Immunological control of aerosol phytotherapy of acute catarrhal bronchopneumonia for its effectiveness in calves

Introduction. Respiratory diseases are widespread on livestock farms, especially in high-yielding animals, and they are particularly severe in young animals. Non-specific bronchopneumonia in calves is caused by a combination of factors including opportunistic respiratory microbiota, which can become pathogenic under unfavorable conditions, overcrowding, nutritional imbalances, stress, drafts, noise, other environmental stressors as well as compromised immunity  in newborn animals.

Objective. Immunological control of aerosol phytotherapy of acute catarrhal bronchopneumonia for its effectiveness in calves.

Materials and methods. One – three month-old calves with acute catarrhal bronchopneumonia (n = 60) were used for the study. The calves were divided into three test groups, 20 calves per group. Blood samples were collected from the diseased animals before the start of treatment, as well as on day 7 and 12 after treatment and used for immunological tests.

Results. Aerosol administration of Hypericum perforatum extract, herbal product, in the complex treatment of calves with acute catarrhal bronchopneumonia demonstrated high efficacy compared to two other treatment regimens. In the test group receiving phytotherapy overall clinical improvement was observed as early as on (4.90 ± 0.64) day, which was 47.0% faster than in the group where animals were treated according to the treatment regime routinely used on the farm. Furthermore, the calves in this group demonstrated a faster recovery of appetite, consumed feed more readily, their coats became smooth and shiny, and their cellular and humoral immunity levels, as well as their pro-inflammatory cytokine levels reached the reference levels of clinically healthy animals by day 12 and day 7, respectively.

Conclusion. While all three regimens for acute catarrhal bronchopneumonia were effective, the aerosolized Hypericum perforatum extract produced the best results. Calves receiving this treatment showed the most significant improvements in cellular and humoral immunity, along with the reduction in pro-inflammatory cytokine levels.

1. Sustronck B., Deprez P., Van Loon G., Coghe J., Muylle E. Efficacy of the combination sodium ceftiofur-flumethasone in the treatment of experimental Pasteurella haemolytica bronchopneumonia in calves. Journal of Veterinary Medicine Series A. 1997; 44 (3): 179–187. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0442.1997.tb01099.x

2. Rudenko A., Glamazdin I., Lutsay V., Sysoeva N., Tresnitskiy S., Rudenko P. Parasitocenoses in cattle and their circulation in small farms. E3S Web of Conferences: XV International Scientific Conference on Precision Agriculture and Agricultural Machinery Industry “State and Prospects for the Development of Agribusiness – INTERAGROMASH 2022” (Rostov-on-Don, May 25–27, 2022). EDP Sciences; 2022; 363:03029. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202236303029

3. Haydock L. A. J., Fenton R. K., Smerek D., Renaud D. L., Caswell J. L. Bronchopneumonia with interstitial pneumonia in feedlot cattle: Epidemiologic characteristics of affected animals. Veterinary Pathology. 2023; 60 (2): 226–234. https://doi.org/10.1177/03009858221146096

4. Kalaeva E., Kalaev V., Chernitskiy A., Alhamed M., Safonov V. Incidence risk of bronchopneumonia in newborn calves associated with intrauterine diselementosis. Veterinary World. 2020; 13 (5): 987–995. https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2020.987-995

5. Nishi Y., Tsukano K., Otsuka M., Tsuchiya M., Suzuki K. Relationship between bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and plasma endotoxin activity in calves with bronchopneumonia. Journal of Veterinary Medical Science. 2019; 81 (7): 1043–1046. https://doi.org/10.1292/jvms.18-0643

6. Boccardo A., Ossola M., Pavesi L. F., Raineri S., Gazzola A., Sala L., et al. An on-farm observational study on the prevalence and associated factors of bacteremia in preweaned dairy calves diagnosed with bronchopneumonia by thoracic ultrasonography. BMC Veterinary Research. 2025; 21:258. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-025-04707-x

7. Rodionova N. Yu., Kulikov E. V., Sotnikova E. D., Prozorovskiy I. E., Vatnikov Yu. A., Rudenko V. B., Rudenko P. A. Characteristics of the intestinal tract microbiota in calves with various forms of acute catarrhal bronchopneumonia. Veterinary Science Today. 2024; 13 (3): 275–281. https://doi.org/10.29326/2304196X-2024-13-3-275-281

8. Sergeyeva N. N., Dedkova A. I. The efficacy of different treatment schemes for bronchopneumonia of calves. Bulletin of Agrarian Science. 2021; (5): 64–68. https://doi.org/10.17238/issn2587-666X.2021.5.64 (in Russ.)

9. Gorpinchenko E. A., Lifentsova M. N., Zaiko K. S., Ratnikov A. R. Pharmacoprophylaxis of calves non-specific bronchopneumonia by using aerosols. Russian Journal of Veterinary Pathology. 2021; (3): 24–33. https://elibrary.ru/pzwwwe (in Russ.)

10. Haydock L. A. J., Fenton R. K., Sergejewich L., Veldhuizen R. A. W., Smerek D., Ojkic D., Caswell J. L. Bronchopneumonia with interstitial pneumonia in beef feedlot cattle: Characterization and laboratory investigation. Veterinary Pathology. 2023; 60 (2): 214–225. https://doi.org/10.1177/03009858221146092

11. Berman J., Francoz D., Abdallah A., Dufour S., Buczinski S. Development and validation of a clinical respiratory disease scoring system for guiding treatment decisions in veal calves using a Bayesian framework. Journal of Dairy Science. 2022; 105 (12): 9917–9933. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2021-21695

12. Hunter R. P., Brown S. A., Rollins J. K., Nelligan D. F. The effects of experimentally induced bronchopneumonia on the pharmacokinetics and tissue depletion of gentamicin in healthy and pneumonic calves. Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics. 1991; 14 (3): 276–292. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2885.1991.tb00838.x

13. Vatnikov Yu. A., Rudenko P. A., Rudenko A. A., Kulikov E. V., Kuznetsov V. I., Seleznev S. B. Clinical and therapeutic significance of microbiota in purulent-inflammatory processes in animals. International Bulletin of Veterinary Medicine. 2021; (1): 286–291. https://doi.org/10.17238/issn2072-2419.2021.1.286 (in Russ.)

14. Chauhan A. S., George M. S., Chatterjee P., Lindahl J., Grace D., Kakkar M. The social biography of antibiotic use in smallholder dairy farms in India. Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control. 2018; 7:60. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13756-018-0354-9

15. Khan D. A., Hamdani S. D. A., Iftikhar S., Malik S. Z., Zai- di N. us S. S., Gul A., et al. Pharmacoinformatics approaches in the discovery of drug-like antimicrobials of plant origin. Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics. 2022; 40 (16): 7612–7628. https://doi.org/10.1080/07391102.2021.1894982

16. Ilić K., Jakovljević E., Skodrić-Trifunović V. Social-economic factors and irrational antibiotic use as reasons for antibiotic resistance of bacteria causing common childhood infections in primary healthcare. European Journal of Pediatrics. 2012; 171 (5): 767–777. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-011-1592-5

17. Hoque R., Ahmed S. M., Naher N., Islam M. A., Rousham E. K., Islam B. Z., Hassan S. Tackling antimicrobial resistance in Bangladesh: A scoping review of policy and practice in human, animal and environment sectors. PLoS ONE. 2020; 15 (1):e0227947. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227947

18. Grudlewska-Buda K., Skowron K., Bauza-Kaszewska J., Budzyńska A., Wiktorczyk-Kapischke N., Wilk M., et al. Assessment of antibiotic resistance and biofilm formation of Enterococcus species isolated from different pig farm environments in Poland. BMC Microbiology. 2023; 23:89. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12866023-02834-9

19. Chetri S. Escherichia coli: An arduous voyage from commensal to antibiotic-resistance. Microbial Pathogenesis. 2025; 198:107173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micpath.2024.107173

20. Kovačić M., Fratrić N., Arsić A., Mojsilović S., Drvenica I., Marković D., et al. Structural characteristics of circulating immune complexes in calves with bronchopneumonia: Impact on the quiescent leukocytes. Research in Veterinary Science. 2020; 133: 63–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rvsc.2020.09.004

21. Buač M., Mojsilović S., Mišić D., Vuković D., Savić O., Valčić O., et al. Circulating immune complexes of calves with bronchopneumonia modulate the function of peripheral blood leukocytes: In vitro evaluation. Research in Veterinary Science. 2016; 106: 135–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rvsc.2016.04.002

22. Rodionova N. Y., Rudenko P. A., Sotnikova E. D., Prozorov- skiy I. E., Shopinskaya M. I., Krotova E. A., Semenova V. I. Sensitivity of the initiators of acute catarrhal bronchopneumonia in calves to antibiotics and phytobiotics. RUDN Journal of Agronomy and Animal Industries. 2024; 19 (2): 358–369. https://elibrary.ru/ghbnxr (in Russ.)