Dr. Gulnaz Ilgekbayeva

Kazakh National Agrarian Research University
Kazakhstan

Abstract Title: Rhodococcus equi as an Infection in Goats: Pathological Findings

Biography: Gulnaz Duisekovna Ilgekbaeva completed her postgraduate studies at the Kazakh Research Institute of Veterinary Medicine, where she successfully defended her dissertation for the degree of Candidate of Biological Sciences (PhD). She then completed her doctoral studies at the Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at the Kazakh National Agrarian University, where she defended her dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Veterinary Sciences (D.Sc.). She is an Academician of the International Academy of Informatization. She is a professor in the Department of Biological Safety at the Kazakh National Agrarian Research University.

Research Interest: Rhodococci are aerobic, Gram-positive, pleomorphic, and nonmotile bacteria that are found in soil and thrive on the simple nutrients provided by herbivore manure. Foals become infected when they ingest or inhale soil, dust, or fecal particles containing the bacteria during the first few days of life. Inhalation of virulent R. equi aerosols from the environment and intracellular replication in alveolar macrophages are important components of the pathogenesis of R. equi pneumonia in foals. Virulence in foals is associated with the presence of plasmids. The aim of our research was to examine the pathological changes in goats inoculated with different Rhodococcus equi plasmids to create a foal model. An experimental study of rhodococcosis was conducted on Saanen goats weighing 16-22 kg, divided into 4 groups of 3 animals each. Animals in the first group were administered R.equi without plasmids, the second group received R.equi VapB, and the third group received R.equi VapN intravenously at a dose of 7 ml. Control animals did not receive the drug. At the end of the observation period (50 days), all animals were killed and subjected to postmortem examination. Animals in the experimental and control groups were maintained under identical housing and feeding conditions throughout the study period. No postmortem differences were observed between animals in the first group and those in the control group. Animals in the second and third groups showed marked enlargement of the mesenteric and mediastinal lymph nodes, degenerative changes in the parenchymal organs, and inflammation of the small intestine.