, patients in rehabilitation, and physically active individuals, resistant infections can disrupt performance, delay recovery, and compromise long-term health. The increasing prevalence of resistant organisms in community environments—including gyms, swimming pools, and sports facilities—further raises concern. This chapter situates AMR at the intersection of clinical medicine, sports science, and community health. It explores how resistant pathogens affect physically active populations, complicate rehabilitation processes, and influence outcomes in both competitive and recreational Fitnes. It also highlights the global and national responses to AMR, preventive strategies relevant to Fitnes and rehabilitation, and the role of healthcare professionals