Transcript Common diseases in Ruminants

Diseases
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SHEEP AND GOATS
What is wrong with this sheep?
Do you see anything abnormal
with this hoof?
This sheep is not standing on its front legs due
to pain.
This animal has foot rot (also known as
hoof rot)
The problem with this hoof
is that the upper portion of
the hoof in this picture,
appears to be abnormal.
Compare it with the lower
hoof. You should also notice
that just behind the hooves,
it appears to be swollen.
Just like the previous picture, this is a picture
of a severe case of foot rot. Disease is usually
characterized by swelling of the foot which in
turn causes the 2 digits to spread apart.
Picture of foot rot in a cow.
Note the digits which are
spreading apart due to
swelling of the area between
the digits.
FOOT ROT
• Caused by bacteria
• Affects cattle, goats and
•
•
•
Note the swelling in the
above picture of foot rot
in a calf.
•
sheep
First sign noticed is usually a
limp
Bacteria which cause foot rot
may live in the environment
(ground)
Caused either by punctures
or being in moist bedding
Prevention includes using a
foot bath which contains
copper sulfate or zinc
What do you think is abnormal with this sheep?
The sheep in the above picture is bloated.
Notice the abdomen which is distended.
Bovine which is bloated
Bloat in ruminants is the over distention of the rumen and reticulum with gases
that came from fermentation (breakdown of food).
Clinical Signs – Abdominal distention (rumen is on left side so will see more
prominent distention on the left side), reluctance to move, not eating, signs of
distress (vocalizing), rapid breathing, may stagger and recumbancy (laying
down)
The above picture is of a goat. You can see its’ ear on the right
side of the picture. What is abnormal with this goat?
This is an abcess (collection of pus). An abcess may occur due
to many different reasons. Some of those reasons include:
Site of injection, puncture from a sharp object, animal or insect
bites, goat bites his cheek (abcess forms within the mouth)
What is abnormal with the sheep in the above pictures?
Both of these sheep have uterine prolapse. This will happen right after
lambing and can be a life-threatening situation. The uterus has to be
manually put back into the ewe. Before doing so, it must be thoroughly
cleaned.
Picture of the 4 stomach compartments in the
bovine species. The rumen is the largest
compartment and the abomasum is considered the
“true” stomach. This is where most of the
digestion occurs.
The abomasum can potentially fill up with gas and
move from it’s normal location, which is called a
displaced abomasum (either right or left)
commonly called LDA or RDA
To find out if a cow has a displaced abomasum, we use a
stethoscope and place it on the cow. We then “flick” the
side of the cow around the stethoscope and listen for a
“ping”. The above picture shows you the areas that a
“ping” was heard in this cow which has LDA.
Surgical repair of a displaced
abomasum (DA)
What is wrong with this calf?
Upon closer examination (picture on the right) we can see
that this calf has scours.
Scours refers to diarrhea in a calf. It can be life threatening
as it weakens the calf and also causes dehydration.
• Ingestion of foreign object which can go
through reticulum into rumen.
• Cows with hardware disease exhibit
lethargy, have poor appetite, have
reduced milk production, also may have a
fever, excessive grinding of the teeth or
moaning in severe cases. In rare cases, an
object may pass through the reticular
lining and pierce the pericardium.
Wire in reticulum
Metal door spring
removed from a cow’s
reticulum (image
courtesy of Noah’s
Archive, University of
Georgia).
A nail has penetrated the
reticulum, causing traumatic
reticuloperitonitis (hardware
disease) and the death of this cow
(image courtesy of Noah’s Archive,
University of Georgia).
Cow magnets
Balling gun
Ileum in cow – normal on left
JOHNE’S DISEASE
• Johne's disease is a contagious, chronic and sometimes
fatal infection that affects primarily the small intestine.
Caused by a bacteria – can affect bovine, caprine, ovine
(most commonly)
• Symptoms – Diarrhea (projectile), weight loss, weakness.
Symptoms may not show up until years after initial
exposure.
• Spread through feces and saliva
• Treatment – symptomatic – however is fatal – no cure.
• Similar to Crone's disease in humans.
Calf – abnormalities???
Sheep – abnormalities?
WHITE MUSCLE DISEASE
• Nutritional disease – caused by deficiency
of selenium, Vitamin E or both.
• Will have “white” striations (lines) in
muscle tissue.
• Paralysis of limbs
MILK FEVER
• Usually within 48 hours of calving
• Low calcium level
• Cow is down – unable to get up.
• Treat with IV Calcium - slow IV – going too fast
can cause “stone heart”
Stripping the teat
MASTITIS
• Inflammation of the mammary gland
• Usually caused by bacteria
• Swollen teat, warm to touch, red in color,
painful, chunky milk (cottage cheese
appearance), poss. Bloody milk.
• Infusion of antibiotic into teat, “strip” the
teat.