The diseases that most often affect livestock are infectious diseases, since many of them, besides being harmful to the health of the herd, affecting animal welfare, are zoonoses, that is, diseases that can be transmitted to humans., If meat or milk is consumed from this sick animal, that is why Animal Expert elaborated this article on the most common diseases in livestock.
Infectious diseases in dairy cattle and cattle are of great veterinary importance because in addition to harming the animal’s health, they are too difficult to control in very large herds once installed, which can cause serious economic damage, since the early death of these infected can occur animals, a low metabolic development that causes these animals not to grow as they should and a low milk production in dairy cattle.
These include the diseases that most affect dairy and meat cattle include:
In the case of very large herds the ideal is preventive veterinary medicine, because the treatment of the whole herd would be too expensive, not compensating for the economic investment, because in addition to being too many animals, animals are considered as cattle., bred for human and animal consumption, and dairy cattle, cows raised to supply the dairy market in Brazil and around the world.
Among the most common diseases in cows we have
During the 2 to 3 weeks after delivery, diseases of the cow reproductive system should be taken care of, as this is the period during which they are most susceptible and predisposed to diseases, since their immune systems are vulnerable due to childbirth.
Among the most common reproductive diseases in postpartum cows, caused by bacterial infections, affecting most cows in the herd are:
Studies are still ongoing for this increased sensitivity in postpartum cows.
Metabolic disease that affects cows is called hypocalcaemia or postpartum hypocalcaemia, postpartum paresia, vitular fever or milk fever, is a metabolic disease associated with a low concentration of calcium in the blood and that damages the herd of dairy and postpartum cows that are in the early stages of lactation, i.e. milk production.Calcium is extremely important for muscle contraction and heart rate, and calcium deficiency can cause neuromuscular dysfunction, circulatory collapse and even depression of consciousness.
The cause, although complex, can be avoided by adding essential minerals and vitamins to the cow during the reproductive phase and especially after delivery, as a significant percentage of the calcium that cows have in the body passes into milk.percentage lost alone, cows fall quickly after delivery. Other subclinical signs of postpartum hypocalcaemia are cold limbs, muscle tremors of the head and limbs, tetany, drowsy appearance and head to one side, the animal can lie upside down, stretching the neck.
Brucellosis is an infectious and contagious disease that causes economic damage to cows during breeding, but can affect livestock of all ages and of both sexes.The vitamin B12 vaccine remains the best prevention against abortion, however, it does not immunize against the disease-causing agent, so once installed in the herd, it can be difficult to control and should be used as a preventive measure, the elimination of HIV-positive animals, although the disease can cure, treatment becomes impractical due to costs.Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease, meaning the disease can be transmitted to humans.
In breeding cows, brucellosis can lead to abortions, placental retention, metritis, hypophertility, infertility and if the fetus survives, weak and underdeveloped animals are born.
Cattle hoof disease is one of the main diseases affecting dairy cows and is caused by a number of causes that contribute to the installation of pathogenic pathogens in the areas of hooves, bones, joints, ligaments and skin and subcutaneous tissues.Include:
A high-carb diet, lack of hoof size, wet and rough soils and lack of hygiene of the enclosure contribute to the onset of the disease, which usually occurs due to a secondary bacterial infection that, if left untreated, can occur.widespread swelling of the finger, which is the hoof, and in the extremity.
To avoid this type of disease, dairy cattle should receive a buffer diet to avoid ruminal acidosis, helmets should be adorned annually and, during the drying of the environment, prevent animals from walking in humid environments, faeces and urine.
Among the most important infectious diseases are zoonotic diseases, that is, transmissible to humans. The diseases that can be transmitted by cows are:
This article is for informational purposes only, in Animal Expert.com.br we cannot prescribe veterinary treatments or make any type of diagnosis, we suggest that you take your pet to the veterinarian in case of any condition or discomfort.
If you would like to read similar articles about the most common diseases in livestock, we recommend that you visit our Infectious Diseases section.