Clinicopathological investigations during an outbreak of camelpox in a dromedary camel herd in India

Camelpox is an important infectious viral skin disease of camelids. However, clinicopathological aspect of the disease has not been studied in detail so far. This study was carried out to investigate the clinicopathological changes associated with camelpox outbreak in a dromedary camel herd in India. The clinical signs, pathological lesions and haematological and blood biochemical parameters were studied in infected camels. For diagnosis, the scab samples were subjected to PCR for amplification of haemagglutinin (HA) gene of camelpox virus (CMLV). The camelpox infection was reported in total 55 (17.02%) camels of the herd. The age of infected camels varied from 1 to 13 years with significantly more incidence in camels of age group 1–3 years (61.81%) than camels of age group more than 3 years (38.18%). The infected camels showed clinical signs of fever, anorexia, lacrimation and characteristic pock lesions on the skin of lips, mouth, nostrils, head, neck, thighs, legs, abdomen and inguinal region. The haematological and serum biochemical parameters revealed anaemia and hypoproteinemia in infected camels. The histopathology of the scabs revealed hyperplasia of epidermis, hydropic degeneration of the keratinocytes and intracytoplasmic eosinophilic inclusion bodies. The PCR revealed amplification of HA gene of CMLV in all the scab samples collected from infected camels. The clinicopathological studies in camelpox infection will give further insight into the pathogenesis of the disease and can help clinicians in the effective management of the disease.