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Dairy cattle diseases

Welcome to the page about Dairy cattle diseases of Engormix; a source of knowledge on Dairy cattle diseases.
Although an estimated 20 to 30 per cent of Canadian dairy herds have cows infected with Johne's Disease (JD), outwardly sick cows are a rare event in most herds. However, it's in the dairy industry's best interest to reduce JD infection for several reasons beyond cow illness. A bacterial infection, JD starts in very young calves. Infection lasts for the animal's lifetime and we can't tell that it's present in most animals. About five per cent of infected animals become outwardly...
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Udder scald is a moist often foul smelling dermatitis between the udder and upper thigh or between the udder halves of cows.  Very little is known about the exact cause.  Dermatitis found between the udder and the upper thigh is often present in early lactation, thought to be a sequel to skin damage caused by the extra pressure against the upper thigh due to udder edema, is most frequently found in first lactation cows. Cornell University veterinarians reported in a 1600-cow herd...
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Foot rot is a subacute or acute necrotic (decaying) infectious disease of cattle, causing swelling and lameness in one or more feet. The disease can become chronic, with a poorer prognosis for recovery if treatment is delayed, which results in deeper structures of the toe becoming affected. Weight gain is significantly reduced when grazing cattle contract the disease. In one three-year study, Brazle (1993) reported that affected steers gained 2.3 lbs. per day, while steers not affected...
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Downer cow syndrome is not new. The term "downer cow" is currently overused relative to its original definition, prior to the BSE outbreak. A true downer cow by previous clinical definition is a cow that on examination ought to capable of standing, but for some unknown reason cannot. There are many causes of a downer cow; most often due to complications of a primary disease (e.g. milk fever, or mastitis), injury from falling on a slippery floor, or problems related to calving. The option of...
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Research sheds light on the importance of sound nutrition and cow comfort to promote immune function. Most dairy producers know that a cow with one health disorder is more likely to have other health problems. For instance, a cow with mastitis has an increased risk of getting a metabolic disorder such as milk fever. The reverse is also true: Cows with milk fever have an increased risk of mastitis. Susceptibility to multiple health problems is particularly common during...
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Overall, cows on pasture have fewer health problems than those in confinement, says this veterinarian. Veterinarian Craig DeMuth isn’t quite as lonely as the Maytag repairman. But with half of his 30 clients doing some grazing and one-third of them intensively grazing, he’s on his way. DeMuth sees “a lot fewer problems (on grazing) than with confinement. Overall, animals are healthier.” Most information on the health benefits of grazing isn’t confirmed by...
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Chances are it’s more than you think. If so, what can you do to minimize the problem? In a Minnesota survey of 17 herds, lameness scoring indicated that there were 2.5 times more lame cows than producers thought were present in their herds. Different surveys have reported the percentage of cows that scored lame averaged between 15 and 22.5%. No one likes to see a lame cow. We know lameness typically results in a loss in body condition, less...
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Dairy herd health involves many factors such as nutrition, housing, environmental conditions, vaccination programs and the introduction of herd replacements. These factors act together to influence the effectiveness of a herd health program and its ability to prevent and control diseases. An extremely important but poorly understood herd health management practice is the stimulation of the immune system of young replacement heifers and of mature cows to provide an appropriate level of immune...
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The Dairy 2007 USDA survey reported that 5.7% of cows died on-farm across the country in 2006. That is an increase from 4.8% in the 2002 survey and 3.8% in the 1996 survey. Frank Garry from Colorado State University reported that DHIA Provo-recorded dairy cattle death rates in 8 Western states increased from 3% in 1992 to 10% in 2002. These high death rates in dairy cows are very concerning. Annual death rates for beef cows and feedlot cattle are estimated at 1 to 1.5%. Yes, they are managed...
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Agricultural Research Service (ARS) molecular biologist John Lippolis is delving into the dynamics of the dairy cow immune system. His work is resulting in the first close-up look at how immune system proteins help protect the cows, and how bacterial proteins fight back. Lippolis works at the ARS Periparturient Diseases of Cattle Research Unit, part of the National Animal Disease Center in Ames, Iowa. He is using proteomics--the identification of the proteins that make up a cell--to...
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A new herd health programme aimed at preparing Irish dairy farmers for the biosecurity challenges of herd expansion has started at the Teagasc Dairy Production Research Centre, Moorepark. Two research projects, one focusing on mastitis and milk quality issues, and the other on infectious diseases, have commenced, led by John Mee and colleagues. Two new veterinarians have been employed to work on these projects. Details of the new projects are contained in an article in TResearch, the...
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Sathiyabama Kannan
Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University
Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University
A cross bred Jersey cow of around four years of age from Manjakuppam, Cuddalore district, died suddenly with no observable clinical signs. All organs, on post-mortem examination, excepting rumen, mesentery and rectal wall were found in normal condition. In particular, rumen was found with hundreds of adult paramphistomes and erosive patchy hemorrhagic lesion on its interior wall. The farmers history was that the cow was not medicated with deworming drugs at any of the periods during its...
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Long chain fatty acids (LCFA), primarily in the form of phospholipids, make up a significant component of the cell membrane structure in animals. These fatty acids can affect membrane fluidity and can serve as signaling molecules and as precursors for the synthesis of eicosanoids, just to name a few roles. In fact, the fatty acids have been called “gatekeepers” of cell regulation (Yaqoob, 2003). In addition, cells dedicated to fight and prevent health problems in animals also contain LCFA in...
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There are many diseases affecting cows on dairy farms today. These diseases include milk fever, retained placenta, metritis, ketosis, mastitis, lameness, rumen indigestion, and displaced abomasums. These diverse diseases have one thing in common—they often cause cows to have significantly reduced feed intakes. As in humans, nutrient intake in cattle is key in helping the cow overcome the disease. Both veterinarians and farmers have become very good at primary treatment of these diseases....
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Young calves face many challenges as they grow towards adulthood. A young calf can look good during the morning feeding, not look well at noon, and be dead before the end of the day. What is the most common reason for such sudden death? More than likely, Clostridial bacteria found a favorable growth environment in the calf's gut, and potent toxins produced by the bacterial growth killed the calf. So what can we do about this problem? What do we look for to make management decisions...
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The spread of disease on a dairy operation can decrease milk production and reproductive efficiency, which costs dairy producers money. It can be challenging to limit movement of disease-causing organisms that can be transmitted through contaminated feed, equipment, infected animals, non-livestock, mortalities, and other routes. The least expensive and most successful way to control the spread of disease is to develop a biosecurity plan. A biosecurity plan is a customized management plan...
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Healthy hooves put you on solid footing for efficient milk production While walking, you notice a slight irritation and pain coming from your foot. It gradually gets worse and worse. Finally, you have to stop and remove a pebble from your shoe. Nothing else matters until you stop the pain. You’ve just experienced, in a small way, the significant disruption that lameness can have on one of your milking cows. Some herds I’ve recently visited have had production and...
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Healthy Hooves Contribute for Higher Revenue and Lower Costs Ensuring your dairy herd has healthy feet not only helps you sidestep unwelcome costs, it can put more milk in your bulk tank and more dollars in your pocket. One recent study suggests that a single cow coming up lame during a lactation could set you back by more than $200 in reduced production alone. Along with reduced milk production, direct losses from lameness...
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Lice are the most important winter parasites of cattle. The two clinical signs of lice are hair loss and scratching. Lice have been considered by many to be more of a nuisance parasite than an important health problem in cattle. While not a lot of study has gone into the milk production and body condition loss issues associated with lice in dairy cattle I believe that severe lice infestations do cause some milk production and BCS loss in dairy cattle. There are two types of lice: biting...
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Lameness is a major problem on our dairy farms, and its prevalence in the U.S. has increased in recent years. The current trend in the dairy industry is for housing cows in free stall systems with concrete flooring. Research has indicated that exposure to concrete flooring can potentially increase the proportion of cows with hoof disorders in comparison with other systems. We conducted a field study in 50 Minnesota free stall dairy herds (5626 Holstein cows housed in 53 high production...
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