scholarly journals Automated Feeding Behaviors Associated with Subclinical Respiratory Disease in Preweaned Dairy Calves

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 988
Author(s):  
Catie Cramer ◽  
Kathryn Proudfoot ◽  
Theresa Ollivett

Little is known about feeding behaviors in young dairy calves with subclinical respiratory disease (SBRD). The objective of this study was to determine if calves with their first case of SBRD exhibit different feeding behaviors during the 7 d around detection, compared to calves with their first case of clinical BRD (CBRD) or without BRD (NOBRD). Preweaned, group-housed dairy calves (n = 103; 21 ± 6 d of age) underwent twice weekly health exams (lung ultrasound and clinical respiratory score; CRS); health exams were used to classify the BRD status for each calf: SBRD (no clinical signs and lung consolidation ≥ 1cm2; n = 73), CBRD (clinical signs and lung consolidation ≥ 1cm2; n = 18), or NOBRD (never had lung consolidation ≥ 1cm2 or CRS+; n = 12). Feeding behavior data (drinking speed, number of visits, and intake volume) were collected automatically. Calves with SBRD and calves with NOBRD had similar drinking speeds (782 vs. 844 mL/min). Calves with CBRD drank slower than both calves with SBRD (688 vs. 782 mL/min) and NOBRD (688 vs. 844 mL/min). There was no effect of BRD status on any other behavior. Feeding behavior was not an effective means of identifying calves with SBRD.

2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Inmaculada Cuevas-Gómez ◽  
Mark McGee ◽  
José María Sánchez ◽  
Edward O’Riordan ◽  
Nicky Byrne ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is the main cause of mortality among 1-to-5 month old calves in Ireland, accounting for approximately one-third of deaths. Despite widespread use of clinical respiratory signs for diagnosing BRD, lung lesions are detected, using thoracic ultrasonography (TUS) or following post-mortem, in calves showing no clinical signs. This highlights the limitation of clinical respiratory signs as a method of detecting sub-clinical BRD. Using 53 purchased artificially-reared male dairy calves, the objectives of this study were to: (i) characterise the BRD incidence detected by clinical respiratory signs and/or TUS, (ii) investigate the association between clinical respiratory signs and lung lesions detected by TUS, and (iii) assess the effect of BRD on pre-weaning growth. Results Clinical BRD (based on Wisconsin clinical respiratory score and/or rectal temperature > 39.6 ºC) was detected in 43 % and sonographic changes (lung lesions) were detected in 64 % of calves from purchase (23 (SD; 6.2) days of age) until weaning, 53 days post-arrival. Calves with clinical BRD were treated. Sixty-one per cent calves affected with clinical BRD had lung lesions 10.5 days (median) before detection of clinical signs. Moderate correlations (rsp 0.70; P < 0.05) were found between cough and severe lung lesions on arrival day, and between rectal temperature > 39.6 ºC and lung lesions ≥ 2 cm2 on day 7 (rsp 0.40; P < 0.05) post-arrival. Mean average daily live weight gain (ADG) of calves from purchase to weaning was 0.75 (SD; 0.10) kg; calves with or without clinical BRD did not differ in ADG (P > 0.05), whereas ADG of those with severe lung lesions (lung lobe completely consolidated or pulmonary emphysema) was 0.12 kg/d less (P < 0.05) than calves without lung lesions. Conclusions Thoracic ultrasonography detected lung consolidation in calves that did not show signs of respiratory disease. The presence of severe lung lesions was associated with reduced pre-weaning growth. These findings emphasise the importance of using TUS in addition to clinical respiratory scoring of calves for an early and accurate detection of clinical and sub-clinical BRD.


2016 ◽  
Vol 90 (12) ◽  
pp. 5636-5642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas Ferguson ◽  
Alicia K. Olivier ◽  
Suzanne Genova ◽  
William B. Epperson ◽  
David R. Smith ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTCattle have been proposed as the natural reservoir of a novel member of the virus familyOrthomyxoviridae, which has been tentatively classified as influenza D virus (IDV). Although isolated from sick animals, it is unclear whether IDV causes any clinical disease in cattle. To address this aspect of Koch's postulates, three dairy calves (treatment animals) held in individual pens were inoculated intranasally with IDV strain D/bovine/Mississippi/C00046N/2014. At 1 day postinoculation, a seronegative calf (contact animal) was added to each of the treatment animal pens. The cattle in both treatment and contact groups seroconverted, and virus was detected in their respiratory tracts. Histologically, there was a significant increase in neutrophil tracking in tracheal epithelia of the treatment calves compared to control animals. While infected and contact animals demonstrated various symptoms of respiratory tract infection, they were mild, and the calves in the treatment group did not differ from the controls in terms of heart rate, respiratory rate, or rectal temperature. To mimic zoonotic transmission, two ferrets were exposed to a plastic toy fomite soaked with infected nasal discharge from the treatment calves. These ferrets did not shed the virus or seroconvert. In summary, this study demonstrates that IDV causes a mild respiratory disease upon experimental infection of cattle and can be transmitted effectively among cattle by in-pen contact, but not from cattle to ferrets through fomite exposure. These findings support the hypothesis that cattle are a natural reservoir for the virus.IMPORTANCEA novel influenza virus, tentatively classified as influenza D virus (IDV), was identified in swine, cattle, sheep, and goats. Among these hosts, cattle have been proposed as the natural reservoir. In this study, we show that cattle experimentally infected with IDV can shed virus and transmit it to other cattle through direct contact, but not to ferrets through fomite routes. IDV caused minor clinical signs in the infected cattle, fulfilling another of Koch's postulates for this novel agent, although other objective clinical endpoints were not different from those of control animals. Although the disease observed was mild, IDV induced neutrophil tracking and epithelial attenuation in cattle trachea, which could facilitate coinfection with other pathogens, and in doing so, predispose animals to bovine respiratory disease.


Animals ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 170
Author(s):  
Meridith H. Conboy ◽  
Charlotte B. Winder ◽  
Melissa C. Cantor ◽  
Joao H. C. Costa ◽  
Michael A. Steele ◽  
...  

The objective of this case-control study was to determine if feeding behavior data collected from an automated milk feeder (AMF) could be used to predict neonatal calf diarrhea (NCD) in the days surrounding diagnosis in pre-weaned group housed dairy calves. Data were collected from two research farms in Ontario between 2017 and 2020 where calves fed using an AMF were health scored daily and feeding behavior data (milk intake (mL/d), drinking speed (mL/min), number of rewarded or unrewarded visits) was collected. Calves with NCD were pair matched to healthy controls (31 pairs) by farm, gender, and age at case diagnosis to assess for differences in feeding behavior between case and control calves. Calves were first diagnosed with NCD on day 0, and a NCD case was defined as calves with a fecal score of ≥2 for 2 consecutive days, where control calves remained healthy. Repeated measure mixed linear regression models were used to determine if there were differences between case and control calves in their daily AMF feeding behavior data in the days surrounding diagnosis of NCD (−3 to +5 days). Calves with NCD consumed less milk on day 0, day 1, day 3, day 4 and day 5 following diagnosis compared to control calves. Calves with NCD also had fewer rewarded visits to the AMF on day −1, and day 0 compared to control calves. However, while there was a NCD status x day interaction for unrewarded visits, there was only a tendency for differences between NCD and control calves on day 0. In this study, feeding behaviors were not clinically useful to make diagnosis of NCD due to insufficient diagnostic ability. However, feeding behaviors are a useful screening tool for producers to identify calves requiring further attention.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhicheng Wang ◽  
Lisha Duan ◽  
Fei Liu ◽  
Yun Hu ◽  
Chaoliang Leng ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Enterobacter hormaechei is commonly considered a causative pathogen for nosocomial infections and it does not usually cause diseases in animals. However, researchers have recently dissociated the pathogenic Enterobacter hormaechei from foxes and piglets. Here, the Enterobacter hormaechei was first found to be associated with respiratory disease in unweaned calves in China. Case presentation A 2-month-old calf was severely sick and diagnosed with respiratory infection by a rural veterinarian, and it died 5 days after treatment with penicillin G. The lung sample was then run through histopathological analysis and pathogen isolation. The sequence analysis and biochemical tests results showed the isolated bacterium strain to be Enterobacter hormaechei, and drug sensitivity tests showed resistance to all β-lactam antimicrobials and sensitivity to quinolones. Thickened alveoli septum, inflammatory cell infiltration, and erythrocyte diapedesis around the pulmonary alveoli septum were visible in lung histopathological sections. One week later, at the same farm, another calf showed similar clinical signs, and the Enterobacter hormaechei strain was isolated from its nasal discharge; after a week of treatment with enrofloxacin, as suggested by the results of drug sensitivity tests, this calf fully recovered. Conclusions To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of calves with respiratory disease that was associated with E. hormaechei, and multi-drug resistance was observed in isolates.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-176
Author(s):  
T. L. Ollivett

AbstractIn cattle treated for respiratory disease, resolution of clinical signs has been the mainstay of determining treatment response and treatment efficacy. Through the use of calf lung ultrasound, we have found that pneumonia can persist or recur in the face of antibiotic therapy, despite improved clinical signs, leading to greater risk of clinical disease and more antibiotic use in the future. This review will discuss the pros and cons of using clinical signs to define resolution of disease and discuss how to implement lung ultrasound to improve our ability to accurately measure the impact of antibiotic therapy in cattle with respiratory disease.


2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 101
Author(s):  
L. GARCÍA-GUASCH ◽  
J. MANUBENS ◽  
M. LAPORTA ◽  
E. CARRETÓN ◽  
J. A. MONTOYA-ALONSO

Symptomatic cats infected by Aelurostrongylus abstrusus show non-specific and respiratory clinical signs, often misdiagnosed as other diseases more prevalent among feline population, such as allergic respiratory disease or heartworm associated respiratory disease (HARD). Clinical signs are due to the pulmonary inflammatory response caused by the eggs shed by the adult females and the migration of the first-stage larvae up the bronchial tree. Barometric whole-body plethysmography (BWBP) is a non-invasive pulmonary function test that allows a dynamic study of breathing patterns by placing the patient within an unrestrained Plexiglas chamber. This is the first report that determines the degree of bronchoconstriction caused by A. abstrusus infection in a cat by using BWBP, showing an increase of baseline measurements of bronchoconstriction indexes (Enhanced pause and Pause) in response to severe bronchial reactivity, a consequence of the airway inflammation caused by the presence of A. abstrusus.


2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Inmaculada Cuevas-Gómez ◽  
Mark McGee ◽  
Matthew McCabe ◽  
Paul Cormican ◽  
Edward O’Riordan ◽  
...  

Abstract This study investigated 1) the effect of clinical bovine respiratory disease (BRD) and associated lung consolidations on growth performance and hematological profiles of recently weaned beef calves and 2) the relationship between clinical respiratory signs and lung consolidation detected by thoracic ultrasonography (TUS). One hundred and fifty-three weaned beef calves (209 days old [SD: 35.8] and 306 kg [SD: 26.3], at arrival) purchased and transported from auction markets were accommodated indoors in concrete slatted floor pens. Calves were weighed weekly from arrival until day 28 and on day 65 post-arrival. Assessment of BRD and blood sample collection for hematological profiles were performed on scheduled days (at arrival, on days 7, 14, and 28) and on other days upon BRD diagnosis. Animals were assessed for BRD using a total clinical respiratory score (CRS) of five clinical signs (rectal temperature, ear position, cough, nasal secretion, and eye secretion with each ranging from normal [0] to abnormal [3]) and TUS scores (normal [0] to lung consolidation ≥ 1 cm2 [2]). Based on CRS, 35% of calves were CRS+ (CRS ≥ 5) and 65% were CRS− (CRS &lt; 5). Although no lung consolidations (TUS−) were detected at arrival, 34% of calves developed lung consolidation (≥1 cm2) (TUS+) during the first 28 d post-arrival. Only fever (&gt;39.6 °C) and nasal discharge were weakly associated (r = 0.19, P &lt;0.05) with lung consolidation. On the day of BRD detection, neutrophil number and neutrophil:lymphocyte ratio were 58% and 73% greater, respectively, in BRD calves with lung consolidation compared with healthy calves. From day 0 to 65, calf average daily gain (ADG) did not differ (P &gt;0.05) between CRS+ and CRS− calves but was 0.09 kg/d lower (P &lt; 0.05) for TUS+ compared with TUS− calves. Calves classified as BRD (CRS + TUS ≥ 5) with lung consolidation had lower (P &lt; 0.05) ADG from arrival until day 28 than healthy calves and BRD calves without lung consolidation (0.11 ± 0.10 vs. 0.53 ± 0.07 vs. 0.57 ± 0.10 kg/d, respectively); however, no differences in ADG were observed from day 0 to 65. Conventional methods to diagnose BRD failed to detect calves with lung lesions. TUS is a useful tool to detect lung lesions and its implementation in combination with CRS should provide a more accurate and early diagnosis of BRD, which is fundamental to successful treatment, animal welfare, and growth performance.


2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 374-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natália C. Gaeta ◽  
Bruno L.M. Ribeiro ◽  
Mario A.R. Alemán ◽  
Eidi Yoshihara ◽  
Alessandra F.C. Nassar ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT: Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is considered the major cause of economic losses in dairy and beef cattle production. The study aimed to detect the most important bacteria related to respiratory disease in tracheobronchial fluid samples of healthy and dairy calves with clinical signs of BRD in Brazilian rural settlements. Hundred and forty-one mongrel dairy calves were randomly selected from 42 family farm dairy herds from Brazilian settlements. Physical examination was performed and calves were classified as healthy (n=100) and BRD (n=41). Tracheobronchial fluid samples were collected. Isolation and molecular detection of Mycoplasma dispar, M. bovis and M. mycoides subsp. mycoides SC besides isolation of other aerobic bacteria were performed. Abnormal lung sounds (crackle/snoring/whistle), mucopurulent/purulent nasal discharge, body temperature >39.5°C and respiratory rate >40 breaths/min were higher in BRD calves compared to healthy calves (P<0.05). Bacillus sp., Staphylococcus intermedius and non-fermentative Gram-negative were the most prevalent bacteria isolated. Non-identified species from Enterobacteriaceae family was higher in BRD calves compared to healthy calves (P<0.05). Mollicutes were isolated in 7.4% of samples and only M. dispar was detected. Mollicutes was associated with purulent/mucopurulent nasal discharge (P=0.017). Pantoea agglomerans was associated to tachypnea (P=0.020), and Streptococcus spp. was associated with hyperthermia. Statistical tendencies were observed to M. dispar and tachypnea (P=0.066), and P. agglomerans and tachycardia (P=0.066). The obtained results describe the microorganisms found in tracheobronchial fluid of calves with BRD in some herds of Brazilian family farming and their relation to clinical signs of BRD.


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