Diagnosis Of Respiratory Disease Flashcards
What respiratory disease are commonly seen in fattening cattle?
Shipping fever
Mannheimia haemolytica, Pasteurella multicoda, Histophilus somni
What lung disease is frequently seen in the late summer / Autumn in 1st lactation heifers in the 1st grazing season?
Dictyocaulus viviparous
What causative agents are usually responsible for calf pneumonia?
Viruses, bacteria, fungi, mycoplasma, environment
What respiratory diseases are seen in cattle over 5yo?
Vena canal thrombosis - epistaxis Secondary infections due to viral challenge - chronic suppurative pneumonia - diffuse fibrosing alveolitis Shipping fever
What might you expect as the cause of URT in a beef cow?
Laryngeal chondritis
Secondary to calf diphtheria - fusobacterium necrophorum
Tx: penicillin, NSAIDs, tracheostomy
How should you examine a group of animals with respiratory disease?
Observe - demeanour, behaviour, ear position, discharges from eyes or nose, respiratory effort eg: abduction of elbows, shallow breaths indicate pain due to pleuritic / peritonitis
Move to elicit coughing
TPR
Auscultation of lungs, trachea and larynx
How would you approach diagnostic sampling in an outbreak of respiratory disease?
Sample acute cases
Remember that Pasteurella and Mannheimia are commensual
Use the right transport medium - eg virus
What can a nasopharyngeal swab be used to diagnose?
IBR, RSV, PI3
What can conjunctival swabs/scrapes be used to diagnose?
IBR
What makes a sample positive on serology?
Titre raised by 4x in paired samples taken 2-3 weeks apart
What can be used to monitor respiratory disease in dairy herds?
Bulk milk antibody testing
What things should you assess when investigating the environment?
Smell of urea Dust Wet bedding Temperature of the air and bedding Inlets and outlets Tiger stripes and cobwebs Body mass in relation to the size of the building
What tests can you perform to evaluate ventilation in housing?
Smoke bomb
Pneumonia score calves
Temperature and humidity measurements
