Diseases of Cattle

What is a disease
Any condition that results in deviation from normal function.

How do diseases occur

AGENT

HOST ENVIRONMENT
 ETIOLOGY
Infectious Agents Non-infectious agents
• Bacteria • Chemical
• Viruses • Physical
• Parasites • Lack or excess of certain
• Fungi vitamins and minerals
• Toxins
 Vital Signs of Beef Cattle
• Temp. 100.4-102.8 ͦF avg. 101.5 ͦF
• Pulse 60-70 BPM
• Respiration 10-30 breaths per minute
 Anthrax

• Caused by bacteria that may remain in the soil for 40 years or

longer
– Bacteria only become active under certain conditions.
• Causative agent is Bacillus anthracis.
• Infection results from grazing infected pastures.
• Bacteria enter through the mouth, nose or open wounds.
• Biting insects may spread the disease from one animal to
another
 Symptoms
• Sudden death-usually within a few hours of symptoms
• Less acute symptoms
– High fever
– Sudden staggering
– Hard breathing
– Trembling
– Collapse

What to Do
• Carcasses should be burned or buried at least 6’ deep and
covered with quicklime
– Take care not to bury the animal near wells or streams.
 Prevention
• Vaccination
• In problem areas vaccination should occur yearly
• Where it is not common, vaccinate on the recommendation
of a vet.

Treatment
• Daily I/M injection of procaine penicillin (25mg/kg) or
oxytetracycline (5mg/kg) immediately.
 Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)

• Chronic, degenerative disease

• Affects the central nervous system
Symptoms
• Nervousness or aggression
• Muscle twitching
• Abnormal posture
• Loss of body weight
• Decrease in milk production
• Difficulty in rising after lying down
• Eventual death
 Causes of BSE
• Not fully known
• Related to a prion
– Prion- a microscopic protein particle that is similar to a virus
but lacks nucleic acid
• May be contracted by ingesting protein in feed that came from
an animal source that was contaminated
– Believed to have been caused by feeding cattle renderings
from Scrapie infected sheep
• 1997 the FDA banned using ANY mammal derived protein in
cattle feed in the US
 Incubation of and Testing for BSE
• Ranges from 2-8 years
• Death occurs within 2 weeks to 6 months after clinical
symptoms appear
• No test to determine if live cattle are infected
• Only a postmortem microscopic examination of the brain can
determine if the animal had BSE
– Brain tissue in infected animals has a spongy appearance
when examined under a microscope
• There is no treatment for BSE
 Bovine Virus Diarrhea (BVD)
• Common throughout the United States
• May appear in mild, acute & chronic forms
• Spreads by contact
Mild BVD
• Often no symptoms
• If they are present:
– Fever
– Coughing
– Discharge from the nose
– Slow gains
– Rapid breathing
– Mild diarrhea
• Animals that have had the mild form of the disease are
immune to further infection.
 Acute BVD
• Fever • Pregnant animals may abort
if contracted with in the
• Difficult breathing
first 2 months of pregnancy
• Discharges from the nose
and mouth • Fetus’s may mummify if
contracted from the 90-
• Possible lameness 120th day of pregnancy
• Dehydration
• Fetus may also suffer brain
• Weight loss damage, hairlessness and
• Diarrhea after 3-7 days underdeveloped lungs in
later stages of pregnancy
 Chronic BVD
• All the same symptoms as the acute plus
– Slow gains
– Rough hair coat
– Lameness
Prevention
• Modified live virus vaccine
• Vaccinate calves between 1 day of age and 3 weeks before weaning
• May be vaccinated upon arrival in the feedlot
– They should not be vaccinated if they were vaccinated as calves
• Pregnant cattle should not be vaccinated
• Adult cattle should only be vaccinated
– After calving
– At least 3 weeks before breeding
• Replacement heifers should be vaccinated between 9 & 12 months
of age but not during the last 3 weeks before breeding
• No cure
 Brucellosis
• Caused by microorganisms
• Results in heavy economic losses
• Less common due to state and federal eradication programs—
all states are now free of brucellosis in domestic cattle herds
• Dangerous to humans

Symptoms
• Abortion during the last ½ of pregnancy
• Retaining of afterbirth (placenta)
• Sterility in cows and bulls
• Reduced milk flow
• Enlarged testicles
• Weak calves (if born from infected cows)
 Brucellosis Spreads By…
• Bringing infected cattle into the herd
• Fence line contact with infected animals
• Aborted fetus’s that carry the Brucella organism being carried
to other farms by dogs and other carnivorous animals
• Calves being infected by their mothers
• Cattle coming in contact with feed or water where the
organism is present
• Sniffing or licking an aborted fetus or calf from a cow that has
the disease

Prevention and Cure

• No cure
• Prevention is accomplished by good herd management
 Blackleg
• Caused by bacteria that grow only in the absence of oxygen
• When exposed to air the bacteria form a spore and may live in
the soil for many years
• Spores enter the animal through the mouth or wounds
• Young animals are more commonly affected
Symptoms
• First sign is one or more animals suddenly die
• Before death symptoms are:
– Lameness
– Swollen muscles
– Severe depression
– High fever (in early stages)
– Animal may be unable to stand
 Prevention
• Vaccination
• Calves are vaccinated when young (typically in the spring at
branding or shortly after calving) and again at weaning (fall)
• Dead animals should be burned or buried

Treatment
• Massive doses of antibiotics
• Treatment is only effective if diagnosed early
• Prevention is more effective and less costly.
 Scours (diarrhea in cow)
• Disease complex (group of diseases)
• Most common in fall, winter and spring
• Affects young calves
– calves over 2 months of age are seldom affected
Symptoms
• Acute
– Shock
– Nose, ears and legs are cold
– Diarrhea
– Sudden death
• Chronic
– Symptoms for several days
– Weight loss
– Death after several days if not treated
 Etiology
Bacteria: Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Clostridium
perfringens, and other bacteria.
Viruses: Coronavirus, Rotavirus, BVD virus, IBR virus.
Protozoa: Cryptosporidium, Coccidia.
Prevention
• Sanitation
– Clean barns and buckets for bucket calves
• Calf needs colostrums (first milk)
• Supplement the cows diet with Vitamin A before calving
• Vaccines (most common types of scours)
– Vaccinate mothers at least 30 days prior to calving
Treatment
• Antibiotics
• Sulfa drugs
 Foot Rot
• Caused by a variety of bacteria, fungi and
other organisms found in feedlots

• Enter the body when the skin of the foot is broken

• Muddy, manure filled feedlots only increase the problem

Symptoms
• First noticeable sign is lameness
• Other symptoms
– Loss of appetite
– Fever
– Depression
– Animals may not want to stand or move around
• Death may eventually result
 Prevention
• Sanitation and paved lots work best
• Good drainage and mounds in the feedlot also help prevent
conditions that encourage the disease.
• Spreading lime and 5% blue vitriol around water tanks and
feed bunks

Treatment
• Penicillin
• Wide spectrum antibiotics
• Sulfa drugs
 Lump Jaw
• Chronic
• Rarely causes death
• Results in economic losses because the affected body part is
condemned at slaughter
• Affects the jaw and surrounding bony part of the head
Symptoms
• Tumors or lumps on the jaw.
• Loose teeth
• Spongy jaw bone resulting in breathing problems.
• Weight loss due to difficulty eating
Treatments and Prevention
• Surgical treatment may allow the animal to remain
marketable but complete recovery is usually not possible.
• To prevent keep sharp objects out of the feedlot or pasture.
 Pinkeye
• Carried by insects
• Affects the eye of the animal
• A viral form of pink eye is associated with IBR
• White faced cattle and those with pink skin pigment around
the eye are more likely to be infected
• Pinkeye occurs year round but is most common during
periods of maximum sunlight.

Mild Pinkeye
• Eyeball develops a pinkish color
• Cornea becomes slightly clouded
 Acute Pinkeye
• Flowing of tears
• Cloudiness of cornea
• As the infection progresses the cloudy condition becomes
worse and ulcers may develop on the eye
• The eye may become so damaged that blindness results
• The condition may last 3-4 weeks and if not treated will spread
to the whole heard

Spread By
• Insects
• Direct Contact with infected animals
• Dust
• Tail switching
 Prevention
• Control flies and insects
• Vacinate

Treatment
• Isolated in a dark place
• Apply antibiotics and sulfa drugs to the eye
• A cloth patch can be used on the affected eye
 Shipping Fever
(PI3 Pasteurella, Bovine Respiratory Disease)
• A disease complex that affects the respiratory tract
• Most common in young cattle at times of stress

Stresses
• Moving from range to the feedlot
• Extremes of heat or cold
• Exhaust fumes
• Hunger
• Fright
• Rough handling
 Symptoms
• Early on----fever • Diarrhea
• Depression • Weight loss
• Drooping ears • Difficult breathing
• Discharge from the nose • Coughing
• Watery eyes • Pneumonia
• Loss of appetite • Possibly death
• If the animal recovers it will
be slow to gain
 Prevention
• Vaccination after 4 mo. of age
• Best time is 3-4 weeks before weaning/shipping
• Reducing stress and exposure
• Good feedlot management and careful handling of new cattle

Treatment
• Antibiotics
• Sulfa drugs
• Treatment must begin as soon as symptoms are noticed
• Treatment after an animal has developed pneumonia is of
little value.
 Trichomoniasis
• A venereal disease caused by a protozoan, Trichomona fetus
• Infects the genital tract of the bull and is transmitted to the
cow during breeding
• Clean bulls can also be infected by breeding “dirty” cows
• Can also be transmitted through infected semen, even when
artificial insemination is used.
 Symptoms
• Abortion in early gestation
• Low fertility
• Irregular heat periods
• Uterine infection
• Cows may have discharge from their genital tract
• Bulls may not show any symptoms but still be capable of
transmitting the disease during breeding
• Identified by microscopic examination of material from an
aborted fetus, the prepuital cavity of the bull or vaginal
discharge from the cow
 Trich Prevention
• Semen testing
• Testing cows before breeding
• Using only clean bulls on clean cows
• Selling all open cows
 Vibriosis

• Reproductive disease
• Both intestinal and venereal
• Leading cause of infertility and abortion in the cattle industry
• Intestinal form has little harmful effect
• Venereal form is more serious
• If the organism infects the uterus there will be some abortion
in the herd
• Number of cows infected is usually small
• Cows do not become sterile and bulls are not affected.
 Symptoms

• Infertility • In chronically infected

herds
• Abortion – Conception rate is lower
• Irregular heat periods than normal-about 60-70%
• In newly affected herds – Heifers or new additions will
conception rates may drop require repeat breeding or
will abort
below 40%
• Calving season is longer
• More open cows in the fall
 Prevention and Treatment
• Vaccinate animals 30 days prior to breeding
▫ Vaccination must be repeated every year
• Bulls may be treated with antibiotics but the process is difficult
• Cows may settle easier if treated with antibiotics
• Skipping two heat cycles before attempting to breed the cow
usually improves the conception rate of infected cows
• Cows with the disease eventually develop immunity and will
breed again
• The use of AI helps in prevention because the semen used for
AI is treated with antibiotics to eliminate disease organisms.
 Ringworm
• A contagious skin disease that can be spread to other animals
and humans
• Symptoms
– Round, scaly patches of skin that lack hair
• The affected area clears up but moves to another part of the
body
• Sanitation
• Isolate infected animals
• Treat with iodine tincture or quaternary ammonium
compounds