title: Hypovitaminosis A coupled to secondary bacterial infection in beef cattle.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Vitamin A is essential for normal growth, development, reproduction, cell proliferation, cell differentiation, immune function and vision. Hypovitaminosis A can lead to a series of pathological damage in animals. This report describes the case of hypovitaminosis A associated with secondary complications in calves.
  
  
  METHODS
  From February to March in 2011, 2-and 3-month old beef calves presented with decreased eyesight, apparent blindness and persistent diarrhea occurred in a cattle farm of Hubei province, China. Based on history inspection and clinical observation, we made a tentative diagnosis of hypovitaminosis A. The disease was confirmed as a congenital vitamin A deficiency by determination of the concentrations of vitamin A in serum and feed samples. Furthermore, pathological and microbiological examination showed that the disease was associated with pathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli) infection and mucosal barriers damage in intestines. The corresponding treatments were taken immediately, and the disease was finally under control for a month.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To our knowledge, this is the first report of hypovitaminosis A coupled to secondary infection of E. coli in beef cattle, advancing our knowledge of how vitamin A affects infection and immunity in animals. This study could also be contributed to scientific diagnosis and treatments of complex hypovitaminosis A in cattle.
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Henan Agricultural University, Wenhua Road 95#, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450002, PR China. xyhe1984@163.com
authors.forename: Xiuyuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Yongtao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Guangmin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.forename: Haiju
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Yanru
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Cong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Chuanqing
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Lixin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Yurong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000821:Animal Feed / Q000032:analysis; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005128:Eye Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary; D005260:Female; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood* / Q000737:chemistry; D014802:Vitamin A Deficiency / Q000150:complications / Q000662:veterinary*
chemical_list: D014801:Vitamin A