میثم مکی

Lameness is one of cows' most important endemic diseases that severely affects their reproductive performance, milk production, and longevity. Therefore, identifying the factors affecting it is necessary in order to eliminate its therapeutic measures. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between lameness rate with open days, number of inseminations per pregnancy and body condition score (BCS), and knowledge of lameness rate in different seasons separately as well as endometritis.

In this study, a sample of 619 cattle was selected from an 800-head industrial farm in Alborz province. The lameness of cows was then divided into 5 degrees (including normal, unbalanced, mild, moderate and severe) according to the Thomson (2008) ranking. Then, based on the factors of open days (distance from birth to pregnancy), the number of inseminations per pregnancy (counting the number of inseminations) and body mass index (9 criteria from weak to obese) were classified. The results of the research were also assessed using statistical tests.

The results of this study showed that there was a statistically significant difference between different degrees of lameness and the first day of estrus, number of open days and number of inseminations per pregnancy (p ≥0.05). But there is no statistically significant difference between different degrees of lameness and BSC (P=0.40). Also, there is no statistically significant difference between the degrees of lameness in different seasons (P=0.38). But there is a statistically significant difference between the frequency of endometritis and different degrees of lameness (P=0.001).

Based on the findings of this study, it can be concluded that lameness in dairy cows leads to negative effects on open days, number of inseminations per pregnancy and also body mass index, and inevitably controlling lameness can improve the health and economy of dairy cows.

A zoonotic obligate intracellular protozoan parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, infects all warm-blooded animals as well as humans worldwide. Identification of the level of infection in intermediate hosts gives us an important data about understanding the role of this parasite in human health as well as estimating the economic loss in livestock. Therefore, the main aim of this study was the isolation and identification of T. gondii from aborted goat fetuses by PCR in Lorestan province.

From autumn 2023 to summer 2024, the brain and liver of 100 goat fetuses were examined for T. gondii by PCR based on the amplification of 529 base pair fragments from repetitive regions of the parasite genome. The study was performed in three aborted fetus groups, less than 2 months, 2 to 4 months and more than 4 months.

From a total of 100 examined samples, conventional PCR detected the T. gondii infection in 6 (6%) and 2 of the brain and liver fetuses respectively.

This study shows a notable level of infection in goat fetuses, and as a result, T. gondii should be considered an important agent involved in the abortion of goats in the Lorestan province of Iran. On the other side, it is necessary to pay more attention to the risk of transmission of this parasite from farmed animals to humans, especially pregnant women and people with suppressed immune system.

The aim of this research was to examine the serum vitamin D status in Gray Shirazi ewes during different reproductive stages, including mating, pregnancy, and early lactation. A total of 60 healthy ewes were sampled at three stages. The first stage was during mating, the second stage was in the late pregnancy, and the third stage was after delivery. The blood samples were analyzed for 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels. At delivery, multiple births, weight of lambs, and stillbirth rates were recorded. The results revealed that the mean serum vitamin D levels were significantly higher in the third stage of sampling (beginning of lactation) compared to the first stage (mating) and the second stage (pregnancy) (P=0.014 and P=0.017). However, there was no significant difference in vitamin D levels among the non-pregnant (the ewes that did not become pregnant after mating), singleton, and twin groups at any of the sampling stages. Vitamin D levels were highest at the beginning of lactation in gray shirazi ewes. Additionally, serum vitamin D was slightly decreased in pregnant ewes as the number of lambing increased. In total, the findings suggest that maintaining sufficient vitamin D levels may play a role in reproductive health in sheep, as there appears to be a correlation between vitamin D levels and fertility.

Cytological examination of the reproductive tract is often used to evaluate possible reproductive lesions in humans and domestic animals.Cytological method has been used to determination of the subclinical endometritis in the cattle.There was no information about cytological cervical cervix in anestrous cow. The aim of this study was to compare cervical cytology between normal postpartum and anestrus cow that treat by ovulation synchronization in heat day.This prospective cohort study was performed on 50 estrous Holstein cows with various days in milk (DIM) and parity (2-4), in a moderate commercial dairy herd in susangerd, of Ahvaz province, southern Iran, from April to December 2022.Cervical mucus was aspirated with a pipette.Giemsa stain Cytological assessment determined the percent neutrophils (percentage PMN) by counting a minimum of 100 cells at 400× magnification,in order to provide a quantitative assessment of ratio %PMN to %epithelial cell.No significant differences were observed in ratio % PMN with %epithelial cell in smears of cows between anestrus cow that treatment by CoSynch and control in heat day.As well as, in our study the mean neutrophil percentage according to the parity of cows between the two groups done. Although the neutrophil percentage was higher in parity 2 in the CoSynch group, this difference was not significant (p≥ 0.05).Our findingsindicate that anestrus dairy cow treated with synchronization of ovulation protocols in estrus day no difference of % PMN with %epithelial cell ratio in cytological smears.

This study was aimed to investigate the status of energy balance during mating, pregnancy and after lambing and its relationship with reproductive outcomes in Gray Shirazi sheep. Thirty healthy Gray Shirazi ewes that were kept in industrial conditions were randomly selected. During lambing, the ewes were examined for the rate of multiplication as well as abortions and the weight of lambs at birth. Blood sampling was performed during mating, on the last two to four weeks of pregnancy, and on one to two weeks after delivery. Serum levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), insulin, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and beta-hydroxybutyric acid (BHBA), and progesterone were assessed. There was a significant rise in IGF-1 level in late pregnancy compared to that in early lactation. In addition, the concentration of BHBA was significantly increased during pregnancy and postpartum compared to the mating time. Maximum BHBA and NEFA concentrations at the end of pregnancy and postpartum were in twin and singleton pregnancies, respectively. In addition, the highest BHBA concentrations were accompanied by the lowest BCS of ewes. Moreover, there was a significant direct correlation between lamb weight and NEFA, BHBA, and progesterone. In conclusion, serum indicators of energy balance, particularly insulin and BHBA, are largely influenced by reproductive stages, especially pregnancy and the number of lambs in Gray Shirazi ewes. Accurate identification of these changes is essential in diagnosing abnormal conditions and metabolic and nutritional disorders in this breed.

Infertility is one of the main causes of economic losses and also affects the reproductive performance in dairy farms. The aim of this study was to consider the factors affecting infertility in dairy cows. The information, including nutritional status, parities, parturition, calving season, retention of placenta and metritis, was collected from the case of the referred cows to the Veterinary Hospital  of Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz. Data analysis was performed using logistic regression and chi-square tests. The chance of a normal parturition for cows used a proper diet was 5.020 times more than of poorly fed cows (p<0.05).The effect of dystocia and placental retention on metritis was also significant (p<0.05). The chance ratio for metritis in cow with dystocia at parturition time compared to cows with normal parturition was 31.419. Also, this ratio for cows with retained placenta compared to normal cows was 1.377. Prevention the predisposing factors such as poor nutrition, dystocia, retention of placenta and metritis complex, even in native cows, can play a significant role in reducing infertility in dairy cows.

Negative energy balance, which usually occurs in transitional period, can have important implications for livestock life such as reduction in body condition score. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the rate of Body Condition score reduction, season and parity with the occurrence of clinical mastitis in the first weeks of postpartum period in one of the Fars province farms and it was conducted on the 1613 dairy cattle.For each cow BCS, the status of mastitis and the number of infected quarter was evaluated according to the parity and delivery season at two times, he first time being 2 or 3 days before calving and the second time approximately one month after that (30±3 day). Finally, the results were analyzed using SPSS software and chi square test.Results showed that the occurrence of clinical mastitis was significantly affected by BCS and the parity. As further decrease in the BCS, increases the incidence of clinical mastitis and increasing the parity is associated with anincrementin the incidence of clinical mastitis, But the effect of the season on this complication was not significant.% (p>0.05).