Infectious Diseases of Ruminants Flashcards
What is the gestation of a sheep?
147 days
What is an acceptable level of abortion in the sheep herd
less than 2 %
Name the most common reproductive pathogens in sheep
Chlamydia abortus - enzootic abortion Toxoplasma gondii Salmonella abortus ovis Campylobacter fetus fetus border disease Schmallenburg
What steps can be taken to help control reproductive pathogens?
Vaccination - in some cases
isolate infected ewes
remove contaminated material - abortion material
test new stock or have a closed herd
What reproductive pathogens is there a vaccine for?
chlamydia
Toxoplasma
Schmallenburg
Describe the general features of chlamydia abortus
- zoonotic
- gram -v cocci
- common in indoor systems
- carrier ewes can shed in oestrus
- can survive for several days in the environment
- strong immunity develops after infection
- ewes rarely ill with this pathogen
- 2 phases - intracellular reproductive stage and the extracellular infectious phase
- good at evading the immune system as replicate in tropholastic cells in repro tract
- infect the placenta cause necrosis and thickening resulting in a leathery appearance
What is the treatment and control for chlamydia abortus
live attenuated vaccine provides strong durable immunity, given 4 weeks before tupping
Treat all ewes yet to lab with a course of long acting oxytetracycline - repeat in 2 weeks
What are the consequences of chlamydia abortus infection at different stages of pregnancy?
- 0-90 days = reabsorption
- 90 + days = abortion
- non-pregnant = bacteria colonise reproductive tract and infect the next time the ewe is pregnant
- lamb born = may be infected and abort their first lamb
Describe the general features of toxoplasma gondii
- zoonotic
- protozoa
- cats are the definitive host - shed oocysts in faeces
- have a wildlife reservoir
- picked up orally via oocyst ingestion
- strong immunity once exposed
- frosted strawberry cotyledons on placenta
how do you control treat toxoplasma gondii
toxovac - liva attenuated vaccine given 3 weeks before tupping
control rodent and cat population and ensure feed store and water aren’t contaminatable
Describe salmonella abortus ovis
- zoonotic
- gram -ve
- present in healthy carriers
- infected ewes become ill with metritis
- causes abortion
Describe the control and treatment of salmonella abortus ovis
- treat those infected with NSAIDs and long acting oxytetracycline and the rest of the group with long acting oxytetracycline, repeat in 7-10 days
No vaccine available
Describe Campylobacter fetus fetus and it’s treatment
- zoonotic
- causes abortion in the last 6 weeks of pregnancy
- ewes become ill with metritis
- carrier sheep shed bacteria in discharge
- treat infected ewes with broad spectrum antibiotics
Describe Listeria Monocytogenes and it’s treatment
- often due to poor or contaminated silage
- causes encephalitis, abortion and septicaemia 1-2 weeks after eating the silage
- soil born gram positive pathogen
- treat with penicillin or oxytetracycline
Describe tick-borne fever and it’s treatment
more common in upland areas
caused by anaplasma phagoctophilla - an immune suppressant
treat with pyrethroid before turning out to top tick infestation
Describe Border disease virus
- pestivirus
- no clinical signs in non-pregnant ewes
- results in abortion or hairy shaker lambs (cerebral hypoplasia, hypermetra and ataxia)
Coxiella burnetti - Q fever
- zoonotic
- environmentally resistant
- gram -ve bacteria
- spread via inhalation or direct contact
- if non-pregnant the infection remains latent and causes abortion the following year
Describe Schmallenburg
- orthobunya virus transmitted by cullecoides midge
- mild/no illness in non-pregnant animals
- causes abortion, still birth or deformed lambs
What is mastitis?
Inflammation of the mammary gland
What are the two presentations of mastitis?
clinical = milk changes, udder changes, system changes
Sub-clinical = no visible clinical signs but do find changes in milk quality, quantity and an increased somatic cell count
why is mastitis important ?
results in significant economic loss
Is a significant welfare issue
How is mastits graded?
1 - sub-clinical, mild signs - milk changes
2A - acute - changes in milk, hot painful udder
2C - chronic - changes in milk and hard lumpy udder
3 - changes in milk, systemic illness, inflamed necrosed udder
What are the consequences of mastitis?
- cow may clear up infection itself
- cow may be unable to clear infection and develop chronically persistent bacterial infections
- can result in permanent udder damage and decreased milk yield
- death due to chronic infection or involuntary cull
Immune function in the cow depends on…
genetics nutrition stress husbandry - esp environment vaccinations stage of lactation
What is the most common point of entry for mastitis pathogens
through teat opening - can be due to damage, bad genetics or post milking - teat can take up to 20 mins to seal
What are the two types of mastitis pathogen?
environmental
contagious - obligate pathogens
How are mastitis pathogens identified?
- culture and sensitivity - can’t give antibiotics for at least before taking sample
- PCR - detects bacterial DNA so can give antibiotics as will still detect dead material but limited to a few common pathogens
Give examples of some common pathogen associations
- chronically increased SCC in individuals / herd = gram +ve
- spike in SCC with quick recovery = gram -ve
- low SCC but lots of clinical mastitis = gram -ve
- SCC or clinical mastitis in the first month post calving = infection likely to have been picked up in the dry period
What are common places mastitis bacteria can be picked up from
- teat skin
- udder
- fomites - milking equipment
- flies
- tonsils
- vagina
- people - milkers hands
Name the environmental causes of mastitis
E.coli Strep uberis Klebsiella Yeasts Pseudomonas Bacillus Careus and Bacillus licheniformis
Name the contagious causes of mastitis
Staph aureus Strep agalactiae Coagulase negative Staphs Mycoplasma bovis Strep dysgalactiae
Describe Staphylococcus Aureus
- Gram +ve cocci
- Alpha toxin producing
- contagious pathogen
- persists intracellularly in the udder making the infection difficult to clear, protein A prevents immune detection
- phagocytosis is inhibited by it’s pseudocapsule
- contains beta-lactimase so is resistant to penicillins
- manifests in secretory tissue - can cause abscesses which damage milk ducts
- often responsble or recurring chronic infection
- all grades common - sub-clinical infections with high SCC seen regularly
- Grade 3 is seen commonly in newly calved cows - causing toxaemia, necrosis and gangrene of the udder
- phagocytosis is inhibited by it’s pseudocapsule
- contains beta-lactimase so is resistant to penicillins
How do you treat Staph Aureus infection
- antibiotic response poor
- teat amputation
- fluids and NSAIDs
- strip out with oxytocin and dry off
- antibiotics - tylosin systemically
cloxacillin locally - if severe, cull
Describe Strep Agalactiae including treatment
- gram +ve cocci
- contagious pathogen
- non-haemolytic
- the udder and teat act as infection reservoirs
- often sub-clinical or mild symptoms, systemic illness rare
- not associated with persistent infection
- easily eliminated by beta lactam antibiotics
Describe coagulase negative staph species including treatment
- minor pathogen
- contagious
- causes mild disease and increased SCCs
- often clears spontaneously
- responds well to antbiotics
Describe Strep Dysgalactiae including treatment
- Gram +ve cocci
- contagious pathogen
- part of the summer mastitis complex
- responds well to penicillin
- can cause persistent infections
Describe Mycoplasma Bovis
- gram -ve
- less common
- contagious pathogen
- can also cause infertility, keratoconjunctivitis, pneumonia, metritis and arthritis
- causes a marked drop in milk yield and a swollen quarter but cows are rarely systemically ill
- aerosol spread, highly contagious
- poor response to antibiotics won’t respond to beta lactams due to lack of cell wall
- dump milk fed to calves can cause pneumonia
- difficult to culture - requires a special medium
- clinical infection results in ulceration and abscessation and destruction of the infected quarter
- subclinical infection results in increased SCCs and low milk yields
Describe Klebsiella
- gram -ve
- environmental pathogen
- commonly found in sawdust or dirty parlous water
- causes acute mastitis similar to that of E.coli
Describe Yeasts
- associated with wet mouldy bedding
- also from poor hygiene in the milking parlour
- environmental pathogen
Describe Pseudomonas
- gram -ve
- associated with sawdust bedding and poor hygiene
- often acute and difficult to treat
- environmental pathogen
Describe Bacillus Careus and Bacillus licheniformis
- gram +ve
- cause of acute mastitis
- environmental pathogens
Describe E.coli
- gram -ve rod
- environmental pathogen
- commonly seen with poor housing conditions and straw bedding
- clinical cases often seen in early lactation, often acquired in the dry period
- rapidly proliferates in the udder releasing LPS endotoxins which damage vascular and secretory tissue
- endotoxaemia at risk of developing
- can produce all grades of mastitis
- Grade 3 is most common and results in a very sick cow, often post calving
Describe the treatment for E.coli
- With grade 3, strip out udder using oxytocin
- give systemic and local anibiotics, fluid therapy and NSAIDs
- vaccine available to reduce severity of the mastitis (given in 3 doses - 45 and 10 days pre-calving and 7-8 weeks post calving
How is mastitis generally controlled?
- milk affected cows last to reduce spread
- maintain good hygiene
- fly spray before turning out
- trip out and teat seal before dry period
- good breeding
- sand bedding rather than straw - has less bacterial growth
- don’t feed dump milk to calves
Describe Strep Uberis
- gram +ve cocci
- non-haemolytic
- environmental pathogen
- main source is faeces
- survives well in bedding
- can be contagious - cow adapted strains in the tonsils, genital ang GI tracts
- can cause all grades of mastitis
- persistent subclinical infection common
- have the ability to hide in the mammary epithelium to avoid immune detection
- hyaluronic acid capsule prevents neutrophil and antibody attachment
- cull chronic cases
- infection common in early lactation
- requires long course of an antibiotic which acts intracellularly e.g. penicillin