Gastrointestinal parasitism in goats is a prevalent and significant issue affecting livestock health and productivity in Himachal Pradesh. Goat rearing is a traditional occupation of the nomadic tribes in Himachal Pradesh. Small ruminants especially in hilly areas are often prone to infection with parasites. Sampling was done from migratory goats at selected site for further examination and it revealed that migratory goats in mid-hills around Palampur have high prevalence of gastro-intestinal parasitism (Strongyle, Trichuris and Moniezia Spp.) with mean Egg Per Gram value of 1656±136.40 in 30 goats out of the total 40 included in this study. Flotation method of faecal examination revealed greater incidence of GIT parasitism. There was significant reduction in Total Erythrocyte count, Haemoglobin, Packed Cell Volume and Mean Corpuscular Volume in infected goats as compared to healthy goats. Mean values of calcium, albumin, globulin, magnesium and iron were also found to be significantly decreased in infected group. Considering the high parasitic load during migration, regular deworming of the migratory goats is advised to keep them healthy and in good body condition. Conclusion: Present study concluded that prevalence of GIT parasitism in migratory flock of goat was high when assessed at mid-hills altitude with various haematological and biochemical parameters below the normal range as compared to healthy animals. Considering the high parasitic load during migration regular deworming of the migratory goats is advised to keep them healthy and in good body condition.

A 34-day-old, male Bully pup was presented in veterinary clinics with an uncertain anamnestic history of anorexia, lethargy, abdominal pain, and discomfort. On clinical examination, the pup had pale conjunctiva with a pot-bellied appearance and expelled cream-colored roundworms in feces. Blood and fecal samples were collected and analyzed. Hemoglobin and PCV values were lower, depicting anemia. A qualitative and quantitative examination of the fecal sample was carried out and results showed infection with Toxocara canis with fecal egg count (FEC) of 3200/gram of feces. Gross and light microscopic examination revealed the presence of adults of Toxocara canis with distinctive morphological features. Apropos, the pup was treated with a combination of pyrantel pamoate and fenbendazole orally @10mg/kg body weight, repeated after 14 days. The pup recovered successfully, as evidenced by decreased FECs, increased weight gain, and a high hematocrit score.

Theileriosis is an important tick borne disease of cattle caused by a haemoprotozoan of genus Theileria. Clinical bovine theileriosis is mainly caused by T. annulata or T. parva but the clinical disease due to T. orientalis is rare. T. orientalis mainly infect RBCs and causes "Oriental theileriosis" or Theileria-associated bovine anaemia in cattle and other livestock species. Two genotypes of T. orientalis (Chitose and Ikeda) are reported to cause severe disease in some countries. In this report, a spontaneous outbreak of Oriental theileriosis was studied in an organized Holstein-Friesian cattle breeding farm situated in the south-eastern Himalayan ranges of Himachal Pradesh State of India. Animal blood and tick samples were tested using cytological and PCR techniques. The disease episode occurred in a protracted manner spanning over 10 to 12 months and association of T. orientalis was confirmed in 93.3% of the blood and 21.7% of Rhipicephalus microplus (tick) samples. No other tick borne pathogen was detected except Anaplasma marginale in two blood samples. Haematological profiling of infected cattle showed characteristic indicators of anaemia like haemoblobin, RBC count, haematocrit value and mean corpuscular volume at either lower than normal or near the lower normal range. The prevailing persistent anaemic changes led to more severe clinical manifestations like abortion and joint inflammation. The detected T. orientalis strains and ticks species were further confirmed by nucleotide sequence analysis of 18S rRNA and 16S rRNA genes. Phylogenetically, T. orientalis strains showed clustering with other reported strains of T. orientalis from the surrounding regions. This first report of clinical Oriental theileriosis from India emphasises the importance of T. orientalis as an emerging tick borne pathogen and role of widely prevalent ticks species in disease transmission and their impact on livestock production.

Leptospirosis is a common but largely underreported zoonotic disease in India. It has been recognized as a re-emerging infectious disease causing deaths in dogs as well as humans. Leptospires have been isolated from both clinically ill and apparently healthy animals from different geographical regions but there is no information on the presence of leptospires in various clinical conditions of animals in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, India. Here, using dark field microscopy, culture isolation and molecular biology-based tests, we confirm leptospirosis in three clinically affected dogs with chronic renal involvement. The study reports the first isolation and molecular confirmation of leptospires from clinically affected dogs in Himachal Pradesh, India.

The clinical investigation was done on 45 dogs suffering from gastroenteritis. The affected dogs showed diarrhoea, vomition, depression, anorexia and dehydration. Significant decrease in plasma glucose, albumin, potassium and chloride were observed. The affected dogs were randomly divided into three groups. In group-I (n = 15), levofloxacin was given along with antiemetic, vit B-complex and fluid therapy. In group-II (n = 15) and group-III (n = 15), cefotaxime and ceftriaxone were used instead of levofloxacin. The present investigation showed that therapeutic regimen in group-I (levofloxacin) was most effective for the treatment of gastroenteritis as compared to group-II (cefotaxime) and group-III (ceftriaxone).

The anticoccidial efficacy of two drugs sulphadimidine and amprolium was evaluated in the Chegu goats naturally infected with coccidosis. The animals were randomly divided into three groups each consisting of six goats. The goats of groups I and II were given sulphadimidine @ 100mg/kg body weight bd for 3 days per os and amprolium @ 100 mg/kg body weight for 3 days per os, respectively, whereas animals of group III were kept as untreated control. The oocysts per gram of faeces (OPG) were recorded in animals of all the groups before treatment (day 0) and on days 7, 14 and 21 post-treatment. The percent reduction in OPG of faeces in group I and Group II was found to be 93.44 % and 76.92% on day 7 post-medication respectively, whereas 98.36% and 92.31% on day 21 post medication in animals of groups I and II, respectively.

Faecal samples from sixty Spiti horses from three different regions viz. Pin Valley, Shimla and Rampur of Himachal Pradesh were collected per rectum and subjected to qualitative and quantitative examination. It revealed an overall incidence of Strongyle (75%), lungworms (18.37%), Parascaris (10.2%), Habronema (3.33%) and Strongyloides (1.67%). The average Strongyle egg per gram of faeces was observed to be 395 ± 47.15. The present study suggest heavy infection of gastrointestinal helminths in equines due to open grazing system as well as not following strategic deworming schedule.