List of four major diseases found in Cattles:- 1. White Scour (In Calves) 2. Paratyphoid (In Calves) 3. Salmonellosis (In Cattle and Calves) 4. Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia.

Disease # 1. White Scour (In Calves):

Synonym:

Coli bacillosis, Infectious diar­rhoea.

Definition:

This is a fatal, acute, infective disease of septicemic nature affecting calves caused by E .coli — a bacterium of the coli typhoid group and characterised by severe diar­rhoea consisting of whitish or clay—coloured, sour smelling faeces.

Modes of infection:

Both intrauterine and postnatal infection as in Joint-ill and also by ingestion.

Symptoms:

Besides the usual signs of sys­temic disturbance, the. most prominent symptom is diarrhoea, the faeces being of a greyish white or yellowish white in colour and sometimes clay coloured and is frothy, often blood stained, with a peculiar rancid odour. Defalcation is attended by severe tenesmus, sometimes resulting in prolapses of rectum.

The calf refuses to suck and rapidly becomes weak and exhausted, the eyes are sunken, abdomen tucked up and the back is arched. Finally, the animal is unable to remain on legs, lies down and dies from exhaustion.

There is always a rise of temperature in the early stages, which gradually falls and becomes subnormal before death.

Calf may die of general septicaemia on the same day of infection.

N. B.:

Navel-ill, Joint-ill are some of the complications met with E .coli infection.

Postmortem lesions:

Carcass is very much emaciated. Marks of acute gastroenteritis, lymphadenitis of the mesenteric gland, spleen frequently acutely swollen.

Treatment:

Colostrum is reported to be very effective because it is very rich in calcium and certain antibodies and this should be fed to the affected calf, as much as it can take.

Sulphaguanidine, Phthalyl Sulphathiazole may be given in diarrhoea. Sulphapyridine, Sulphamerazine and Sulphamezalthone are quite effective drugs when there is general septicaemia and concomitant pneumonia.

Disease # 2. Paratyphoid (In calves):

This is an acute infectious disease caused by Salmonella enteriditis manifested by severe diar­rhoea.

Modes of infection:

It is acquired by in­gestion or in the milk.

Incubation period:

2 to 8 days.

Symptoms:

The onset is marked by weak­ness, high fever and recumbency. The disease may be highly fatal or mild. At the beginning, there is constipation followed by diarrhoea. The faeces are thin, brownish yellow, fetid and some­times blood stained. The Stifle and Carpal joints may be swollen. Breathing difficulty and cough are sometimes observed. In peracute case, death may occur in a few hours. In subacute or chronic cases, there is emaciation and course is from one to four weeks.

Postmortem lesions:

Haemorrhagic gastroenteritis are noticed in abomasum and small intestine. The most characteristic diagnostic symptom is abnormal enlargement of spleen. Necrotic foci are observed in the liver and kid­neys.

Treatment:

Sulphamerazine and Sulphamcyathin. Chloramphenicol may be tried.

Disease # 3. Salmonellosis (In Cattle and Calves):

Definition:

It is caused mainly by Salmo­nella dublin and Salmonella typhimurium and the infection with these organisms are quite im­portant from public health point of view:

(1) Food poisoning in man and

(2) Disease in domestic animals.

Salmonella typhimurium is the cause of noto­rious food poisoning in man and is of great public health importance.

Salmonella dublin may cause abortion in cattle, without any other symptoms. The charac­teristic of this infection is that the animal, after recovery, may remain as a carrier and excrete these organisms for years.

Symptoms:

In the acute form, the animal becomes dull, feverish, refuses food. There is se­vere diarrhoea mixed with blood and shreds of mucus. Death may occur within a week. After recovery from acute infection, diarrhoea may per­sist for two weeks and the animal becomes fit after quite some time.

In subacute form in adult cattle, the disease runs a milder course and the disease may remain latent and unnoticed.

Prevention:

A vaccine is very useful and can be safely used in calves 1-week old and, upwards. Immunity lasts for six months.

Treatment:

Chloramphenicol, Ampicillin and Furazolidone are very effective drugs and, if treated early, mortality rate may be reduced from r 70 to 10 per cent.

Public health:

Salmonellosis is an impor­tant cause of food poisoning in man, often lead­ing to serious illness. Ducks and poultry are prone to Salmonella infection and their eggs contain the bacteria. There are several instances where fatal cases of food poisoning in man have been traced to the ingestion of duck and poultry eggs and meat.

Disease # 4. Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia:

Definition:

Contagious Bovine Pleuro­pneumonia is a highly infectious septicemia characterised by localisation in the lungs and pleura. It is one of the major plagues in cattle causing heavy losses in many parts of the world.

Etiology:

Mycoplasma mycoides is the cause of the disease in cattle. The causative organ­isms of contagious Pleuropneumonia in cattle and in goats are very similar culturally and antigenically but infection does not spread between the two species.

Mode of Infection:

Spread of infection occurs only directly from the infected animal by the inhalation of infected droplets. Mediate infec­tion by contamination of inanimate objects does not occur. Because of the method of spread, out­breaks tend to be more extensive in housed ani­mals and in those in transit by train or on foot.

Symptoms:

After an incubation period of 3-6 weeks, there is sudden onset of high fever (40°C/104°F), a fall in milk yield, anorexia and cessation of rumination. There is severe depres­sion and the animals stand apart or lag behind a travelling group. Coughing, at first on exercise, and chest pain are evident. The affected animals stand with the elbows out, the back arched and head extended.

Respirations are shallow, rapid and accompanied by expiratory grunting. Pain is evidenced on percussion of the chest. Ausculta­tion reveals pleuritic friction sounds in the early stages of acute inflammation and dullness fluid sounds and moist gurgling rales in the later stages of effusion. On percussion, dullness, of areas of the lungs may be detected. Oedematous swellings of the throat and dewlap occur.

Recovered animals may be clinically normal but in some animals, the disease remains latent but may flare up when the animal is exposed to environmental stress. A chronic cough is also common.

Mortality:

Approximately 50% of the affected animals die acutely and 25% remain as recovered carriers with or without clinical signs. In fatal cases, death occurs after a variable course of four several days to 3 weeks.

Diagnosis:

A diagnosis based on a history of contact with infected animals, clinical findings and complement fixation test.

Postmortem lesions:

Lesions are confined to chest cavity. There is thickening and inflamma­tion of the pleura often with heavy deposits of fibrin and large amounts of clear, serous effusion containing shreds of fibrin. One or both lungs may be partially or completely affected with marked consolidation. Affected lobules show vari­ous stages of grey and red hepatization and the interlobular septa are greatly distended with serofibrinous exudate—the classical ‘marbled’ lung of this disease. Adhesions between pleural surfaces are also a constant finding in such cases.

Treatment:

Sulphadimidine and organic arsenicals are used extensively and appear to reduce mortality rate. Jylosin is highly effective and the dose rate of Jylosin tartarate recom­mended for intramuscular injection is 10 mg/kg B.W. every 12 hours—6 injections. Spiramycin is also effective (10 mg/kg B.W. upto 20 mg or even 50 mg/kg B.W.) and to be given on three conscutive days. Penicillin is of little value, strep­tomycin. Oxytetracycline and chloramphenicol have some value.

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