Comparison of the serumic levels of vitamin A, vitamin C and zinc between apparently healthy and those affected by febrile pneumonia in Ghezel sheep

The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between subclinical deficiency of Vit A, Vit C and zinc and ovine pneumonia. This study was conducted on 400 sheep affected by pneumonia and 100 apparently healthy sheep. All animals were from the Ghezel breed with the age of 0.5-2 years and body weight of 35-60 kg. Sampling was done during the summer and autumn in Miandoab province. Patients showing signs of rapid and shallow breathing, dyspnea, coughing, nasal discharge and abnormal lung sound were selected as having pneumonia. Animals without any sign of particular disease were selected as apparently healthy after general examination. Blood samples were collected from the jugular vein. The results indicated that serum levels of vitamin A, vitamin C and zinc were 46.94±0.26 (μg/dl), 1.83±0.05 (mg/dl) and 183.25±1.86 (μg/dl) in healthy sheep respectively and serum levels of vitamin A, vitamin C and zinc were 42.45±0.19 (μg/dl), 1.47±0.02 (mg/dl) and 134.59±1.77 (μg/dl) in pneumonic sheep (p=0.000) respectively. It can be concluded that there is a significant correlation between subclinical deficiency of vitamin A, vitamin C and zinc serum and ovine pneumonia