Acquired obstructive urolithiasis in male Camelus dromedarius from southeast Algeria: Report of 11 cases

Urolithiasis is an important disease of farm animals and a few cases are reported in camels. Camel is an animal that anatomically and physiologically adapted itself to the weather condition of the desert. This investigation was undertaken to study the prevalence of urolithiasis, the clinical features and determination of prognostic factors in camel with acquired urinary obstruction in Djanet province from southeastern Algeria. Therefore, of the 62 male dromedary camels, 5 were intact and 57 were castrated; uroliths were found in 10 castrated and 1 intact male with urinary calculi incidence of 17.74%. Male dromedary camels were presented with a history of urine retention. Anamnesis revealed a 3 to 6-day history of lethargy, loss of appetite, oligodipsia and repetitive unsuccessful attempts at micturition. Six animals were completely obstructed, and clinical evolution was finished by death after anuria and coma. This survey showed 11 urinary stones in eleven 7-12 years old male camels. Six urinary stones of nonsurvivor camels were studied. The diameter of the stones varied between 0.2 × 0.3 to 0.8 × 0.9 mm, with average weight of 0.15 to 0.65-gram, rough or smooth surface and every stone was cream in color. Urinary stones might be known as calcite (Calcium carbonate). The degree of obstruction (partial / total) and the ruptured bladder (yes / no) increase the risk of mortality in clinically ill animals by presenting a statistically significant link. Other risk factors studied such as age, race, rupture of the urethra, treatment strategy and season of admission have no statistically significant relationship (P> 0.05) and do not affect the survival of animals. To our knowledge, this is the first description of urolithiasis in the dromedary camel from Algeria