Morphological criteria for identifying coronavirus infection in companion animals

Abstract

Due to the high level of urbanisation in Ukraine, during the years 2021-2023, there is a tendency for a rapid increase in the number of companion animals in large cities – dogs and cats. Humanity has not yet finally eliminated the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic, as world scientists have established the involvement of these animals in its spread, which causes concern among specialists and requires a comprehensive investigation. The purpose of the scientific study was to determine marker changes in haematological parameters and haematopoiesis parameters under the influence of coronavirus infection in dogs and cats. For this purpose, spectrophotometric and refractometric methods of haematological studies were used: morphological and biochemical parameters of blood, the functional state of erythro- and leukocytopoiesis. Considering changes in blood morphological parameters, the main parameters of the identity of the pathogenic effect of coronavirus on the body of dogs and cats were established, namely: a decrease in the number of lymphocytes, glucose content, and protein coefficient. There was a significant increase in the activity of alkaline phosphatase in the blood and α-amylase, the content of total bilirubin, and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate. In particular, it has been experimentally established that the use of leukocyte indices increases the information content of the general blood test for coronavirus infection, and additional analysis of integral changes based on leukocyte blood parameters allows determining not only the state of reactivity of the body, but also the extent of endogenous intoxication. The results of changes in blood morphological parameters are somewhat comparable to those in humans, which indicates the need for an in-depth study of the genetic potential of coronavirus pathogens in companion animals and humans at the molecular and biological levels. Experimentally determined marker changes in haematological parameters for coronavirus infection in dogs and cats can be useful for its timely diagnosis and prediction of the severity of the disease

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“…Such changes were typical for almost all the studied lymph nodes and degenerative changes occurred in both T-and B-dependent zones of lymphocyte development with different intensity in the controlled animals. That is, as in the case of pathological processes in the lungs, the degree of manifestation of the pathological picture in the lymph nodes depended on the duration of the disease in animals (Radsikhovskiy et al, 2023). The exception was the characteristic of histomorphological changes in the spleen.…”

“…Orynbayev et al (2021) investigated an epizootic of nodular dermatitis in the region of Atyrau (Makash), Kazakhstan. The first cases of cow disease were found in 2016 (Vygovskа et al, 2023). The researchers managed to isolate the virus from animal material, cultivate it in a lamb testicle line monolayer, identify the provoker by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (receiving a specific amplicon with a length of 192 bp) and sequence the genome of the pathogen.…”

A sporadic case of small ruminant plague in sheep: morphological and functional manifestation of cellular and humoral immunodeficiency

“…Such changes were typical for almost all the studied lymph nodes and degenerative changes occurred in both T-and B-dependent zones of lymphocyte development with different intensity in the controlled animals. That is, as in the case of pathological processes in the lungs, the degree of manifestation of the pathological picture in the lymph nodes depended on the duration of the disease in animals (Radsikhovskiy et al, 2023). The exception was the characteristic of histomorphological changes in the spleen.…”