A Case Report of Fungal Diarrhea in a Preweaned Calf in Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Diarrhea is the most common cause of death in neonatal calves. The most important agents of diarrhea in young calves include bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. Only limited attention has been paid to the role of fungi in calves' diarrhea. Case Presentation: We report on a neonatal calf with fungal diarrhea caused by Candida albicans. The calf has had dysentery in the previous 10 days despite good appetite. The calf was then treated with oxytetracycline tabulations for 5 days. Conclusions: Yeasts and molds are sometimes associated with lesions in the stomach or intestines of scouring calves, but there is very limited information about their role in calf diarrhea. In this study, C. albicans was isolated in a 15-day-old dysenteric calf. These organisms are not a primary cause of diarrhea in calves, but like in children, they are possibly opportunistic pathogens that proliferate and invade the intestinal mucosa following antibiotic therapy.