Farm Animal Diarrhea Flashcards
What is the importance of diarrhea in farm animals?
Major economic loss
Significant welfare issue (painful death, carrier states)
Major environmental cost
Greatest factor in calf mortality
Public health risk
What is the major unseen cost associated with farm animal diarrhea?
Sub-optimal growth
What are the 3 factors involved in causing farm animal diarrhea?
Pathogens
Host factors (Immune system, stress)
Environment and Management (cleanliness, nutrition, colostrum)
What is the DDx for Calves with ACUTE diarrhea?
E. coli
Cryptosporidium
Rotavirus
Coronavirus
Coccidia
Salmonella
What is your top differential for a calf ACUTE with diarrhea <5 days of age?
E. coli
What is your top differential for calves with ACUTE diarrhea after 3 weeks of age?
Coccidia
What are your top differentials for an adult cow with ACUTE diarrhea?
Salmonellosis
Coronavirus (Winter dysentery)
Acidosis/SARA
Malignant Catarrhal Fever
Poisons (Ragwort, Arsenic)
Mucosal Disease
BVD - Notifiable
What are your top differentials for an adult cow with CHRONIC diarrhea?
Johne’s Disease (mycobacterium avium sbsp. paratuberculosis aka MAP)
Ostertagiosis
Fluke
Why is a positive culture for E. coli not always significant? What indicates a problem-causing form of E. coli? What age of calves does E. coli typically affect?
Normal commensal of GIT
Look for special strains - ETEC (enterotoxigenic E. coli) kills calves (watery diarrhea, scours)
E. coli O157 huge risk in human population (public health risk)
Calves <5 d at highest risk
What part of the intestine does rotavirus inhabit? What age of calf is most susceptible? Does rotavirus cause greater morbidity or mortality?
Duodenum and jejunum
1-3 week old calves
High morbidity, Low mortality
How does cryptosporidium cause disease? When are clinical signs seen in calves? What part of the intestine does it inhabit? What does it do to the intestinal villi? What does this do to absorption in the intestine?
Builds up in dirty bedding (husbandry)
Clinical signs at 5-14 days
Inhabits lower part of SI/Colon
Causes intestinal villus atrophy = malabsorption
What viruses does cryptosporidium usually present with? What happens to calves as they get older?
Paired with rotavirus/coronavirus
As calves get older they develop resistance to crypto
What is so significant about salmonella?
Not a normal commensal
ALWAYS pathogenic
ZOONOSIS - public health issue
Is a culture of salmonella always significant? Which species of salmonella is cattle host adapted?
Yes
S. enterica serotype dublin
What are the clinical signs associated with salmonella
Systemic illness
Pyrexia
Severe diarrhea
What are the range of clinical signs associated with coccidiosis? What age of calves are we looking at?
Older calves
May give blood strained feces or might just be subclinical disease giving poor growth rate
What is a non-pathogenic cause of poor growth/thrift and possibly diarrhea in calves that you should ALWAYS consider?
What are the clinical signs associated with BVD? What type of virus is BVDV?
Does NOT commonly cause diarrhea
Pestivirus
BVD causes a complex of diseases in cattle, the most important of which can interfere with reproduction, affect the unborn calf (poor growth) and lead to mucosal disease
Clinical signs - fever, lethargy, loss of appetite, ocular dishcharge, nasal discharge oral lesions, diarrhea and decreasing milk production
If naive animals become infected