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Coxiellosis is a zoonotic disease caused by the obligate intracellular bacterium Coxiella burnetii affecting the productive and reproductive capabilities of animals. This study was conducted to gain insight into the seroprevalence of coxiellosis in small ruminants in seven farms of the Punjab, Pakistan. Potential risk factors were assessed. In total, 1000 serum samples (500 from sheep and 500 from goats) and 163 ticks were collected from the ruminants. All these 163 ticks were merged into 55 pools (29 pools for ticks from sheep and 26 pools for ticks from goat). Serum samples were investigated using an indirect ELISA and PCR. Coxiella burnetii DNA was detected in 29 pooled seropositive samples and 11 pooled ticks by real-time qPCR. Serological analysis revealed a prevalence of 15.6% and 15.0% in sheep and goats, respectively. A significant association was found between seropositivity and different variables like district, lactational status, reproductive status, body condition and reproductive disorders. Univariate analysis showed that detection of C. burnetii DNA in tick pools was significantly associated with the presence of ticks on sheep and goats. However, a non-significant association was found for the prevalence of C. burnetii DNA in serum pools. Hence, C. burnetii infection is prevalent in small ruminants and ticks maintained at livestock farms in Punjab, Pakistan.

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Current experiment was planned to investigate the deleterious effects of the graded dose of a atoxin B1 (AFB1) on White Leghorn Male Birds. For this purpose, 100 birds of 8 week age were divided into 4 equal groups and reared on feed contaminated with different doses of AFB1 for 10 weeks. Group A was kept as a control group and was fed with normal toxin free diet, group B, C, and D were offered feed containing 100 ppb, 200 ppb, and 400 ppb of AFB1 respectively. The birds were euthanized at the 4 th and 10 th week of the experiment. Clinical signs, behavioral changes, absolute and relative organ weight of testes, sperm motility were measured. Cellular immune response was observed through CCA, P-HAP, and antibody response against SRBC. Results showed a dose-dependent decline in the immune response of birds with the increase in the level of AFB1 in the feed. A signi cant decrease in the serum levels of testosterone, prolactin, and LH was observed. Grossly, testicular size and volume were reduced in ABF1 fed birds while histological examination showed mild to moderate and severe necrosis of testicular parenchyma, with partial to complete arrest of spermatogenesis. Very few spermatozoa were found in group C while they were almost absent in group D which was offered a diet containing 400 ppb AFB1. The above-mentioned results showed that AFB1 had severe toxic effects on the reproductive and immunological parameters of WLH birds in a dose-dependent manner.