Relationship between diarrhea and peripheral leukocyte population in neonatal Japanese black calves

Effect of probiotics on immune cells in young Japanese Black calves responding to vaccination against bacterial respiratory diseases

Introduction

The vaccination against bacterial respiratory diseases in calves has been generally recognised as useful for the prevention of infections. Inducing an immunological response after vaccination is important for obtaining protection from infections. The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of probiotics on the immunological response to vaccination against bacterial respiratory diseases in young Japanese Black calves.

Material and Methods

Twenty-four Japanese Black calves were randomly divided into two groups (12 calves for the research group and 12 calves for the control group) on the seventh day of life (dol). The research group received 30 g per day of live bacteria mix consisting of Streptococcus faecalis, Clostridium butyricum and Bacillus mesentericus until the 63rd dol. The control group did not receive the bacteria mix. All calves were vaccinated against bacterial respiratory diseases twice, at 21 and 42 dol. Blood samples were obtained from all calves at 7, 21, 42 (prior to the second vaccination), 45, 49 and 63 dol for determination of antibody titres, leukocyte numbers and cytokine genes.

Results

Lymphocyte counts, T cell (CD3+, CD4+ and CD8+ cell) counts and relative expressions of cytokine genes (interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-17A) at 45, 49 and 63 dol were significantly higher in the research group compared than in the control group.

Conclusion

The addition of probiotics to young Japanese Black calves' feed promoted an immunological reaction to vaccination against bacterial respiratory diseases.

Effects of dietary feed supplementation of heat-treated Lactobacillus sakei HS-1 on the health status, blood parameters, and fecal microbes of Japanese Black calves

This study investigated the effect of heat-killed Lactobacillus sakei HS-1 (HK-LS HS-1) on the health and fecal bacteriological change of suckling Japanese Black calves as a supplement in milk replacers. Twelve calves were separated from dams to calf-hatch after calving for milk replacers feeding. They were randomly assigned to an HK-LS HS-1 supplement or a control without HK-LS HS-1 group in milk replacers. HK-LS HS-1 was administered from separation day to 3 weeks. Blood and fecal samples were examined. Two calves with a haptoglobin concentration of >500 µg/ml on day 0 were excluded from the experiment, and 10 calves were finally included. Glucose and vitamin A levels on day 7 were significantly higher (P<0.05) in the supplement group than in the control group. No significant differences were observed in haptoglobin or serum amyloid A between the groups. The number of Escherichia coli in feces was lower in the control group than in the supplement group on day 21 (P=0.06). No difference was observed in the number of bifidobacteria, but that of lactic acid bacteria was significantly higher (P<0.05) in the supplement group on day 21. The number of medications administered was significantly lower (P<0.05) in the supplement group (5.2 ± 3.9) than in the control group (10.6 ± 5.9) during the experimental period. The results indicated that HK-LS HS-1 is potentially beneficial for improving intestinal microbes and reducing the number of medical treatments.