Bacillary hemoglobinuria in dairy cows: clinical, hematological, biochemical, and pathological alterations

The present study was designed to describe the clinical, hematological, and biochemical changes as well as the pathological findings in dairy cows with bacillary hemoglobinuria. This study was conducted on 11 multiparous Friesian cows. Clinically, diseased cows exhibited severe fever, hemoglobinuria, and anorexia with variable degrees of respiratory distress. Hematological analyses revealed severe anemia, and biochemical analyses indicated disruption of hepatic function as serum activities of γ-glutamyl transferase and aspartate aminotransferase, and concentration of total bilirubin were significantly increased in diseased cows (P < 0.001). Furthermore, serum concentration of albumin as well as albumin/globumin ratio decreased significantly (P < 0.01). Venous blood gas and acid base indices revealed a significant increase of partial tension of carbon dioxide (P < 0.05). Serum concentrations of blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, calcium, and inorganic phosphorous exhibited insignificant changes (P > 0.05). Histopathological examination of liver specimens revealed multiple necrotic foci containing a large number of bacterial bacilli with accumulation of bilirubin within hepatic canaliculi. The lungs of dead cows were congested and hemorrhagic, and most blood vessels were impacted with bacilli. In the intestine and kidneys of dead cows, severe enteritis and severe nephrosis were observed, respectively. It can be concluded that bacillary hemoglobinuria is a fatal disease associated with many changes including clinical, hematological, biochemical, and pathological alterations that could be helpful for a rapid preliminary diagnosis of such disease.