Compatible With Bovilis Ibr Marker Live
Vaccination with Bovilis IBR Marker Live at the same time as Bovilis Bovipast RSP may be required where IBR involvement has been detected on a farm or where the risk of introduction of the disease is high i.e. purchasing stock or animals returning from shows or sales. The compatibility of Bovilis Bovipast RSP and Bovilis IBR Marker Live has been proven in a challenge study.
Pneumonia In Feeder Calves Dont Forget Histophilus Somni
Michelle Arnold, DVM
The following steps should reduce the risk of pneumonia in feeder calves:
Maintenance Of Disease Resistance
Antibodies within good quality colostrum will boost the calfs immune system and make them more resistant to infection
Passive immunity is the transfer of antibodies from one individual to another and can be in the form of maternal antibodies in utero crossing the placenta, or lactationally in the colostrum. In order to provide the calf with passive immunity protection before its own immune system is fully functional, the calf needs to receive adequate amounts of colostrum containing a sufficient quantity of antibodies . An amount of 3-4 liters of colostrum that contains 50-150 g/liter of Immunoglobulin IgG within the first 24 hours of life has been recommended .
While the transfer of maternal immunity is important, it does not protect the calf well against respiratory pathogens after two to three months of age because the concentration of maternal serum antibodies is low and the calfs own immune system is still not fully functional . The highest incidence of respiratory disease occurs in many herds during this period, and prevention should concentrate on reducing stress at this time.
A further factor limiting immune protection against respiratory diseases is that some of the pathogens are immunosuppressive . Mycoplasma bovis, RSV and BVD belong to this category and, when endemic in a herd, can reduce the calves ability to fight off disease. Eradication of M. bovis from a dairy herd has been shown to improve calf health .
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Building Effective Pti Protocols
Whether youre familiar with a longer-acting antibiotic or trying an antibiotic with a demonstrated longer PTI for the first time, with any sick animal, re-assessment of the diagnosis and monitoring of response to BRD treatment by a veterinarian are important. This helps your veterinarian advise on an optimum PTI as well as to subsequent adjustments to treatment for your operation. Also, some animals may have other conditions that are not treatable with an antibiotic, so your veterinarian can help assess stage and type of disease for any animals that may die in the PTI period. Your veterinarian can also help devise protocols so all employees understand:
- What constitutes a sick animal that needs treatment
- When animals should be treated
- Which antibiotic to use
- Duration of therapy for the antibiotic
- How to identify treated animals
- When re-treatment is necessary
With a more effective, long-acting antibiotic, and a little patience, its possible to achieve a tangible reduction in cattle illness and death, re-treatment rates and treatment costs.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION FOR DRAXXIN: DRAXXIN has a pre-slaughter withdrawal time of 18 days in cattle. Do not use in female dairy cattle 20 months of age or older. Do not use in animals known to be hypersensitive to the product. See full Prescribing Information.
Obtaining Cultures From The Lungs
To confirm the diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia, and to help direct therapy, it is important to obtain a sample from the lungs for cytology and culture. This can be important to help distinguish pneumonia from other causes of radiographic alveolar disease such as hemorrhage or neoplasia. A cytologic finding of suppurative inflammation can help confirm the diagnosis and can suggest chronicity if macrophages are found in addition to neutrophils. Cultures will subsequently confirm the presence of bacteria, and help to direct antibiotic therapy. In order to obtain samples that are free of pharyngeal contamination, techniques that by-pass the pharynx must be used to obtain the sample. Practical options for obtaining samples from the trachea include transtracheal or endotracheal washes. Although bronchoalveolar lavage is another good option, it is more invasive and involves more specialized equipment, and is not usually used as a first line diagnostic test for bacterial pneumonia.
Transtracheal aspirates
Endotracheal lavage
TTA can be difficult to perform in very small and toy breeds of dogs, and in cats, due to the small size of the airway. In such small patients, it is preferable to anesthetize and intubate, and to perform the wash through a sterile endotracheal tube. Similarly, if the patient is to be anesthetized to perform another procedure, performing an endotracheal lavage may be easy and less stressful for the patient.
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Organisms Causing Bacterial Pneumonia In Dogs
Variable bacterial isolates have been reported in cases of bronchopneumonia in small animals. Most dogs with bacterial pneumonia are infected with a single organism, but some may have multiple isolates. In dogs, the majority of bacteria cultured in pneumonia are gram negative aerobic rods such as E. coli, Pseudomonas spp, Klebsiella spp, Enterobacter spp, Pasteurella spp, and Bordetella bronchiseptica. A minority of pneumonia cases culture positive for gram positive aerobic cocci such as Enterococcus spp, Streptococcus spp, and occasionally Staphylococcus spp. The incidence of anaerobic infections in dogs with bronchopneumonia is unclear, but may be up to 20%.
Except in acute, low-grade infections, representative cultures should be obtained from the respiratory tract prior to initiation of antibiotic therapy. Cultures may be obtained by transtracheal or endotracheal tube washes, by bronchoalveolar lavage, or by fine needle aspiration of consolidated areas of lung. Antimicrobial therapy should be initiated immediately after obtaining the tracheal wash for culture, and can then be fine-tuned once the result is obtained. This author has found that tracheal cultures are usually positive and useful even if the animal has received one or two doses of antibiotics.
Treatment Of Goat Pneumonia
In addition to the common cold and cough, goats get pneumonia. Goat pneumonia is seen to cause shortness of breath. There is pain in the lungs. Goats can die if not acted upon quickly.
The treatment of Cattle pneumonia in goats can be compared to the treatment of pneumonia in cattle. An advisory veterinarian should be consulted. There are many types of goat cold medicines available in the market.
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What To Look For
It is critical to know how the lungs sound to decide which treatment route to go. If the lungs sound raspy and rough, then natural treatment can be very effective. If you hear wet abscess sounds, the animal needs antibiotics. And if you hear consolidated lungs, its too late for anything. Consolidated lungs are lungs with permanently damaged areas that are compacted and can no longer inflate. Usually the worst animal is the first to catch the farmers attention.
Oftentimes the sickest calf in the group will already have serious lung damage . A consolidated lung means that air entering the lungs through the windpipe never gets effectively absorbed because the areas of diseased lung tissue are no longer functional. By listening with the stethoscope, a vet can alert the farmer as to how much permanently damaged tissue there is. These calves, if they survive, usually show respiratory problems in a couple of years when heavy in calf in the hot summer days. Aggressive antibiotic and anti-inflammatory therapy is their only hopebut the permanently damaged tissue will still be useless later on. Animals simply dont function well with less than 100 percent lung capacity .
How Do Veterinarians Choose An Antibiotic For Treating Cattle
Just like any other species, cattle can contract infectious diseases. Oftentimes an antibiotic is recommended in treatment. But with a wide variety of antibiotics and a wider variety of diseases, how do veterinarians decide which antibiotic should be chosen for which disease?
This question has left me pondering almost as much as I ponder where the heck I left the remote.
To simplify, lets stick with one disease, in this case pneumonia. Pneumonia in beef cattle is most often caused a combination of certain viruses and bacteria. Viruses are not susceptible to antibiotics, while bacteria are. Since pneumonia is nearly always a combination of the two, it is a judicious choice to use an antibiotic in treating pneumonia to help the animal overcome the bacterial component.
The question then becomes which antibiotic to utilize to treat bovine pneumonia. Now, in a perfect world, a person would think a veterinarian could collect the bacteria and run a test against it to determine the best antibiotic to use. However, there many barriers to doing this.
And in my perfect world, cattle never get pneumonia in the first place. Ah, what a wonderful thought.
Even with utilizing the latest PCR testing available , the lag time between determining the animal is sick and deciding which antibiotics the bacteria will respond to in this scenario is measured in days. That means the animal would suffer longer with pneumonia and quite possibly die.
-Jake
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Symptoms Of Cattle Pneumonia
- The main symptoms of this disease are low fever and frequent breathing.
- Frequent coughing and pain in the ribs.
- White runny nose is seen.
- Infected animals often cough.
- Infected animals make average noises in the chest and reduce eating.
- The body temperature drops at one stage, the animal falls asleep and eventually dies of shortness of breath.
Can Injectable Penicillin Be Given Orally
Penicillin G is soluble in water, attains high concentrations in blood, and is excreted in urine in 4 to 6 hours. Penicillin G is available in crystalline, procaine, and benzathine forms. Because it is unstable at low pH, oral administration is not possible, so the agent is administered by injection.
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How Can You Prevent It
- Provide sufficient quality colostrum at birth: 10% of bodyweight fed within the first three hours of life. Test colostrum using a refractometer
- Vaccinate animals to increase immunity
- Improve housing: ensure calves are in a draught-free area with adequate ventilation to remove moisture. Porous walls can harbour bugs so consider using a resin coating or plastic sheets. Concrete panels can be cold. Locate feeders and water troughs on the outside of pens to prevent bedding from getting wet.
- Hutches are good because they give you good isolation from disease and you can move them. Ideally, you should locate them on a concrete pad with a slope for drainage or use gravel to allow good drainage.
- Temperature: provide plenty of dry straw to keep calves warm. Straw is the best bedding because its super absorbent and allows calves to nest.
- At less than 15C, calves aged two weeks and under will feel the cold so use a jacket
- At less than 10C, calves aged three to eight weeks will feel cold so use a jacket
- If the temperature is colder at night and warmer in the day, take jackets off and put them back on
- Have a thermometer in the shed to check the temperature
- For every 5C drop in temperature below 10C, calves require an additional 50g of milk powder per day
- Have a clear protocol so all staff know what to do in colder weather
- Dont overstock
See also: Better calf housing advice
Preventing And Treating Pneumonia In Cow Herds
Got anything for coughing calves? This question seems to start up again every year around late autumn and early winteror anytime we have freezing nights and above-freezing days.
With all the variable weather of winter, alternating between rain, sharp winds, and chillier temperatures, its wise to keep an eye out for an increase in pneumonia each year. It certainly does seem to be a seasonal illness, ushered in by the changing weather and winds. Germs seem to be waiting on the walls in the barn to jump off and into the calves when the temperatures get above freezing . . . and when there is not much air movement . . . and when the bedding might be a tad soggy or damp. Though any one of these situations wont necessarily make for coughing calves, all three of these triggers acting together will almost certainly cause problems. Once you need to reach for treatments youve already lost the battle to some extent, but treating your animals in time can prevent the situation from turning into a complete train wreck, as coughing animals and full-blown pneumonia is likely to become.
Of course preventing the coughs is best, but its often difficult to do. Certainly dry bedding, fresh air, clean water, and top-notch nutrition are critical. And allowing dairy calves to nurse from their mother cows is as close to Mother Nature as can be foundactually, it is Mother Nature.
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Treatment Of Calf Pneumonia
Calf pneumonia is more common in cattle. Calf pneumonia increases the risk of death. And so the calf needs to ensure a germ-free and comfortable environment from birth.
What needs to be said about the treatment of pneumonia in calves is that the calves should be taken to the Livestock Office immediately. The doctor will observe the calf and provide medical treatment.
Cattle pneumonia
Cattle Herd Pneumonia Treatments
In my time practicing veterinary medicine, I have treated animals of all ages sick with pneumonia, both on organic and conventional farms. No matter which type of farm is experiencing a pneumonia outbreak, the sickest animal will usually end up having permanent lung damage since it is too far advanced in the disease process due to starting treatment too late. On farms that are not certified organic, the best and most quickly effective treatment will be an antibiotic such as ceftiofur
Antibiotics can be excellent for bacterial pneumonia, but if an organic animal is given an antibiotic, it is banished from organic production forever . On organic farms, pneumonia treatment relies much more on non-synthetic measures, namely boosting the immune system using plant medicines with strong antibacterial effects and moving the animal to fresh air. However, according to U.S. law, organic farmers cannot withhold prohibited antibiotic treatments just to keep an animal organic. This restriction makes my life as a veterinarian more interesting and challenging, especially when faced with a disease like pneumonia that can easily kill an animal if not quickly and effectively treated.
If treatment is started soon enough, I have seen countless cases of pneumonia cleared up by using purely biological treatments to work with the animals own immune system.
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Minimizing Exposure To Infection
Close contact with other animals allows respiratory pathogens to spread easily. Individual housing of dairy calves either indoors or outside is generally linked to improved calf health . There is long-term recognition of the benefit to dairy calf health of outdoor housing in hutches especially for the prevention of diarrhea and respiratory disease .Similarly, keeping age groups separate and group sizes small has been shown to reduce respiratory disease .
Introduction of animals from other herds carries a risk of disease transfer, even in virtually closed herds, where only occasional replacement animals are brought in. Keeping recent purchases separate from the herd for 2-3 weeks to ensure that they are not incubating a respiratory disease is an adequate control measure.
Treating Calf Pneumonia
In the face of an outbreak of enzootic pneumonia in a closed herd or when a chronic problem is recognized, it is important to attempt to identify the causative agents and management and environmental factors in order to target preventive measures in the future. There are a number of investigative techniques that can be used in the face of a pneumonia outbreak. These include:
In all cases antimicrobial treatment should be under veterinary guidance and should be outlined in the farms herd health plan.
Calf Pneumonia and Welfare
Single suckled calves reared in outdoor systems are at lowest risk of pneumonia
Good Practice Based on Current Knowledge
A New Approach To Preventing And Controlling Pneumonia In Beef Cattle
Conventional wisdom suggests that the best way to prevent pneumonia in beef cattle is to boost the animals immune response the capacity to recognize and defend against bacteria, viruses and harmful substances during the transition period when calves are placed together in feedlots.
But the University of Guelphs Dr. Jeff Caswell, professor in the Department of Pathobiology, Dr. Laura Bassel and Dr. Joanne Hewson and other collaborators, along with staff at the Ontario Beef Research Centre, are challenging this view. Theyve found that dampening cattles inflammatory responses may be a better way to prevent bacterial pneumonia from taking hold.
Our findings could potentially change the strategy for how we go about preventing pneumonia in beef cattle by informing the development of methods to reduce inflammation in the respiratory tract as an alternative to antibiotics, says Caswell.
He and his team have carried out experimental trials with beef cattle since 2014 at the Ontario Beef Research Centre located in Elora, Ont. They used 60 auction calves considered to be at high risk for respiratory disease. Half of the animals were introduced to killed bacteria the other half received a saline placebo.
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