Background: It has been shown that zinc has an effect on physiological responses in animals and birds. On the other hand, dietary phytase in poultry results in increased availability of zinc. OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of zinc oxide (ZnO) and Escherichia coli-derived 6-phytase supplemented diets on the plasma metabolites and enzyme activities of broiler breeder hens from 60 to 72 weeks of age. METHODS: A total of 128 breeder hens were randomly assigned to eight dietary treatments, with four replicates of four hens each. Blood concentration of Zn, Ca, P, total protein, cholesterol, triglyceride (TG) and high density lipoprotein (HDL), and plasma activities of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were measured. RESULTS: Results showed that supplementary ZnO increased plasma Zn, Ca, P, HDL, and total protein (p<0.01) concentrations, as well as enzyme activities of LDH, ALT and AST (p<0.01). Also, a ZnO-supplemented diet resulted in a decrease in plasma cholesterol and TG (p<0.01) levels. Adding phytase to the diet increased plasma (P) and HDL contents (p<0.01). The interactive effect of phytase × ZnO × period on the plasma levels of Zn, P, total protein, HDL, total cholesterol, and the enzymatic activity of LDH, ALT and ALP was significant. CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded that supplementary ZnO and phytase may improve metabolism and enzymatic activity of aged broiler breeder hens.

Dermatophilosis is a bacterial skin infection and wet conditions like, raining and dipping predispose sheep to it. A great economic loss can be caused by this disease because of its effect on the quality of wool. In Iran (near Saveh), there was an outbreak of the disease in a herd and the clinical manifestation was different from that of typical dermatophilosis. Diffuse wide alopecic area accompanied by large amount of purulent discharges were seen. The main lesions were located at the thoracic area. Secondary infection caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and bacteremia caused by staphylococcus was diagnosed and is considered to be the cause of 0.16% mortality.For diagnosis blood samples were obtained for CBC, and bacteriological culture and direct smear were taken from skin lesions. Biopsy was also prepared from skin lesions for histopathologic study and bacteriologic culture. Direct microscopic examination was made on Giemsa-stained smear prepared from crusts and their underlying tissue. Gram stained smear  was also prepared from underlying crusts of skin. After bacteriological and histopathological evaluation, Dermatophilus was determined. A typical railroad track of Gram positive bacteria was seen in Gram and Giemsa stained smear.  Filamentous bacteria in the epidermis were seen in histopathological samples. Infection was controlled by treating herd intramuscularly with 70,000 mg/kg BW procaine penicillin G, twice daily for 5 consecutive days.

Background: Reports on the pharmacokinetics of marbofloxacin in birds are scarce, even when it is a useful tool in poultry production. OBJECTIVES: Determining marbofloxacin kinetic parameters in plasma and muscle arrangement after intravenous and oral administrations and establishing its withdrawal period. METHODS: Clinical healthy chickens (1.08±0.22‌ kg) were used as experimental subjects, formed in groups of 5. In Group A (n= 45) birds received 2 mg/kg of marbofloxacin intravenously while group B (n= 65) was given the same oral dose after fasting for 12 hours. Blood samples in the groups and 5 g of muscle were obtained at different times, in A group up to 24 hours and in B group until 120 hours after application. Once the samples were obtained and treated, marbofloxacin was quantified by HPLC. RESULTS: Marbofloxacin in fasted chickens is almost completely absorbed (F= 97%), mean residence time is moderate (6.9 hours), with a high volume of distribution. Orally, mean residence time is less in plasma (4.9 hours) and the withdrawal time was calculated 2.5 days. CONCLUSIONS: The kinetic results are consistent with those presented by other fluoroquinolones in poultry and are in line with short production cycles in chickens.

Background: Heat stress is one of the most important environmental stressors challenging poultry production worldwide. Understanding and controlling environmental stressors is crucial for successful poultry production. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of melatonin supplementation and darkness regime on reducing the negative effects of heat stress in broiler chickens. METHODS: A total of 400 broiler chickens (Arian) were obtained and subjected to four different groups. The control chickens were grown in normal conditions without receiving any treatment. The positive control birds were grown similar to the control but exposed to an acute heat stress for 6 h/d from days 35 to 40. The dark group chickens were reared under a dark schedule and exposed to heat stress. The birds of the fourth group were reared similar to the positive control but received 40 ppm melatonin in the diet from days 30 to 40 of age. Dead birds were autopsied. The weekly growth performance of chickens was determined and blood samples were taken for hormonal analysis. RESULTS: The number of dead birds due to heat stress was significantly decreased in chickens subjected to the dark program and/or those which received melatonin in the diet compared with those of positive control chickens. Such differences were accompanied with the significantly lower levels of plasma T3, T3/T4 and corticosterone in these groups of chickens. Additionally, plasma thiobarbituric acid reacting substances level was significantly higher in positive control broilers compared to their counterparts. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate a reduction of metabolic rate and heat production in dark regime and melatonin supplementation that can reduce the side effects of heat stress and, therefore, reduce the mortality rate.

Background: A common concern of the poultry industry is the presence of fungal pathogens in the birds’ environment, which may constitute a considerable health hazard to the birds, farmers, and those living in proximity of the farm. OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to assess the mycoflora in the indoor and outdoor environments of poultry breeding houses and studying the efficacy of disinfection methods, including spraying and fumigation, on reducing airspora concentration. METHODS: Indoor air of 12 poultry houses were sampled by exposing Petri dishes containing Sabouraud’s glucose agar after removal of old litter, spraying with disinfectant solutions, and fumigation with formalin plus permanganate. The plates were incubated at 30 °C for seven days and fungi were counted and identified microscopically and macroscopically according to standard mycological methods. RESULTS: A total of 182 and 181 fungal colonies were recovered from indoor and outdoor air of poultry houses, respectively. Candida (30.2%) and Aspergillus (26.9%) species were the most common yeast and mold in the indoor, respectively, whereas Alternaria (37.6%) and Candida (19.3%) species were the most predominant fungi in the outdoor air of poultry houses. Disinfection of the poultry houses using spraying and fumigation methods led to a 38.1% and 75% reduction in airspora concentration (p<0.05), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the findings of the present study, Candida spp and Alternaria spp had the highest indoor and outdoor concentrations in poultry breeding houses’ air, respectively, and fumigation was the most efficient method in reducing airspora.

Background: Clostridium chauvoei is the etiological agent of blackleg as an endogenous infection in cattle.  Flagella have been known to play a critical role in the protective immunity of animals to clostridial infections. C.chauvoei has two copies of fliC gene, namely fliA and fliB. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was the determination and nucleotide sequence analysis of both copies of fliC genes in vaccinal strain and Iranian C. chauvoei isolates. METHODS: Six specific primers for amplification of fliA, fliB, and flagellin (fliC) genes were designed by Oligo software. Polymerase chain reaction was performed to amplify a fragment of 700 bp for both copies of flagellin (fliA and fliB) genes. The nucleotide percentage identity and divergence among isolates were deduced using BlAST and MegAlign softwares. RESULTS: It was found that divergence in fliB was more than fliA by sequence alignment analysis.  Six highly conserve regions, thirty-one SNPs and 13 amino acid polymorphisms were found in fliC gene (between fliA and fliB sequences) of Iranian C. chauvoei isolates. In comparative analysis, genomic similarity of the fliA and fliB genes between the vaccinal strain and examined field isolates was proved to be as high as 97.3 % and 98.2%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The fliC copies were identified as excellent biomarkers to study the molecular epidemiology and strain diversity among C. chauvoei isolates. The existence of genetic variation between two alleles of fliC gene in C. chauvoei is reported for the first time in Iran. In spite of some genetic variations, the immunologic cross protection test showed a high protection power of the local vaccine (produced by Razi Institute) against homologous and heterologous challenge.

Background: Various strains of Escherichia coli (E. coli) are known as major causes of intestinal and extraintestinal infections in humans and various animal species. Molecular methods are important for the identification of bacterial isolates and nucleotide sequence variations, as well as information on tracking bacterial agents related to the outbreaks, the frequency of the bacterial genetic structure, and the evolution of microbial populations. Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the efficiency of the RAPD method to differentiate E. coli strains. Methods: In this study, 110 isolates of E. coli were analyzed by the RAPD PCR method using two 10bp oligonucleotides. These strains were isolated from humans with urinary tract infections and neonatal calves affected by diarrhea or septicemia. Results: Data analysis showed that 87.5% of human E. coli isolates were correctly classified in the human host group, while 94.3% of calf E. coli isolates were correctly placed in calf groups. It also demonstrated that 100% and 93.3% of isolates were accurately assigned to diarrheic and septicemic calf groups, respectively. ConclusionS: Genetic variation analysis indicated that the percentage of polymorphism among E. coli isolates from humans with urinary tract infections, diarrheic calves, and septicemic neonatal calves were 54.71%, 61.22%, and 62.5%, respectively.

Background: Recognition of pain is challenging in veterinary medicine due to lack of verbal communication and universal pain assessment system. Increase in biochemical parameters have been shown to have direct correlation with level of postoperative pain. Objectives: The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the serum levels of CPK and investigate any correlation in serum levels of CPK and postoperative pain following ovariohysterectomy in feline. Methods:  Conventional midline ovariohysterectomy was performed in 24 healthy female queens. Serum levels of cortisol, CPK and glucose were measured prior to surgery and at 1 and 3 and 24 hours after the surgery. Also, VAS was used to assess level of post-operative pain. Data was analyzed using repeated measure ANOVA. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was used to identify any correlation between level of pain and CPK after the surgery. Results: The score of pain significantly increased at 1 and 3 hours after the surgery in all of the cats (p=0.001).The concentration of cortisol and CPK significantly increased after the surgery in comparison  to the values prior to surgery (p<0.001). Also, the concentrations increased significantly at 3 hours after the surgery compared to the values at 1 hour after the surgery (p<0.001). In 24 hours after the surgery results revealed that serum level of cortisol returned to its normal values but CPK  was still higher compared to the values prior to surgery. Significant correlation was detected between the level of pain and CPK after surgery (p<0.05). Conclusions: It is concluded that there is a correlation with VAS score of pain and serum levels of Cortisol and CPK at early hours after the surgery. CPK might be used as an indicator of pain in early hours after the surgery in feline. However, the assessment of pain in cats is not possible based on its values alone.

Background: Rhodoccocus equi, Brucella abortus, and Pasteurella multocida are important veterinary bacterial pathogens that in recent years have been resisted to current antibiotics, and this problem threats the livestock industry. To control this resistant microorganisms, use of new antibacterial compounds, such as thiazole derivatives, in veterinary is necessary. OBJECTIVES: In this study, antibacterial effects of thiazole derivatives on Rhodoccocus equi, Brucella abortus, and Pasteurella multocida were evaluated. METHODS: Synthesized thiazole derivatives were prepared in DMSO, then the disk diffusion method was used to measure growth inhibition zone diameter and the broth microdilution method was applied to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). RESULTS: Results showed that thiazole derivatives had no significant inhibitory effects on B. abrotus, while they had inhibitory effects on R. equi and P. multocida with inhibition zone 12.7±0.4 -30.1±0.2 mm and MICs 32- 256 μg/ml. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this study indicate that thiazole derivatives have considerable inhibitory effects on R. equi and P. multocida as veterinary bacterial pathogens.

Background: BIV is a well-known bovine immunosuppressive cause, but its pathogenesis has not been well characterized. In recent years, it has been hypothesized that infection with BIV might predispose cattle to be infected by other agents. OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to investigate of BIV and Brucella co-infection so that in the future more studies will be done on the issue of predisposing cattle to other microorganisms like Brucella after BIV infection. METHODS: Blood samples were collected from a total of 2290 cattle in Iran (490 and 1800 cattle in non-industrial and industrial dairy farms, respectively from Isfahan and Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari provinces). The BIV-positive animals were detected by Lab-ELISA and nested PCR tests. RESULTS: In this study, the overall prevalence of BIV in Iran was 1.61% (4.5% and 0.83% in non-industrial and industrial dairy farms, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: There was a statistically significant relationship between BIV status and Brucella infection using Chi square and Pearson’s correlation coefficient test for all of the samples (p=0.0001, r=0.24), samples from Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari (p=0.044, r=0.13) and from industrial farms in Isfahan (p=0.001, r=0.074).