Bacteriological and Histopathological Studies on Pulmonary Lesions of Camels (Camelus dromedarius) in Sudan

Aims: To isolate and identify the aerobic bacteria associated with pulmonary lesions and study the histopathological changes.

Study Design: Fourty-five sections of pneumonic lungs from one humped camels with different sex and ages ranging from (6 months -15 years) and originated from different states of the Sudan including Kassala, AlGadarif, Kordofan and Darfur, were subjected to bacteriological and histopathological studies.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was undertaken in the Departments of Bacteriology and Pathology, Central Veterinary Research Laboratory, Ministry of Animal Resource and Fisheries, Khartoum, Sudan in 2015.

Methodology: The isolates were fully confirmed by full biochemical identification using conventional and automated techniques which were API kits and full automated system Vitek2 compact and the histopathological lesions were studied using H&E stain.

Results: Eighty bacterial isolates were recovered, they were: 15 (18.75%) S. aureus, 7 (8.75%) S. epidermedius, 5 (6.25%) S. warrner, 1 (1.25%) S. heamolyticus, 6 (7.5%) Str. pneumonia, 5 (6.25%) Str. pyogenes, 1 (1.25%) Str. suis 11 (13.75) E. coli, 3 (3.75%) Coryneulcerans, 1 (1.25%) C. amycolatum, 1 (1.25%) Actinomyces naeslandii, Actinomyces pyogenes, 9 (11.25%) K. pneumonia, 7 (8.75%) Ps. aeruginosa, 2 (2.5%) Aeromonas salmonicida, 1 (1.25%) Burkhorderia cepacia, 2 (2.5%) Bacillus and 1 (1, 25%) Facklamia hominis. The histopathological changes observed were emphysema with an incidence of 25 (55.6%), atelectasis in 24 (53.3%), hemorrhage in 20 (44.4%), edema in 19 (42.2%), inflammatory changes represented byfibrinous pneumonia in 25 (55.6%), Purulent bronchopneumonia in 13 (28.9%), spirasion pneumonia in 10 (22.2%), interstitial pneumonia 9 (20%) and abscesses in 4 (8.9%) and Tumors in 3 (6.7%).

Conclusions: Pneumonia in camel is complex multifactorial disease in which bacterial, viral, mycoplasma and fungal infections combine with other predisposing factors such as rearing systems, stress factors, climatic changes, and unhygienic conditions. Identification of the pneumonic pathogens in the present work cleared that S. aureus, was the most pneumonic bacteria isolated from lung tissue at rate of 18.75%.