Vol. 11, Special Issue 12 (2022)

Diarrhoea in the farm animals, especially in calves is one of the challenging clinical signs noticed in the dairy farm and is leading to economic loss to the dairy farmers. The future endeavour of successful dairy farming depends on the better management of calves. Therefore, the present study was envisaged to evaluate the prevalence, diagnosis and therapeutic management of bacterial enteritis in calves. A total of ten dairy farms in Bidar district were selected and visited to collect faecal samples and blood samples from diarrhoeic calves. The results revealed that nutritional stress due to inadequate colostrum feeding, and unhygienic practices were implicating bacterial enteritis in calves. To confirm, the faecal samples (N=100) were subjected to isolation and identification of underlying cause. The results showed that E. coli and Salmonella spp. as predominant bacteria in this area. In the prevalence study the early age group calves (0-1 month) were highly susceptible to both E. coli and Salmonella spp. and as age progresses the susceptibility reduces. Female calves were found to be more susceptible to the male counter parts. On haemato-biochemical examination there was significant difference (≥0.05%) in total leucocyte count, lymphocyte count, monocyte count and granulocyte count in diarrhoeic calves suffering from bacterial enteritis when compared to healthy calves suggesting acute bacterial enteritis. Whereas, significant increase in erythrocyte count and packed cell volume may indicates moderate dehydration. However, serum glucose and total proteins were within normal physiological limit.