An Overview of Calf Diarrhea – Infectious Etiology, Diagnosis, and Intervention
Rachna poonia1, Sumnil Marwaha2
Introduction
India is predominantly an agricultural country with about 70 per cent of its population dependant on income from agriculture. In India and other Southeast Asian countries, cattle and buffaloes are important domestic animals for milk production and draft power contributing significantly to their agricultural economy. About 20.5 million people depend upon livestock for their livelihood and it supports Indian economy with contribution of 4.11 % GDP 25.6 % of total Agriculture GDP. Among livestock buffalo have emerged as significant contributors of livelihood, food security and nutrition to the masses.
India is the highest buffalo milk producer in the world with over 20 breeds of river buffaloes. Among these, Murrah and Jaffarabadi are popular because of high milk yield. The total milk production in the country amounted to about 187.7million metric tons in financial year 2019 ,the state Uttar Pradesh produced the highest amount of milk in India about 30.5 million metric tons fallowed by Rajasthan 23.67(BAHS,DADF). India has exported 11, 52,547.32 MT buffalo meat product to the world for the worth of Rs 22,668.48 Crore during the year of (2019 -20). (APEDA).Livestock provide increased economic stability to the poor masses
Successful development of livestock depends upon proper health management. Diseases are the major cause of economic losses due to mortality, cost of treatment and inefficient production of livestock. Diseases are the main constraint in development of livestock in the country. Morbidity and mortality among the neonates have always proved a bottleneck and causes serious blow to the roots of dairy husbandry in India
The important diseases of buffalo calves are bacterial diseases (Colibacillosis, Salmonellosis, Bovine enterotoxaemia, Yersiniasis, Pasteurellosis and Paratuberculosis), viral diseases (Foot and mouth disease, Rotavirus infection, Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis and Bovine viral diarrhoea) and parasitic diseases (Toxocariasis, Bovine coccidiosis and Amphistomiasis). So it is most important to determine the cause of mortality. Due to this reason, studies on pathological investigation of gastrointestinal tract of bovines are important for understanding the pathogenesis of these diseases. Colibacillosis is a major cause of diarrhoea in neonatal calves and is associated with pathogenic serotypes of E. coli. There are six pathogroups of E. coli classified on the basis of virulence scheme: enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), shiga toxin-producing E. coli, enteropathogenic E. coli, enteroinvasive E. coli, enteroaggresive E. coli and enterohaemorrhagic E. coli.
Diagnosis
Proper specimen collection and delivery to a diagnostic lab is commonly neglected, and significantly impacts the diagnostic outcome. Antemortem samples for diagnostic testing should minimally include feces from acutely diarrheic animals prior to therapy with optional blood samples. Necropsy specimens from freshly sacrificed, moribund, or euthanized calves are of great value for diagnosis during severe outbreaks. Fresh and formalin-fixed gastrointestinal tissues (abomasum, small intestine, or colon) including ones from regional lymph nodes and liver should be collected along with colonic contents. Fresh fecal samples should be directly recovered from diarrheic animal into a specimen container with either rectal swabs or by rectal stimulation while avoiding environmental contamination (by soil, urine, or other feces).
1.The Ag-ELISA has been utilized in many fields.
- Fecal flotation and direct microscopyare commonly used to diagnose parasite eggs or oocysts. The principal of fecal flotation is simply based on the density difference between a flotation solution and oocysts.
- Fecal bacteria culturingis a commonly used laboratory method for isolating and identifying bacterial pathogens in feces and intestinal contents. Salmonellaspp., E. coli K99+, and C. perfringens are primary bovine enteric pathogens
Prevention and Control of Calf Diarrhea
Cow nutrition is closely associated with weak labor, amount of milk production, dystocia, and calf growth. Inadequate feed intake and macro- or micro-nutrient deficiencies during the last trimester increase calf morbidity and mortality rates because most fetal growth occurs during last 2 months of gestation
Dystocia is closely related to poor calf performance as well as increased susceptibility to environmental pathogens which frequently cause calf diarrhea.
The major causes of dystocia are associated with large calf size and small pelvic size of the dam. Large calves are more likely to have an improper position and presentation (e.g., backward, breech, and mal-positioned limbs or head) in the uterus
The bovine placenta does not permit the passive transfer of antibody to the fetus. As a result, the newborn calf does not receive any antibody from the dam and is very susceptible to environmental pathogens.
Harsh weather conditions such as low temperatures, rain, heavy snow, wind, and high levels of moisture act as stress factors to young calves and increase the susceptibility of calves to diarrhea [13,71]. Neonatal calves are not able to effectively regulate their body temperature when exposed to extreme weather conditions.
https://www.pashudhanpraharee.com/diarrhoea-management-in-dairy-animals/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3973752/
