Diseases in Cattle And Its Management
Anthrax
Symptoms:- Sudden death (often within 2 or 3 hours of being apparently normal) is by far the most common sign.
- Very occasionally some animals may show trembling, a high temperature.
- Difficulty breathing, collapse and convulsions before death. This usually occurs over a period of 24 hours; After death blood may not clot, resulting in a small amount of bloody discharge from the nose, mouth and other openings.
- Due to sudden occurrence resulting in sudden death, treatment is usually not possible in animals.
- Prevention of the disease by regular vaccination at 6 months interval.
- The cutaneous (skin) form of anthrax can be treated with common antibiotics.
Black Quarter (Black - leg)
Symptoms:- Mainly occurs in young animals between 6 months to 2 years of age.
- Fever (106-10S°F)
- Difficult breathing (dyspnoea)
- Lameness in affected leg.
- Crepitation swelling over hip, back & shoulder.
- Swelling is hot & painful in early stages whereas cold and painless inter.
- Recumbency (prostration) followed by death within 12-48 hrs.
- Separation of the affected animals.
- Early treatment with antibiotic (Penicillin group)
- Regular vaccination at 6 months interval in young animals.
Foot-and-mouth disease
Symptoms:- Fever with 104-105˚ F
- Profuse salivation ropes of stringy saliva hangs from mouth.
- Vesicles appear in mouth and in the inter digital space.
- Lameness observed.
- Cross bred cattle are highly susceptible to it.
- Isolation and segregation of sick animals to a clean and dry condition.
- Regular cleaning and application of antiseptics and fly repellent ulcers.
- A common and inexpensive dressing for the lesions in the feet is a mixture of coal-tar and copper sulphate in the proportion of 5:1.
- Application of boroglycerine at lesions of mouth.
- It is advisable to carry out two vaccinations at an interval of six months followed by an annual vaccination programme.
- Proper disposal of left over feed by the animal.
- Disinfection of animal sheds with bleaching powder or phenol
Mastitis
Symptoms:- Disease of major economic importance causing drastic decrease in milk yield with curd formation.
- Swelling of the mammary gland with warm to touch.
- Increase in body temperature upto 104-105˚ F.
- Regular cleaning of teats before and after milking.
- Control of flies is very important as the disease spread through flies.
- Use of broad spectrum antibiotic and analgesics systemically as well as locally.
Milk fever
Symptoms:- Metabolic disease due to deficiency of calcium in the body.
- A disease of high yielding cows occurs within one to three days of calving.
- The disease is characterized by loss of appetite, constipation and restlessness, but there is no rise in temperature.
- Lameness and unable to stand.
- Dilatation of pupil and bending of the neck towards flank.
- Immediately contact veterinarian.
- Maintenance of 60 days dry period is important for prevention of this disease.
