• If you are having problems logging in please use the Contact Us in the lower right hand corner of the forum page for assistance.

calf diptheria

L

LCP

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 31, 2008
Messages
240
Location
north central SD
I've had trouble with diptheria the past couple years in the pasture I kick pairs into. Also had calves getting footrot. Last year had 3 calves with diptheria. My vet was suprised to get three in one herd in one year (a few weeks actually). I guess it isn't that common around here. Today I found my first one this year. I'll be moving the herd to a new pasture today, hopefully that helps. Also have treated 3 calves for footrot. They are all out on pasture, not in a muddy feedlot. Strange. The worst part (even worse than the $47 it costs to treat a calf) is that the pasture I am having trouble in has the best draws and trees for protecting the herd from a NE wind, which is where our spring blizzards usually come from.
This is the third year I've calved out cows at this place. The first year I don't remember having trouble with anything.

Any advice?
 
The same family of bacteria cause hoofrot and diptheria.

Are you on a good mineral program. If not, I would highly
suggest you get on one. It will enhance the immune system
of the calves and help fight these aggravations. We used to
have diptheria, but not since we got on a good mineral program.

How are you treating (doctoring) these calves?

I got this off www.thebeefsite:

There are two forms of calf diphtheria. The most common is an acute oral (mouth) infection, usually seen in calves less than 3 months old. The second form is usually seen in older calves and affects the larynx (or voice-box), Both forms are caused by the bacteria Fusobacterium necrophorum, which also causes foul-in-the foot and liver abscesses in older cattle.

Clinical Signs
Oral form
Initial presenting sign may just be a swollen cheek
Calf may be otherwise bright and active with no temperature
Examination of the inside of the mouth shows a foul-smelling ulceration and swelling of the cheek
Temperature may be normal at the start
If untreated more signs develop:
High temperature
Coughing
Loss of appetite and depression
Difficulty breathing, chewing and swallowing
Swollen pharyngeal region
Deep ulcers on the tongue, palate, and inside of cheeks
Pneumonia

Usually only a few calves in a batch are infected though outbreaks can occur where hygiene is poor.

Hope this helps!
 
We deal with cases of diphtheria every year. Usually only 1 or 2 cases. We rarely have a case of foot rot, which I find rather amusing, cause as FH said, it is the same bacteria that cause them both.

For lumps, penicillin will usually work, or if you can find them Spectrum III or Calfspan boluses.

For the respiritory form, this is the course of treatment our vet gave us.

FIRST
Nuflor (use proper dosage) intramuscular every second day for 10 days

2cc (<125 lbs)-3cc(+150 lbs) Dexamethasone every day for 10 days

THEN (after first treatment course)

Long Acting Oxytetracycline Sub-Q every 3 days for 10 days.

When we first started this I thought it was over kill, but talking to others in the area dealing with the same disease made it clear that it was the best choice.

We treated 2 calve last year with this treatment. Both got completely over it, and we kept one as a replacement. You would never know that she had ever been sick.
 
And then when that doesn't work and it comes back worse than ever get some more potent and expensive steroids and use until you have reached the value of the calf. Then shoot it and ship the cow.
 
I guess this is another time I can thank my lucky stars as I have never had a problem. From the postings is this mostly found north of me???
 
FH - we just started a customized mineral program at the beginning of the year. I think it has already helped the cows, since I was having footrot problems prior to starting the program. Perhaps the minerals haven't worked their way thru the cow's milk into the calf's body as of yet? I am very interested in how this year goes in terms of herd health. Last year was a struggle between footrot and pinkeye, but that was without much of a mineral "program" (program isn't even the right term).

I learned last year that fusobacterium necrophorum was the cause of this stuff...I also learned fun words like "inspatory dypsnea," or the rattling gasping noise they make when they inhale. The article you mentioned included lumps as a symptom...that makes me nervous because there's half a dozen calves out there with lumps, but they seem to go away on their own and I don't see (or hear) any other signs of sickness. I'll be sure to watch them extra close. I figured the lumps were due to them starting to eat hay (got a little foxtail in some of it) and old dry grass.

I know hygiene isn't an issue (90 pairs on 140 ac of dry pasture).


The vet was out and treated the calf...sulfa bolus, micotil, baytril, sodium iodide, tylan, flunix, cortizone...I'm sure i'm missing something...we treated the ones last year the same way without any relapses.
 
I may be making this up, but it seems like I've seen the greatest health benefits in my females which received minerals, while in utero. Knock on wood, I've yet to treat any of my younger cow's calves for a few years now. Maybe it's just good luck :D !

I'm sure you're seeing good benefits now, but I'm betting it will get better the longer you're on a good mineral program. I've been through diptheria/foot rot issues before, and it's no fun! Good luck!
 
LCP, the lumps you describe is what we considered a classic
diptheria symptom. Mr. FH used to rope the calves and he had
a swab of sorts (gauze type material wrapped on a stick) dipped
in iodine and he ran that swab in their mouth where the lump
was and that seemed to help. He may have given them a shot as
well. It was so long ago, I can't remember for sure. But their breath
was HORRIBLE!!! :shock:

I'm happy to hear you have started on a mineral program.
You will be really happy with what a year round mineral program
will do for you in so many ways. Usually it takes being on mineral
for a year to get the full benefit, but you should see some benefit
now, as you mentioned. Good mineral makes better colostrum
and that's one reason why the calves have such a good immune
system. If your mineral is like ours, you will see the calves get
right in the tubs and eat the mineral, at times they eat more
than the cows do. :shock:

I have talked with some of my customers after going through this
tough weather we have had. They haven't had to doctor hardly any
calves. Here we doctored one that had pneumonia. One treatment
and he was fine. That's one indication of a good immune system.

Good luck!! I'll bet this will be the last year you have diptheria problems if you stick with your mineral program.

One other thing I would watch if I were you--giving a lot of antibiotic to a calf can kill the stomach flora. If they get loose behind, I would give them some probiotic. I'm a real fan of probiotic. It helps lots of things because it puts the good stuff back in the rumen/stomach. For instance, if you have a bloated (bloat is a sign of an upset rumen) cow/calf (whatever) give them probiotic after you treat them and it really makes a difference--sometimes between life and death. We have had to doctor so many cattle in the past--and for so many years-- (before we got on a mineral program) that we learned a lot. A lot was stuff we wished we never had to learn.

Hope this helps!! Good Luck!!

Am I right is assuming you are in Canada?
 
One thing an old vet from south of the 49th told me to do, besides antibiotics, was to squirt iodine around in their mouth. It would burn the sores & ease their breathing problems plus get them back nursing quicker. Works for me.

This vet was a good one, as he wasn't afraid to push the envelope & try different cures.

Later.
 
The first year I ranched on my own we had a bit of a diptheria outbreak-I think we treated with chloramphenicol back then. The vet put a human breathing tube in their throats which really eased their breathing and speeded up their recovery.
 
I looked in the mouth of one calf with a lump in the cheek but couldn't smell any foul odors or see anything abnormal in there. The lumps I noticed 3 or 4 days ago seem to be going away on their own without any treatments. I'm watching pretty close though. No new for-sure cases of diptheria today. I moved them to a new pasture though. Last year I didn't have any problems in the new one.

FH - I'm from north central SD actually. I'm curious why you guessed Canada?
 
WyomingRancher said:
I may be making this up, but it seems like I've seen the greatest health benefits in my females which received minerals, while in utero. Knock on wood, I've yet to treat any of my younger cow's calves for a few years now. Maybe it's just good luck :D
Click to expand...

I wouldn't be surprised. I've recently started working in one of the labs at UW's Center for Fetal Programming -- it's amazing how much maternal nutrition during gestation influences that animal for life.
 
Well FH the "mighty" Swan Creek isn't all that mighty...it runs about a month out of the year...I just happen to own some of what I call Swan Swamp, which is just before it forms the channel and runs 20 mi as the crow flies towards the Missouri. It is scenic by my standards, but not by Canadian standards!
 

Latest posts

Back
Top