The frequency of bacterial isolation of <i>Clostridium</i> spp. and their associations in various forms of clostridiosis in cattle

Abstract

The article presents the results of isolation of Clostridium spp. bacteria and their associations from cattle with different clinical forms of clostridiosis. From 2016 to 2023, 910 samples of biomaterial collected from cows, heifers and calves under 6 months of age, as well as from stillborn calves and aborted fetuses in case of reproductive pathologies in cows were investigated by bacteriological methods. The following species play a major role in the etiology of bovine clostridiosis: C. perfringens, C. septicum, C. novyi (C. oedematiens), C. histolyticum and C. sordellii. C. histolyticum (65.2%), C. septicum (45.6), C. perfringens (29.7) and C. sporogenes (26.1) were isolated most frequently from cows and heifers, while C. sordellii (1.7) and C. novyi (0.9%) were isolated less frequently. Clostridium spp. bacteria of six species were isolated from animals in enterotoxemia and enteritis, and five species in vaginitis and endometritis. In other clinical forms of the disease, bacteria of four species were isolated from cows and heifers. The spectrum of bacteria involved in the development of abomasitis, enteritis and enterotoxemia in calves was similar and represented by four bacterial species: C. histolyticum, C. septicum, C. perfringens and C. sporogenes. Bacteria of five species were isolated from the calves with septicaemic form of the disease. The peculiarities of clinical manifestation and the course of clostridiosis in cattle depended on the species composition of pathogens and their associations. Diseases caused by Clostridium spp. bacteria were acute or subacute, characterized by visible lesions of organs and tissues in a few hours after the animal showed signs of disease and in most cases ended in death.