Most common diseases in cattle

Content

• Most common diseases in dairy and beef cattle
• Most common diseases in dairy cows
• Postpartum diseases in cows
• Metabolic diseases in cows
• Reproductive Diseases in Cows
• Cow hoof diseases
• Cow-borne diseases

The diseases that most commonly affect cattle are those of an infectious-contagious nature, since many of them, in addition to being harmful to the health of the herd and affecting animal welfare, are zoonoses, that is, diseases that can be transmitted to humans , if the meat or milk from that sick animal is consumed. Due to this, PeritoAnimal prepared this article about most common diseases in cattle.

Most common diseases in dairy and beef cattle

Infectious-contagious diseases in dairy and beef cattle are of great veterinary importance, since in addition to harming the animal's health, they are too difficult to be controlled in very large herds once installed, which can lead to serious economic losses , as premature death of infected animals can occur, low metabolic development causing these animals not to grow as they should, and low milk production in dairy cattle.

Among them, the diseases that most affect dairy cattle and beef cattle are:

• Mastitis, also called mastitis.
• Babesiosis or anaplasmosis, popularly known as bovine parasitic sadness.
• Brucellosis
• Foot-and-mouth disease.
• Tuberculosis.
• Clostridiosis.
• Leptospirosis.
• Hoof disease.
• Verminosis in general.

Most common diseases in dairy cows

When dealing with very large herds, the ideal is a preventive veterinary medicine, since the treatment for the whole herd would be too expensive, not compensating the economic investment, since in addition to being too large a number of animals, they are considered animals as beef cattle, raised for human and animal consumption, and dairy cattle, cows raised to supply the dairy market in Brazil and the world.

Between the most common diseases of cows, we have:

• bovine mastitis - It is an infectious-contagious disease caused by different types of bacteria that cause an infection in the cow's mammary glands. It is by far the most important disease that affects dairy cows, due to the high incidence and prevalence of cases, as it causes great economic losses, as the milk becomes salty, in most cases, with purulent secretion and full of molecules from inflammation and should be discarded as it is totally inappropriate for consumption. Read our full article on bovine mastitis.
• Babesiosis or Bovine Parasitic Sadness - It is a disease caused by a protozoan called babesia sp. , which is transmitted by tick bites. The disease, once installed, is difficult to control, due to the cost of treatment in the herd, in addition, it causes great economic loss, harming the animal's development, milk production and depending on the animal's immunological status, even death.

Postpartum diseases in cows

During the period of 2-3 weeks after calving care must be taken with diseases of the reproductive tract of cows, as this is the period when they are more susceptible and predisposed to diseases, as their immune system is vulnerable due to at childbirth.

Between the most common diseases of the reproductive tract in cows postpartum, caused by bacterial infections, and that affect most of the cows in the herd are:

• Metrite;
• Clinical endometritis;
• Purulent vaginal discharge;
• Subclinical cytologic endometritis.

Studies are still being carried out regarding this greater susceptibility in postpartum cows.

Metabolic diseases in cows

The metabolic disease that affects cows is called postpartum hypocalcemia or hypocalcemia, puerperal paresis, vitular fever or milk fever. It is a metabolic disease that is associated with low blood calcium and harms the herd of dairy cows and postpartum cows that are in early lactation, ie, milk production. Calcium is extremely important for muscle contraction and heartbeat, and calcium deficiency can lead to neuromuscular dysfunction, circulatory collapse, and even depression of consciousness.

The cause, despite being complex, can be avoided through the supplementation of essential minerals and vitamins to the cow during the reproductive phase and especially after calving, since a large percentage of the calcium that cows have in their bodies goes into their milk. As the body cannot replace the lost percentage on its own, cows soon fall after giving birth. Other subclinical signs of postpartum hypocalcemia would be cold extremities, muscle tremor of the head and limbs, tetany, sleepy appearance and head turned to the flank, the animal may lie on its stomach while stretching its neck.

Reproductive Diseases in Cows

THE Brucellosis It is an infectious-contagious disease that causes economic damage to cows in the reproductive period, however, it can affect cattle of all ages and of both sexes. Vaccination with vitamin B12 is still the best prevention against abortion, however, it does not immunize against the causative agent of the disease, so once it is installed in the herd, it can be difficult to control, and it should be taken as a preventive measure, the elimination of seropositive animals, despite the disease having a cure, the treatment becomes unfeasible due to costs. Furthermore, Brucellosis is a zoonosis, that is, the disease can be transmitted to humans.

In reproductive cows, Brucellosis can cause abortions, placental retention, metritis, subfertility, infertility, and if the fetus survives it leads to the birth of weak and underdeveloped animals.

Cow hoof diseases

Bovine hoof disease is one of the main diseases that affect dairy cows. It is due to a series of causes, which contribute to the installation of pathogens causing the disease in the regions of the hooves, bone, joint, ligament and cutaneous and subcutaneous tissues. Among the causes, we can have:

• Digital dermatitis.
• Interdigital dermatitis.
• Interdigital phlegmon.
• Gabarro or Interdigital Hyperplasia.
• Bead erosion.
• Laminitis or diffuse aseptic pododermatitis.
• Localized aseptic pododermatitis.
• Septic Pododermatitis.

A high carbohydrate diet, lack of hoof trimming, damp and rough floors and lack of hygiene in the room contribute to the onset of the disease, which usually sets in due to a secondary bacterial infection, which, if left untreated, may result in the appearance of myiasis and a generalized inflammation of the digit, which is the hoof, and in the limb.

To avoid this type of disease, dairy cattle must receive a buffered diet in order to avoid ruminal acidosis. The hooves must be trimmed annually, and during drying of the environment, prevent animals from stepping on wet environments, feces and urine.

Cow-borne diseases

Among the most important infectious-contagious diseases are those that are zoonoses, that is, transmissible to humans. At diseases that can be transmitted by cows are:

• Brucellosis: that can be transmitted by cows to humans through unpasteurized milk, cheese and dairy products in general, and also direct contact with the blood or manure of infected or sick animals.
• Tuberculosis: the disease is caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium bovis, and can be transmitted through the air, or through the intestinal route, in direct contact with the manure of sick animals. As symptoms only appear in their final stage, the disease is difficult to diagnose, making treatment difficult. Sick animals have difficulty breathing, weight loss, dry cough and generalized weakness.

This article is for information purposes only, at PeritoAnimal.com.br we are not able to prescribe veterinary treatments or perform any type of diagnosis. We suggest that you take your pet to the veterinarian in case it has any type of condition or discomfort.