editorial respiratory diseases of small...

EditorialRespiratory Diseases of Small Ruminants

Amit Kumar,1 Suresh K. Tikoo,2 Praveen Malik,3 and Aruna T. Kumar4

1 Department of Veterinary Microbiology, College of Veterinary Sciences, DUVASU, Mathura 281 001, India2 Vaccinology & Immunotherapy Program, School of Public Health and VIDO-InterVac, University of Saskatchewan,120 Veterinary Road, Saskatoon, SK, Canada S7N 5E3

3 Veterinary Type Culture Collection, National Research Centre on Equines, Hisar, Haryana 125 001, India4Directorate of Information and Publications of Agriculture, Kabi, New Delhi 110 012, India

Correspondence should be addressed to Amit Kumar; [email protected]

Received 7 September 2014; Accepted 7 September 2014; Published 30 December 2014

Copyright © 2014 Amit Kumar et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Small ruminants are valuable assets for the Mediterranean,African, and Southeast Asian countries with the potential forproviding meat, milk, and wool. These animals are highlysusceptible to respiratory diseases, which account for almost50%mortality amongst them. Irrespective of the etiology, theinfectious respiratory diseases of sheep and goats contributeto 5.6 percent of the total diseases of small ruminants. Theinfectious respiratory disorders are classified into two groups:the diseases of upper respiratory tract including sinusitiscaused by the larvae of parasites, nasal foreign bodies, gaseousirritation, and enzootic nasal tumors and the diseases oflower respiratory tract comprising mainly pneumonia. Oftenthese are of infectious origin (bacterial, viral, or fungal).However, the role of the environmental pollutants, toxicants,and mechanical induction of respiratory distress may also bethe cause of these abnormal conditions. Depending upon theenvironmental, physiological, and etiological factors, respira-tory conditionsmight be acute, chronic, and/or progressive innature.

To overcome such important disease conditions, infor-mation on their identification, prevention, cure, and con-trol can improve the economic status and sustainability ofholders of small ruminants. Thus an early, rapid, and specificdiagnosis of such diseases holds great importance to reducethe losses. The advanced enzyme-linked immunosorbentassays (ELISAs) for the detection of antigens as well asantibodies directly from the samples are primarily availablefor all the disease conditions with specificity and sen-sitivity. Similarly, molecular diagnostic assays along withmicrosatellites comprehensively assist in diagnosis as well

as treatment and epidemiological studies. The two reviewswritten by Chakraborty et al. and Kumar et al. discuss theadvancements made in the diagnosis of common infectiousrespiratory diseases of sheep and goats, in general, andalso the management of Mycoplasma agalactiae, a causalagent of classical contagious agalactia (CA). CA is a serious,economically important but neglected enzootic disease ofsmall ruminants. Both reviews would certainly assist indesigning appropriate prevention protocols and devisingsuitable control strategies to overcome such important res-piratory diseases, thus alleviating the economic losses. Thecross-reactivity and differential immunogenicity betweenMycoplasma agalactiae and Mycoplasma bovis, two oftenconfusing pathogens causing contagious agalactia, have alsobeen elaborated in the research article authored by Kumar etal.

The research article by P. Scott details the antibiotictreatment response in sheepwith chronic lung diseases wherethe diagnosis was based upon ultrasonographic examinationof the lungs using 5MHz linear and sector scanners with noconsideration to the auscultation findings. The lung patho-logical examinations were considered a basis for comparisonbetween sonographic findings and pathological changes.

Rahal et al. described in detail how a number ofpathogenic microorganisms have been implicated in thedevelopment of respiratory diseases but the importanceof environmental factors in the initiation and progress ofthe disease can never be overlooked. These environmentalfactors irritate the respiratory track producing stress in themicroenvironment causing a decline in the immune status

Hindawi Publishing CorporationVeterinary Medicine InternationalVolume 2014, Article ID 373642, 2 pageshttp://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/373642

2 Veterinary Medicine International

of the small ruminants and thereby assisting bacterial, viral,and parasitic infections in breaking down the tissue defensebarriers. Environmental pollutants cause acute or chronicreactions as they deposit on the alveolar surface, which arecharacterized by inflammation or fibrosis and the exhibitionof transitory or persistent tissue manifestation.

The disease development can be portrayed as three setsof two-way communications among pathogen, environment,and host but the interactions are highly variable. Moreover,the environmental scenario is never static; new compoundsare introduced daily making a precise evaluation of thedisease burden almost impossible.The last article in the issuepresents a detailed overview of these interactions and theultimate effect on the respiratory health of sheep and goat.

Acknowledgments

The editors thank the authors for their efforts and time spentfor each paper. The lead editor thanks all editors for thetime spent in reviewing, assigning reviews, and commentingon submitted papers. The editors hope that this specialissue will prove useful to investigators, policy makers, andveterinarians involved in the study of respiratory diseasesof small ruminants. Last but not least, the expertise andcooperation of editorial team are highly acknowledged.

Amit KumarSuresh K. TikooPraveen Malik

Aruna T. Kumar

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