Transcript Biology, Management, and Diseases of Goats

Biology, Management, Diseases,
and Uses of Sheep, Goats, and
Cattle
CPT Chad D. Foster
Chief, NHP Clinical Medicine
USAMRIID
26 Oct 05
Previously Presented By:
• CPT Curtis Klages – Goats
• CPT Christopher Keller – Sheep
• LTC Kelcin Buchanan – Sheep & Goats
Purpose
Outline
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Taxonomy
Uses in research
Sources/Evaluation
Management and Husbandry
Unique Biology
Goat Normal Values
Basic Nutrition
Reproduction
Behavior
Diseases
Taxonomy
Sheep
• Order: Artiodactyla (even toed
ungulates)
• Sub-order: Ruminantia (cud
chewing animals)
• Family: Bovidae
• Sub-family: Caprinae
• Genus and sub-genus: Ovis
• Domestic sheep = Ovis aries
• Subgenus Pachyceros includes
the wild North American breeds
Breeds
Sheep
• Meat
– Dorset, Columbia, Suffolk,
Hampshire, Southdown, Border
Cheviot
• Wool
– Merino, Rambouillet, Lincoln,
Romney
• Hair
– Barbados
• Dual-Purpose:
– Targhee, Polypay
Terminology
Sheep
• Female: ewe
• Intact Male: ram
• Young Animal: lamb
– Ewe lamb
– Ramb lamb
• Castrated Male: wether
• Birthing Process: lambing
Taxonomy
Goats
• Order: Artiodactyla (even toed
ungulates)
• Sub-order: Ruminantia (cud chewing
animals)
• Family: Bovidae
• Sub-family: Caprinae
• Genus and sub-genus: Capra
• Capra hircus is domestic goat
originated from western Asian goats
• Others include:
– Capra pyrenaica (Spanish goat)
– Capra ibex (Goats of the Red Sea and
Caucasus area)
– Capra falconiere (wild goat of
Afghanistan)
Breeds
Goats
• Dairy
– Nubian, Alpine, Toggenbutg, La
Mancha, Saanen, Oberhaslie
• Fiber
– Angora, Cashmere
• Meat
– Boer, Sapel, Ma Tou, Kambling,
Pygmy
• Leather
– Mubend (Uganda), Red Sokoto
(West Africa)
Terminology
Goats
Female: doe or nanny
Intact male: buck or billy
Young goat: kid or goatling
Young male: buckling
Young female: doeling
Castrated Male: wether or steer
Birthing Process: kidding
Taxonomy
Cattle
• Order: Artiodactyla (even
toed ungulates)
• Sub-order: Ruminantia (cud
chewing animals)
• Family: Bovidae
• Subfamily: Bovinae
• Genus & Species
– Bos taurus (domestic cattle)
– Bos indicus (Zebu cattle)
Breeds
Cattle
• Dairy
– Holstein-Fresian (most common
cow used as animal model),
Jersey, Brown Swiss, Milking
Shorthorn, Ayrshire, Guernsey
• Beef
– Angus, Hereford, Simmental
Terminology
Cattle
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Female: cow
Intact Male: bull
Young Animal: calf
Female prior to first calf:
heifer
• Castrated Male: steer
• Birthing Process: calving
Uses in Research
• Ruminants
– Cardiac Research
• Transplantation, cardiac assist & prosthetics
– Reproductive Research
• Embryo transfer, AI, reproductive cycle
control
– Genetics
• Gene transfer, cloning, nuclear transfer,
genetic engineering
– Antibody Production
– Surgically Induced: Osteopenia,
Fracture repair, ACL reconstruction
(Sheep & Goats)
Uses in Research
• Sheep Disease
Models
– General
• Fetal &
Reproductive
Research
• Circadian
Rhythms related
to day-length
• Interaction
between olfactory
cues and
behavior
Uses in Research
• Sheep Disease Models
– Squamous Cell Carcinoma (No.
252)
• Animal: Ovine SCC
• Human: SCC
– Congenital Goiter (No. 350)
• Animal: Congenital Goiter in Merino
Sheep
• Human: Congenital Goiter
– Intestinal Adenocarcinoma
• Animal: Adenocarcinoma of the SI of
Sheep
• Human: Adenocarcinoma of the Human
Colon
Uses in Research
• Sheep Disease Models
– Congenital Hyperbilirubinemia (No. 2)
• Animal: Dubin-Johnson Syndrome in Corriedale
• Dubin-Johnson Syndrome
• Hepatic organic anion excretory defect
– Congenital Hyperbilirubinemia (No. 8)
• Animal: Gilbert’s Syndrome in Southdown Sheep
• Human: Gilbert’s Syndrome
• Hepatic organic anion uptake defect
Uses in Research
• Sheep Disease Models
– Muscular Dystrophy (No. 51)
• Animal: Congenital Progressive Ovine Muscular
Dystrophy
• Human: Muscular Dystrophy
– Immune-Mediated Arthritis (No. 418)
• Animal: Lentivirus-induced arthritis of sheep &
goats (OvLV & CAEV respectively)
• Human: Rheumatoid Arthritis
Uses in Research
• Sheep Disease Models
– GM1 Gangliosidosis (No. 395)
• Animal: Ovine GM1 Gangliosidosis in Suffolk
• Human: GM1 Gangliosidosis
– Wilson’s Disease (No. 307)
• Animal: Chronic (cumulative) Cu Poisoning
• Human: Wilson’s Disease
• Induced model
Uses in Research
• Sheep Disease Models
– Transmissible Spongiform Encephaolopathy
• Animal: Scrapie
• Human: Kuru, Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease (CJD)
– Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency in
Dorsett Sheep
– Pulmonary Adenomatosis (jaagsiekte)
– Other Induced Models
• Arteriosclerosis
• Hemorrhagic shock
• Metabolic toxicosis
Uses in Research
• Goats (General)
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Immunology
Mastitis
Nutrition
Parasitology
Vascular
Uses in Research
• Goat Models
– Beta-Mannosidosis (No. 369)
• Animal: Beta-Mannosidosis in Nubian
goats
– this inbred line of Nubians also serve
as models for therapeutic cell
transplantation strategies
• Human: Beta-Mannosidase
Deficiency
– Congenital Myotonia
• Animal: Caprine Myotonia Congenita
(“fainting goats”)
• Myotonia Congenita (Thompsen’s
Disease)
Uses in Research
• Goat Models
– Other disease models
• Osteoporosis
• Caprine Mucoploysaccharidosis IIID (Sanfillipo Syndrome
Type D)
• Melanoma
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease
• Afibrinogenemia
• Hereditary Congenital Goiter
• Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease (sx induced)
– Hyperimmune Serum Production
Uses in Research
• Cattle (General)
– Permanent fistula
• ruminal fluid for research,
teaching, treatment
– Infectious Diseases
– Metabolic Diseases
Uses in Research
• Cattle Disease Models
– Tritrichomonas (Trichomonas) fetus
• Animal: Bovine Trichomoniasis
• Human: Trichomonis vaginalis infection
– Inherited Cardiomyopathies in HolsteinFresian, Simmental-Red Holstein, Black
Spotted Fresian, & Polled Hereford with wooly
coat.
– Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency Syndrome
Uses in Research
• Cattle Disease Models
– Lipofuscinosis in Ayrshires & Fresians
– Glycogenesis in Shorthorns & Brahmans
– Hereditary orotic aciduria in Holstein-Fresian
& Fresian cattle
– Hereditary Zinc Deficiency in Holstein-Fresian
& Fresian cattle
Sources
• Commercial vendors
• USDA licensed dealers
Health Screening
Sheep
• Diseases
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Coxiella burnettii (Q fever)
Contagious Ecthyma
Caseous lymphadenitis
Johne’s Disease
Ovine Progressive
Pneumonia
– Internal Parasites (nasal
bots, lungworms, intestinal
worms)
– External Parasitism (sheep
keds)
• Vaccinations
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Bluetongue
Brucella ovis
Campylobacter spp.
Chlamydia
Clostridial Diseases
Pneumonia complex
Ovine ecthyma
Dichelobacter nodosus
Arcanobacterium
pseudotuberculosis
– Bacillus anthracis
– Fusobacterium
necrophorum
Health Screening
Goats
• Diseases
– Coxiella burnettii (Q
fever)
– CAE (caprine arthritis
encephalitis)
– Brucellosis
– Tuberculosis
– Johne’s Disease
– Caseus lymphadenitis
– Contagious ecthyma
– Mycoplasma
• Vaccinations
– Tetanus & other Clostridial
diseases
– Campylobacter spp.
– Chlamydia
– Caseous lymphadenitis
– Contagious ecthyma
– E. coli
– Fusobacterium
necrophorum
Health Screening
Cattle
• Screening
– Johne’s Disease
– Brucellosis
– Tuberculosis
– Respiratory Diseases
– Internal and External Parasites
– Foot Rot
– Hairy Heel Warts
Health Screening
Cattle
• Essential Vaccinations
– Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus
– Infectious Bovine
Rhinotracheitis Virus
– Bovine Respiratory Syncytial
virus
– Parainfluenza-3
– Leptospira pomona
– Tritrichomonas fetus
– Rotavirus
– Coronavirus
– Campylobacter (vibrio)
– Pasteurella haemolytica
– Pasteurella multocida
– Brucella abortus
• Other Available Vaccines
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Clostridial diseases
Moraxella bovis
Fusobacterium necrophorum
Staph aureus (mastitis)
Haemophilus somnus
Rabies
Tetanus
Bacillus anthracis
Enterotoxigenic E. coli
Anaplasma
Other Leptospira spp.
Laboratory Management and
Husbandry
Laboratory Management and
Husbandry
• Stress reduction in transportation, handling,
and husbandry practices
• Floor – prevent slippage & support wt.
• Feeders conformed to species
• Continuous-access waterers
• Social and herding animals need to be in
eyesight and hearing of other animals
• Single housed animals should have regular
human contact
• Environmental enrichment governed by SOP,
protocol, and IACUC
• Light cycle – close to natural conditions
• Light intensity – around 220 lux
Unique Biology
Ruminants
• Three compartment
forestomach
– Rumen, reticulum,
omasum
• Rumen
– Anaerobic fermentation
chamber
• bacteria & protozoa
• Cellulase & other enzymes
– Produce volatile fatty acids
(VFA) – main source of
energy
• Acetic, propionic, butyric
Unique Biology
Ruminants
• VFA absorbed in large intestine
– Unlike monogastrics
• Microorganisms also synthesizes vitamins B,
K and provide protein
• Gases produced and eructated
– CO2, Methane, Nitrogen
• Spiral Colon
• No upper incisors
Unique Biology
Ruminants
• Immunoglobulins
absorbed by pinocytosis
in neonates and crucial
to passive transfer
• Functional for the first
36 hours after parturition
• Neonatal ruminants are
immunocompetent
Unique Biology
Ruminants
• Ruminants have fewer neutrophils then
lymphocytes
• BUN cannot be used as indicator of renal
function due to metabolism of urea by rumen
microorganisms
• Can go several days w/o water before
dehydration occurs b/c _____________
• Urine Ph is generally alkaline in adults
Unique Biology
Ruminants
• Erythrocytes are smaller than other
mammals
• Hematocrits tend to be over estimated
unless spun longer
• Increased RBC fragility
• Limited rouleaux formation - none in cattle;
limited in sheep and goats
• Sheep reported to have at least 6 different
types of hemoglobin (in addition to fetal
hemoglobin)
Unique Biology
Ruminants
• Caprine erythrocytes
– More frail in Pygmy and Toggenburg
– Lack central pallor
– Flat and lack bioconcavity
– May exhibit poikilocytosis
– 5 Blood groups (B, C, M, R-O, and X)
– Cross matching advisable but not practical
• Blood loss of up to 25% red cell mass well
tolerated by goats (withdrawals of 10ml/kg
BW safe)
Basic Nutrition
Ruminant
– Commercial feeds, pasture, hay, concentrates
– Sheep & Cattle: Grazers
– Goats: Browsers
• Can be very selective, eating only leafy parts;
waste hay
• Tend to eat grasses, seeds, nuts, fruits, and woody
stemmed plants
• Do not tolerate finely ground concentrates
• Do not prefer “sweet” feeds (except our “fat” goats)
– Make nutrition changes slowly
Basic Nutrition
Ruminants
– Ration high in Ca or Phos or elevated Mg may
induce urinary calculi in male ruminants
– May also occur in grasses or pastures high in
silicates and oxalates
– Newborns
• Passive immunity form colostrum (mostly IgG)
usually w/in 3 hrs of birth
• Trypsin inhibitors allow passage of intact
immunoglobulin
• Colostrum dependent on herd management
practices (vaccinations, nutrition, parasite control)
Reproduction
Sheep
• Seasonally polyestrous
– Breed fall/winter; lamb in spring
• Puberty: 7-8 months
• Estrus cycle: 17 days
• Estrus duration: 24-30 hours
– Ovulate spontaneously @ end
• Gestation 147-150 days
• Prolificacy varies greatly with
breed
• Epitheliochorial placentation
Reproduction
Goats
• Seasonally polyestrous
– Short day breeders
• Puberty: 7-10 months
• Estrus cycle: 18-24 days
• Estrus duration: 24-96 hours
– Ovulate late in estrus
• Gestation: 145-155 days
• Does bear singletons, twins, &
triplets & kid only once per year
• Epitheliochorial placentation
• Pseudopregnancy common
Reproduction
Cattle
• Polyestrous
• Puberty
– 10-12 months (dairy)
– 11-15 months (beef)
• Estrus cycle: 21 days
• Estrus duration: 6-24 hours
(avg 12-16)
– Ovulation: 24-32 hrs after estrus
• Gestation 270-292 days
• Epitheliochorial placentation
Reproduction
Ruminants
• Weaning
– Sheep: 4-8 weeks
(usually 6-8 wks)
– Goats: 6-10 weeks
– Cattle
• 4-7 wks (dairy)
• 7 months (beef) – beef
cows tend to stay with
their mother cows until
weaning
Behavior
Signs of stress
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Excessive vocalizations
Bruxism
Decreased appetite
Decreased cud chewing
Restlessness
Prolonged recumbency with out
stretched neck and head
– Hunched appearance when
standing
– Limb favoring
– Rough dull hair coats
Behavior
– Sheep
• Easily scared – move slowly and
gently
– Goats
• Orally investigative
• May readily chew through wooden
gates or fencing
• May make sneezing noises to
confront unfamiliar intruders
– Cattle
• Dairy=docile; Beef=not
• Calves: non-nutritive suckling
Diseases
Bacterial
• Actinobacillosis (“Wooden Tongue”)
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Agent: Actinobacillus lignieresii
Animals: Cattle & Sheep
Organism penetrates wounds
Diffuse abscesses/granulomas in
tissues of head
• Tongue lesions more common in cattle
• Lip lesions more common in sheep
• Soft-tissue/LN swelling with draining
tracts
– Treatment
• Softer feeds
• Antibiotics: sulfonamides, tetracyclines,
ampicillin
Diseases
Bacterial
• Arcanobacterium
– Arcanobacterium bovis – Lumpy Jaw
• Normal flora; enters through wounds/abrasions
• Causes firm, non-painful, immovable mandibular mass;
fistulas may develop
• Tx: pennicillin (or derivatives); sodium iodides (IV);
potassium iodides (orally)
• Poor prognosis
– Arcanobacterium pyogenes (actinomycosis)
• Omphalophlebitis, omphaloarteritis, omphalitis, navel ill
Diseases
Bacterial
• Anthrax
– Agent: Bacillus anthracis
– Animals: sheep, cattle, goats
– Transmission: abrupt climate changes lead to
spore release; spores ingested by grazing
animals (sheep & cattle more than goats)
– Clinical signs: swelling around shoulders, ventral
neck, and thorax; bloody secretions; death
– Prevention: vaccination with Sterne-strain spore
vaccine
– Zoonotic
Diseases
Bacterial
• Brucellosis (Bang’s Disease)
– Agents:
• Brucella melitensis – 1o in sheep & goats
• Brucella abortus – 1o in cattle
• Brucella ovis
– Transmission: ingestion of infected tissues (milk,
vaginal/uterine discharges)
– Signs: abortions, hygromas, swollen scrotum
– Treatment: cull and slaughter
– Vaccination:
• Rev 1 (sheep) – not available in the U.S.
• Strain 19 (cattle) – public health risk (undulant fever)
• RB51 – official calfhood vaccine
– Zoonotic (B. melitensis is leading cause of human
brucellosis)
Diseases
Bacterial
• Campylobacteriosis (Vibriosis)
– Agent: Campylobacter fetus
• Subsp. intestinalis – most important cause of ovine abortion
in the U.S.
– Transmission: GI tract  Blood Stream; NOT venereal
– Causes abortions (last trimester), stillbirths, weak lambs
• Subsp. venerealis – cattle only
– Transmission: venereal
– Signs: high % return to estrus after breeding; abortions
– Prevention: bacterin
– Treatment:
• Sheep: penicillin, oral chlortetracycline
• Cattle: intrauterine penicillin
– Zoonotic
Diseases
Bacterial
• Clostridial Infections
– C. perfringens type C (Enterotoxemia, Struck)
• Common in sheep, goats, and cattle
• Causes fatal hemorrhagic enterocolitis, enterotoxemia
– C. perfringens type D (Pulpy Kidney Disease)
– Disease of sheep
– sudden death
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C. chauvoei - Blackleg
C. septicum - Malignant Edema
C. novyi - Big Head, Black Disease
C. hemolyticum – bacillary hemoglobinuria, “redwater”
C. tetani - Tetanus
Diseases
Bacterial
• Clostridial Infections
– Source: ubiquitous in environment; GI tract;
contaminated feeds
– Transmission: ingestion; contamination of wounds
– Prevention: vaccinate (multivalent vaccine available)
– Treatment:
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usually futile
antibiotics
supportive
antitoxin for tetanus
Diseases
• Caseous
Lymphadenitis
– Common, chronic
contagious infection of
lymph nodes of sheep
and goats
– Cause: Corynebacterium
pseudotuberculosis
– Prevention: reject animals
with lymphadenopathy or
wounds
– Treatment: antibiotics,
lance and drain
abscesses, cull animals
Diseases
Bacterial
• Corynebacterium renale group
– C. renale
• Normal inhabitant of bovine genitourinary tract
• acute pyelonephritis in cattle results from ascending infection
following a compromise of protective mechanisms
• Tx: penicillin (3 weeks)
– C. pilosum & C. cystitidis
• Normal inhabitants of prepuce of sheep and goats
• Posthitis (pizzle rot) and vulvovaginitis
– high-protein diets increase urinary pH; ammonia irritates
prepucial and vulvar skin, increasing vulnerability
• Tx: decrease dietary protein
Diseases
Bacterial
• Foot Rot of Sheep and Goats
– Cause: Fusobacterium necrophorum
(normal inhabitant) and Dichelobacter
nodosus (environmental contaminant)
– Most common cause of lameness in
sheep
– Prevention
• maintain dry, clean environment
• reject clinical cases at delivery
• vaccinate
– Treatment
• foot baths - 10% formalin or 10% zinc sulfate or
10% copper sulfate
• penicillin and streptomycin
• trim affected tissue
Diseases
Bacterial
• Foot Rot of Cattle
– Cause: Fusobacterium necrophorum and
Bacteroides melaninogenicus
– Signs: Acute lameness, malodor w/ little discharge
– Prevention
• maintain dry, clean environment
• Vaccinate
– Treatment
• foot baths – 2.5% formalin or 10% zinc sulfate or 5% copper
sulfate
• penicillin and oxytetracycline
• trim affected tissue
Diseases
Bacterial
• Heel Warts (Bovine Digital Dermatitis,
Interdigital Papillomatosis, Papillomatous
Digital Dermatitis, Hairy Foot Warts)
– Cattle only
– Cause?: Fusobacterium spp., Bacteroides
spp., Dichelobacter nodosus, + poor facility
management
– Lesions of haired digital skin: erect hairs;
loss of hair; thickened skin, painful moist
plaques (red, gray, or black)
– Treatment: antibiotics, footbaths, surgical
debridement
– Prevention: as noted for foot rot
Diseases
• Thromboembolic Meningoencephalitis (TEME)
– Agent: Haemophilus somnus (also involved in BRD
complex)
– Signs: depression, ataxia, falling, conscious
proprioceptive deficits, death within 36 hours
– Transmission: respiratory secretions
– Vaccination for viral respiratory pathogens may
predispose
– Prevention: avoid vaccinating for for IBR and BVD
during times of stress
– Treatment: penicillin, oxytetracycline
Diseases
• Mastitis
– Sheep:
• Pasteurella hemolytica most
common
– Goats:
• Staphylococcus epidermidis
most common
– Cattle:
• Staphylococcus aureus,
Streptococcus spp., E. coli,
Enterobacter aerogenes,
Serratia marcescens, Klebsiella
pneumoniae, Mycoplasma spp.,
Salmonella spp.
• Mastitis is disease of greatest
economic impact for dairy cattle
Diseases
Bacterial
• Infectious Bovine Keratoconjunctivitis (Pinkeye)
– Agent: Moraxella bovis
– Cattle only
– Signs: lacrimation, photophobia, blepharospasm,
conjunctival injection, ulceration
– More severe in animals infected with IBR or who have
recently been vaccinated for IBR (modified-live vacc)
– Transmission:
• shed in nasal secretions
• Fomites, flies, aerosols, direct contact
– Treatment
• Topical antibiotics
• Subconjunctival injections of Pennicillin
Diseases
Bacterial
• Tuberculosis
– Cause: Acid-Fast Bacteria
• Mycobacterium bovis (sheep, goats, cattle)
• Mycobacterium avium (sheep, goats)
• Mycobacterium tuberculosis (goats)
– Signs:
• may be asymptomatic
• dyspnea, coughing, and pneumonia
• diarrhea, bloat, constipation
– Prevention: intradermal tuberculin test, cull and slaughter
– Treatment: None
– Zoonotic
Diseases
Bacterial
• Johne’s Disease (Paratuberculosis)
– Chronic, contagious, granulomatous disease
of adult ruminants
– Cause: Mycobacterium paratuberculosis
(acid-fast)
– Long incubation period
– Signs: chronic wasting, pasty feces,
diarrhea
– Transmission: direct or indirect contact
– Prevention: Test and slaughter
– Treatment: None
Diseases
Bacterial
• Respiratory Disease Complex of Ruminants
– BRDC in cattle, BRD in calves, “shipping fever”
– Most economically important disease of beef cattle
• Combinations of numerous agents
– Bacterial: Pasteurella haemolytica, P. multicida,
Hemophilus somnus, Corynebacterium pyogenes
– Viral: Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR).
Parainfluenza-3 (PI-3), Bovine Respiratory Syncytial
virus (BRSV), Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD)
– Mycoplasma bovis, M. dispar
Diseases
Bacterial
• Respiratory Disease Complex of Ruminants
– Onset of disease related to stress:
• Shipping, weaning, weather changes, dietary changes,
overcrowding, shearing
– Signs: nasal discharge, fever, coughing, dyspnea,
diarrhea, depression, death
– Treatment:
• Antibiotics: ceftiofur, tilmicosin, florfenicol, oxytetracycline,
tilosin
• Anti-inflammatory: Banamine
• Supportive Care
– Prevention: reduce stress, precondition, vaccinate
Diseases
Bacterial
• Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia
– Cause: Mycoplasma mycoides biotype F38
– Signs: severe dyspnea, nasal discharge,
cough, and fever
– High morbidity and mortality
– Transmission: aerosol
– Prevention: vaccinate; quarantine
– Treatment: Tylosin and Oxytetracycline
Diseases
Bacterial
• Q-Fever
– Highly contagious disease of sheep and goats
– Agent: Coxiella burnetti - rickettsial organism
– Transmission
• Ixodid or Argasid ticks
• Ingestion of infected materials (placenta, milk, urine
, feces, nasal secretions)
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Major cause of late abortion in sheep
Usually asymptomatic in cattle and goats
Treatment: oxytetracycline
Zoonotic (single organism shown to cause
disease)
Diseases
Viral
• Bluetongue Virus
– Most common ulcerative disease of sheep in US (less
common in goats and cattle)
– Cause:
• Reoviridae family, Orbivirus genus
• Transmission: biting midge (Culicoides variipennis)
– Signs:
• hemorrhage and ulcers in mouth and nose, cyanosis of the
tongue, ulcerations of coronary band, lameness, pneumonia,
abortions, diarrhea, death
– Prevention: modified live virus vaccine
– Treatment: supportive care
– Reportable disease (resembles FMD)
Diseases
Viral
• Bovine Lymphosarcoma
– Adult cattle:
• associated with Bovine Leukemia Virus (BLV)
• Transmission: inhalation, colostrum, fomites
• 2 forms
– Malignant Lymphoma: most common bovine neoplastic disease
in the U.S.
– Leukosis (B-lymphocyte proliferation): rare
– Young cattle:
• not associated with BLV
• Rare
– Sheep: natural infection has occurred; experimental
model
– Goats: seroconvert to BLV, but do not develop clinical
disease
Diseases
Viral
• Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus (Flavivirus)
– BVD virus is ubiquitous (70-90% of all cattle seropositive)
– Acute Form (NCP)
• Affects immunocompetent, but immunologically naïve cattle
• Signs: diarrhea, fever, leukopenia, oral erosions, oculonasal
discharge, hypogalactia
– In utero infection (NCP)
• abortions, congenital anomalies, persistently infected calves
– Mucosal Disease
• PI animal that becomes infected with a CP strain (mutant)
• Usually results in death
• 10% will survive to first calving Real Problem
– Prevention: Vaccination
Diseases
Viral
• Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis Virus
– Most important viral disease of goats
– Cause: Lentivirus (similar to OPPV)
– Transmission
• vertical via colostrum and milk
– Signs
• progressive arthritis (six months and older)
– Carpal joint most common, followed by stifle, hock, and hip
• neurological symptoms in kids
• pneumonia (older animals)
• mastitis (older animals)
– Prevention:
• remove kids at birth; test and cull
– Treatment: None – Infection is lifelong
Diseases
Viral
• Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis
– Agent: IBR virus, Bovine Herpesvirus 1
• BHV-1.1 (IBR)
• BHV-1.2 (IBR-Infectious Pustular Vulvovaginitis)
• BHV-1.4 (neurologic disease)
– Fibronecrotic rhinotracheitis is pathognomonic
– Signs: gray pustules/plaques on muzzle, nasal
discharge, open-mouth breathing,
– IBR and BVD are the most common causes of bovine
abortion
– Treatment: antibiotics
– Prevention: vaccinate
Diseases
Viral
• Border Disease (Hairy Shaker
Disease)
– Primarily a disease of sheep;
– Cause: Pestivirus; closely related to BVD virus
– Transmission: PI animals shed virus in urine,
feces, and saliva
– In Utero infections result in:
• early embryonic death
• abortion
• developmental abnormalities - tremor,
hirsutism, hypothyroidism, CNS defects, joint
abnormalities
– Prevention: Vaccinate with killed BVDV vaccine
– Treatment: supportive care
Diseases
Viral
• Contagious Ecthyma (Orf)
–
–
–
–
Viral infection of sheep and goats
Cause: parapoxvirus - capable of surviving for years
Usually seen in young animals
Signs:
• lesions and scab formation around mouth, nostrils, eyes, nonwooled areas around mammary gland and vulva
– Most commonly at commissures of mouth
• Infected lactating ewes may abandon lambs
– Treatment: supportive
– Prevention:
• Vaccinate
• Disinfect equipment etc. in between use
– Zoonotic
Diseases
Viral
• Malignant Catarrhal Fever (MCF)
– Severe disease primarily of cattle, but all ruminants
susceptible
– Signs
• Corneal edema starting at limbus and progressing
centripetally is nearly pathognomonic
• Other signs include: oral erosions, purulent nasal discharge,
encephalitis, lymphadenopathy, shed horns and hooves,
diarrhea, sudden death
– Transmission
• Goats and cattle that survive are reservoirs
• Shed from nasopharynx
• Direct contact, water troughs, placenta, aerosols, fomites
– Infection is lifelong
Diseases
Viral
• Ovine Progressive Pneumonia Virus (OPPV,
Maedi/Visna)
– Cause: Lentivirus (closely related to CAEV)
– Signs
• after long incubation period (up to 2 years)
• progressive weight loss, pneumonia, lameness, paralysis, mastitis,
death
– Transmission
• horizontal (aerosol)
• vertical - in utero and via infected milk and colostrum
– Prevention:
• Test and cull
• Remove lambs from ewes at birth
– Treatment: none
Diseases
Viral
• Pulmonary Adenomatosis
(Jaagsiekte)
– Rare Disease
• progressive respiratory signs
(dyspnea, hyperpnea) and wasting
• Incubation up to 2 years
– Cause: Type D retrovirus
– Transmission: aerosol
– Treatment: None
Diseases
Viral
• Papillomatosis (Warts, Verrucae)
– Agent: Bovine Papillomavirus (types 1-5)
• BPV-1 and BPV-2: fibropapilomas on teats, penis, head,
neck, dewlap
• BPV-3: flat warts anywhere on body
• BPV-4: warts in GI tract
• BPV-5: small white warts on teats
– Very common in cattle, less common in sheep and
goats
– Sheep and goats rarely get verrucious type warts
which may develop into squamous cell carcinomas
– Transmission: direct/indirect contact through wounds
– Treatment: often spontaneously resolve (not BPV-3
and BPV-5); surgical excision; cryosurgery
– Prevention: commercial vaccine (cattle); autogenous
Diseases
Viral
• Pseudorabies (Mad Itch, Aujeszky’s Dz)
– Primarily a clinical disease of cattle (less frequently in
sheep and goats)
– Signs: abrasions, swelling, pruritis, hyperthermia,
vocalize frantically, salivation, neurologic signs
– Usually fatal
– Transmission
• Swine are primary host and reservoir and are usually
assymptomatic
• Oral, intranasal, intradermal, or SQ introduction of virus
(including modified-live swine vaccine)
– No treatment
– Reportable: nationwide eradication program
Diseases
• Tranmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies
– Caused by prion (nonantigenic replicating proteins)
– Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
• Incubation period of years
• Progressive neurological illness
– Scrapie
• More common in sheep than goats
• Affects young animals, but incubation 2-5 years
• Signs: excitable, tremors of head and neck muscles,
uncoordinated movements, “bunny hopping”, severe pruritis,
blindness, death within 4-6 weeks
• Suffolk especially susceptible; Targhee resistant
– USDA prohibits feeding mammalian proteins to
ruminants
– Reportable
Diseases
Viral
• Vesicular Stomatits
– Agent: Vesicular Stomatitis Virus
(Rhabdoviridae)
– Disease of Cattle; rarely sheep (also
horses & swine)
– Signs: vesicles on oral MM, teats and
interdigital spaces, ulcers and
erosions; anorexia, salivation
– Transmission: secretions spread by
fomites, human hands, possibly
contaminated feed and water, and
possible some flying insects
(mechanical vectors)
– Treatment: segregate; topical
antibiotics for 2o infections
– Prevention: vaccine during outbreak
– Reportable because similarity to FMD
– Zoonotic – flu-like disease in humans
Diseases
Viral
• Viral Diarrhea Diseases
– 1o young animals
– Sheep
• Rotaviruses, Coronaviruses
– Goats
• Rotaviruses, Coronaviruses, Adenoviruses
– Cattle
• Rotaviruses – diarrhea is typically distinctive yellow; may
become zoonotoic
• Coronaviruses
• Parvoviruses
• Winter Dysentary – diarrhea has distinctive musty sweet
odor, light brown and bubbly
– Prevention: good quality colostrum
Diseases
Chlamydial
• Enzootic Abortion
– Cause: Chlamydphila psittaci (formerly Chlamydia psittaci)
– Signs:
• late abortion
• birth of stillborns
• birth of weak kids/lambs
– Transmission
• direct contact with infectious secretions (placental, fetal, and uterine
fluids)
• Indirect contact with contaminated feed and water
– Prevention
• Vaccinate – prevents abortions, but not infection
• Quarantine - recovered does/ewes usually immune thereafter
– Treatment - Oxytetracycline
Diseases
• Conjunctivitis-Polyarthritis Syndrome
– Cause: Chlamydphila psittaci
(Formerly Chlamydia psittaci)
– Signs:
• ocular lesions
– Most common cause of infectious keratoconjunctivitis in
sheep
– Conjunctival hyperemia, edema, ulceration, opacity
• arthritis
– Lameness in one or all legs
– Prevention: Quarantine
– Treatment:
• Self-limiting: resolves spontaneously in 2-4 weeks
• Ocular - tetracycline ophthalmic medication
• Systemic Disease - Oxytetracycline
Diseases
Parasitic
• Anaplasmosis
– Agent: Anaplasma marginale (protozoa)
– Hemolytic disease of cattle
– Spread by Dermacentor andersoni and D.
occidentalis
– Tx: oxytetracycline
• Babesiosis
– Agent: Babesia bovis and Ba. Bigemina
(protozoa)
– Subclinical infections in cattle
– Spread by Boophilus ticks
– Hemolysis  liver and kidney disease
– Reportable
Diseases
Parasitic
• Coccidiosis (protozoa)
– Causes hemorrhagic diarrhea in ruminants
– Transmitted via ingestion of sporulated
oocysts
– Treatment
• Coccidiostats preferable to coccidiocidals
because the former allow development of
immunity
• Sulfonamides, amprolium, decoquinate,
lasalocid, monensin
• Cryptosporidiosis (protozoa)
– Common cause of diarrhea in young
ruminants
– Dx: oocysts in iodine-stained feces; fecal
floats without sugar
– Tx: none - self-limiting
– Zoonotic
Diseases
Parasitic
• Neosporosis
–
–
–
–
–
Neospora caninum (protozoa)
Common cause of bovine abortion (3rd -7th month)
Transmission: transplacental; ingesting ooccysts
No treatment
Definitive host: canine
• Toxoplasmosis
–
–
–
–
–
–
Toxoplasma gondii (protozoa)
Major case of abortions in sheep and goats
Transmission: ingesting oocysts; transplacental
No effective treatment
Definitive host: feline
Zoonotic
Diseases
Parasitic
• Trichomoniasis
– Agent: Tritrichomonas fetus (protozoa)
– Signs: infertility, pyometras, abortions
• Organism does not interfere with conception;
embryonic death occurs within 2 months of
infection
– Transmission: venereal
– Prevention: vaccinate; cull chronically infected
bulls
– Treatment: imidazole effective, but cannot be
used in food animals
Diseases
Parasitic
• Nematodes
– Haemonchus contortus (barber pole
worm)
• Most important internal parasite of sheep
and goats
• Anemia, hypoproteinemia,
intermandibular and cervical edema
– Ostertagia circumcincta (medium
stomach worm)
• Sheep and goats
– Ostertagia ostertagia (cattle stomach
worm)
• Most pathogenic and costly cattle
nematode
– Dictyocaulus (lungworms)
• Various respiratory signs in all ruminants
– Tx: Ivermectin, Levamisole
Diseases
Parasitic
• Trematodes
– Fascioliasis (liver fluke disease)
• Agents
– Fasciola hepatica
– Fascioloides magns
– Dicrocelium dendriticum
• Intermediate host: usually a freshwater snail
• Signs of acute liver disease related to migration of immature
flukes through the liver
• Chronic disease from damage to bile ducts and
cholangiohepatitis
• Predisposes to invasion with Clostridial spp.
• Necropsy: livers pale and friable =/- migration tunnels
• Tx: albendazole
Diseases
Parasites
• Mites – rare in ruminants in the U.S., but
Sarcoptes and Psorergates are reportable
• Lice
– Sheep
• Biting: Damalinia ovis
• Sucking: Linognathus ovillus, L. pedalis
– Goats
• Biting: D. caprae, D. limbatus, D. crassipes
• Sucking: L. stenopis, L. africanus
– Cattle
• Biting: D. bovis
• Sucking: L. vituli, Solenoptes capillatus,
Haematopinuseurysternus, H. quadripertusis
• Ticks – many Ixodidae and Argasidae species
Diseases
Parasites
• Other parasites
– Nasal bots/head grubs (Oestrus ovis)
– Screwworm flies (Cochliomyia hominivorax)
• Reportable
– Sheep Keds (Melophagus ovinus)
Diseases
Fungal
• Dermatophytosis (Ringworm)
– Common fungal infection of cattle
– Trichophyton verrucosum is 1o agent
– Signs: multiple, gray, crusty,
circumscribed, hyperkeratotic lesions
around head, neck and ears
– Dx: Dermatophyte Test Media (DTM)
– Spontaneous recovery 1-4 months
– Treatment
• Topical: 2-5% lime-sulfur solution, 3%
captan, iodophors, thiabendazole, and
0.5% hypochlorite
• Systemic: griseofulvin
– Zoonotic
Diseases
Genetic
• Entropion – sheep and goats
• Beta-Mannosidosis – goats (Nubian)
– Lysosomal storage disease
– Intention tremors, difficulty standing, deaf
• Congenital Myotonia – goats
– “fainting goats” – transient spasms of skeletal muscle brought
about by visual, tactile, or auditory stimuli
• Congenital erythropoietic porphyria – cattle
• Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency Syndrome –cattle
(Holstein)
• Goiter of Sheep – sheep (Merino)
• Spider Lamb Syndrome – sheep (Suffollk and
Hampshire)
– Hereditary chondrodysplasia
Diseases
Metabolic
• Abomasal displacement
– RDA
• May be complicated by torsion
• surgical emergency
– LDA
• More common
– Signs: anorexia, decreased cud chewing, decreased ruminal
contractions, decreased respiratory rate, increased heart rate
– Dx: “Pinging”
– Cause:
• Gas accumulation causes abomasum to “float” up
• No exact cause identified
– Treatment
• RDA: surgery
• LDA: surgical or non-surgical correction
Diseases
Metabolic
• Rumen Tympany (Bloat)
– Frothy bloat - excessive ingestion of highly
fermentable carbohydrates
• Treatment
– Mineral oil, household detergents, or anti-fermentatives via
stomach tube
– Trocarize rumen
– Free gas bloat
• Interference with normal eructation mechanism
– Esophageal obstruction, vagal nerve paralysis, some CNS
conditions
• Prevention
– withhold feed for at least 24 hours prior to anesthesia, etc.
• Treatment
– pass stomach tube
– trocarize rumen
Diseases
Metabolic
• Lactic Acidosis (Grain overload)
– Cause: excessive ingestion of highly fermentable
carbohydrates
• Leads to shift from gram-negative rumen bacterial population
to gram-positive Streptococcus and Lactobacillus
• Lactic acid acidifies the rumen leading to inflammation
•  ulcers, liver abscesses, laminitis, polioencephalomalacia
– Prevention:
• avoid sudden dietary changes
• avoid over feeding of high carbohydrate diets
– Treatment:
•
•
•
•
IV fluids
magnesium hydroxide intraruminal; Na bicarb IV
flush rumen or rumenotomy
transfaunation
Diseases
Metabolic
• Traumatic ReticulitisReticulopertonitis
–
–
–
–
Also Traumatic Reticulitis-Pericarditis
Aka. Hardware disease
Cattle, rarely small ruminants
Caused by ingestion of sharp metallic
objects which drop into the reticulum &
penetrates the reticulum; further
migrations may lead to penetration of the
diaphragm and pericardium
– Prevention
• Eliminate sharp objects in food and
environment
• Forestomach magnets
Diseases
Metabolic
• Pregnancy Toxemia (Ketosis, Twin Lamb
Disease)
– 1o in Sheep and Goats that are overweight or
bearing twins
– Seen in during late gestation or early lactation
– Signs
• depression, anorexia, weakness, neurologic
signs, fetal death, ketonuria
– Cause: inadequate glucose production
secondary to increased requirements
– Prevention: increase nutrition
– Treatment:
• IV fluids, IV glucose, B vitamins, propylene
glycol, induce abortion or c-section
– Protein Energy Malnutrition in heifer cattle is
similar, but generally not associated with
overconditioning or twins
Diseases
Metabolic
• Hypocalcemia (Parturient Paresis, Milk Fever)
– Sheep: overweight ewes during last six weeks of gestation or
first few weeks of lactation
• Signs: muscle tetany, incoordination, paralysis, coma, death
– Goats: not as common
• Signs: bloated, weak, unsteady, recumbent
– Cattle: 24-48 hours before/after parturition
• Signs: weak, muscle tremors, inability to stand, coma, death
– Cause:
• calcium needs exceed body’s uptake of calcium
– Prevention:
• Maintain proper nutrition during last trimester
• appropriate Ca:P ratio
• limit Ca intake early on
– Treatment: IV calcium borogluconate, calcium gels & boluses
Diseases
Metabolic
• Urinary Calculi (Obstructive Urolithiasis, Water Belly)
– Rare in ruminants
– Urethral blockage
• male sheep and goats: pizzle
• male cattle: sigmoid flexure
– Signs
• treading, straining, arched back, raised tail, squatting, pizzle may be
discolored
– Type: 1o struvite
– Prevention
• diet with 2:1 Ca:P ratio,  dietary roughage and salt, add
ammonium chloride to diet
– Treatment
• surgical - amputate pizzle, perineal urethrostomy
Diseases
Metabolic
• Copper Intoxication
o
– 1 a disease of sheep
– Acute hemolytic crisis
• sudden weakness, recumbency, hemoglobinuria,
intravascular hemolysis, anemia, icterus, sudden death
– Cause: chronic ingestion of copper
• Feeding cattle feeds and concetrates to sheep
• Copper-containing pesticides
• Soil additives
– Prevention: Feed proper ration
– Treatment
• ammonium molybdenate, sodium molybdenate, Dpenicillamine, transfusion
Diseases
Metabolic
• Selenium/Vitamin E Deficiency (White Muscle
Disease)
– A nutritional muscular dystrophy
– Two forms
• Cardiac - seen most often in neonates
– Respiratory difficulty due to damage of cardiac, diaphragmatic,
and intercostal muscles; locomotor disturbances and circulatory
failure
• Skeletal
– Reluctant to move; painful muscles
– Cause: Selenium (most common) and/or Vit. E
Deficiency
– Prevention: proper diet; awareness of regional
selenium deficiencies
– Treatment: injectable selenium and/or Vitamin E
Diseases
Metabolic
• Thiamine Deficiency
(Polioencephalomalacia)
– Animals affected:
• Adult ruminant on high-concentrate diets – most
common
• Ruminants exposed to toxic plants or moldy feed
containing thiaminases
• Ruminants on high-sulfate feeds
– Signs: bruxism, hyperesthesia, involuntary
muscle contractions, opisthotonus,
seizures, wandering aimlessly, headpressing, death
– Prevention: provide enough high quality
roughage to prevent overgrowth of
thiaminase-producing ruminal flora
– Treatment: thiamine hydrochloride
Diseases
Management-Related
•
•
•
•
•
•
Failure of Passive Transfer
Laminitis
Photosensitization - 2o (liver dz) most common)
Vaginal & Uterine Prolapses
Rectal Prolapses
Trichobezoars
Diseases
Neoplastic
• Neoplasia and tumors relatively rare in ruminants
• Sheep
– Lymphosarcoma/leukemia – results from a virus related to BLV
– Pulmonary carcinoma (pulmonary adenomatosis)
• Goats
– Thymoma
– Cutaneous papillomas which may progress to SCC
• Cattle
– Lymphosarcoma of various organ systems
– Ocular Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) – “cancer eye”
– Papillomatosis (warts) are common
Diseases
Misc.
• Amyloidosis – cattle
– Accumulations of amyloid in kidney, liver, adrenal
glands, and GI tract associated with chronic
inflammatory disease
– Signs: chronic diarrhea, wt. loss, proteinuria
– Poor prognosis; no treatment
• Dental Wear – sheep
– Associated with dietary contamination with silica, or
grazing in sandy environments
• Sole Abscesses – cattle
– Fusobacterium necrophorum often involved
Diseases
• Other Important Diseases
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Rabies – zoonotic, reportable
Leptosporosis - zoonotic
E. coli - zoonotic
Salmonellosis - zoonotic
Lyme Disease - zoonotic
Tularemia - zoonotic
Foot & Mouth Disease – reportable
Proliferative Stomatitis - zoonotic
Pseudocowpox - zoonotic
Recent Literature
• The Genetic Immunodeficiency Disease, Leukocyte
Adhesion Deficiency, in Humans, Dogs, Cattle, and
Mice. CM, Vol. 54, No. 4, August 2004
• Ovine Model to Evaluate Ovarian Vascularization by
Using Contrast-Enhancd Sonography, CM, Vol. 55,
No. 2, April 2005
References
•
•
•
Laboratory Animal Medicine, 2nd Edition,
2002,pages 519-614.
Large Animal Internal Medicine:
Diseases of Horses, Cattle, Sheep, and
Goats, 2nd Edition, Smith, 1996.
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