title: A study on some reproductive disorders in dromedary camel herds in Saudi Arabia with special references to uterine infections and abortion.
abstract: Dromedary camels complaining from conception failure or abortion were investigated and their herders interviewed in Al Ahsa province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) during 2013 and 2015. The most important reproductive disorder according to the responders is uterine infection (60.2%) followed by obesity (22.3%) then physiological conditions (hormonal disturbances; 7.8%), adhesions (3.9%) and repeat breeders (2.9%). Of the camel herders, 78.6% reported previous occurrence of abortion in their herds and 46% reported abortion cases in the last season (2015/2016), while 21.4% reported no history of abortion. Most of the responders (97.1%) do not call a veterinarian for cases of abortion in their herds and 53.4% do not discard aborted materials. The majority of the herders (76.7%) deny that handling aborted materials or touching vaginal fluids can result in human infection, or replied they do not know. Uterine swab samples were collected and tested by PCR for seven potential pathogens and sera tested for antibodies against bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) and Brucella. Five pathogens were identified in infected uterine samples, namely Coxiella burnetii (36%), Campylobacter spp. (27%), Brucella spp. (17%), Salmonella spp. (13%), and Chlamydia spp. (7%). Sero-prevalence of Brucella and BVDV was 8.2 and 29.1% in overall sera, respectively, and varies with regard to the region. The findings of the present study demonstrate that reproductive disorders dominated by uterine infections and abortions are widespread in dromedary camels in KSA.
authors.affiliation: Camel Research Centre, King Faisal University, Al Ahsa, 31982, Saudi Arabia. abdokhlf@yahoo.co.uk.|Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Khartoum, P.O. Box 32, Shambat, Sudan. abdokhlf@yahoo.co.uk.|Veterinary Laboratories Division, Animal Wealth Sector, Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, Abu Dhabi, P.O. Box 52150, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. abdokhlf@yahoo.co.uk.
authors.forename: Abdelmalik I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Khalafalla
authors.affiliation: Camel Research Centre, King Faisal University, Al Ahsa, 31982, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Marzook M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Al Eknah
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal and Fishery Production Science, College of Agricultural and Food Sciences, King Faisal University, Al Ahsa, 31982, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mahmoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abdelaziz
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Studies, College of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Resources, King Faisal University, Al Ahsa, 31982, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Ibrahim M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Ghoneim
mesh_terms: D000034:Abortion, Veterinary / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D000818:Animals; D002162:Camelus; D005260:Female; D015994:Incidence; D015995:Prevalence; D060737:Reproductive Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D014591:Uterine Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*
keywords: Camel; Infectious and non-infectious causes; Prenatal death; Reproduction; Saudi Arabia