Heat Stress: Can Animals be Stressed but still be Healthy?

Abstract

In this era of rapid climate change, heat stress has emerged as a major problem for sheep farming. The quantity and quality of sheep production, as well as the welfare, are all shown to be negatively impacted by heat stress. Reduced cellular immune function in sheep exposed to high temperatures increases susceptibility to various diseases, although the underlying mechanisms are unclear. The imbalance between oxidants and antioxidants, known as oxidative stress, negatively impacts animal health due to heat stress-induced impairments in immune responses, increased production of reactive oxygen species, and/or a lack of antioxidants. Heat stress in livestock has negative effects on both the cell-mediated and humoral immune responses. However, the negative effects of heat stress on immune response in sheep can vary by breed. This review discusses how heat stress affects sheep’s immunity. An overview of some molecular markers related to immunity, such as interleukin (ILs), Toll-like receptors (TLRs), and also the heat stress protein (HSPs) in sheep, is also discussed. Finally, recent research on the effects of antioxidant supplementation and other promising nutritional strategies for reducing heat stress and improving animal health is presented.

Keywords

• animal health
• antioxidant
• heat stress
• immunity
• sheep