Vol. 11, Special Issue 6 (2022)

Author(s):
Sudesh Kumar, Suvidhi, Kritika Dhial, Mahender Milind and Taruna Bhati

Abstract:
Present study investigated occurrence of Escherichia coli and factors associated with calf diarrhea under field condition. In the study, 39 fecal samples were collected from diarrheic calves below one month of age with the record of breed, age and sex variables. All the E. coli isolates produced pink colonies on MacConkey agar, green metallic sheen on EMB agar with characteristic IMViC pattern (+ + - -), out of which 35 E. coli isolates produced an amplicon of 662 bp size by 16S rRNA ribotyping with overall prevalence being 89.74% (35/39). Occurrence of E. coli in Holstein-Friesian, male calves, age group-I (1-10 days), unorganized farm and small herd size was 100%. In conclusion, the present study suggests the importance of maintenance of strict hygienic measures to prevent diarrhea in the neonatal calves.