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Veterinary surgeon
Colin Lindsay
XLVets practice
Capontree Veterinary
Centre
Vikki prescribed an intra-nasal vaccine which
could be given to calves as young as four
weeks of age, and which gave protection
against PI-3 and (B)RSV. ‘We probably aren't
covering all the viruses that the calves are
exposed to, but by protecting them against
some, along with good management
practices, we are helping to reduce the
pneumonia challenge,’ says Vikki.
‘And with the intra-nasal route, a calf gets
immediate protection exactly where it’s
needed. The slight downside is that the
bottle contains five doses and once opened,
needs to be used up. So for some calves,
it can be several days before they can be
given protection.’
The modifications to the shed’s ventilation
and the vaccination policy have made a
big difference for Huw. He adds: ‘I used
to get through around 12 bottles of antibiotic
each year, but now I’ve got one on the
shelf, just in case. And when calves do
need treatment, they seem to get better
faster. Overall, I’m noticing the cattle are
putting on weight faster and finishing
better too.’
Vikki adds: ‘From a financial perspective:
although vaccination costs twice as much
as a single dose of antibiotic treatment, the
fact is, Huw often needed to give a second
dose to cure the calf. Plus by preventing
respiratory diseases from occurring in the first
place, growth potential is not compromised -
animals will have better feed conversion
efficiency and finish faster. Healthy animals
are also a lot less work to look after. So
vaccination is the better option, overall.
‘There is still a risk that BVD could be brought
onto the farm if a PI calf was purchased.
BVD is highly contagious, and infected
animals would suffer weakened immune
systems and be more at risk of developing
respiratory diseases like pneumonia. To keep
BVD out, Huw could look out for calves that
have been tested for BVD. There may be a
premium for these calves, but it would further
safeguard cattle health on the farm. Or he
could choose to buy all his calves direct from
farms which have eradicated BVD and
removed PI animals from the herd.’
Vikki adds: ‘An often overlooked factor of
respiratory disease is the hygiene in the
shed. It’s important that animals have dry
bedding. Pneumonia on some farms occurs
late in the winter or early spring because so
many animals are in the shed, and hygiene
has gradually deteriorated. So although it’s
extra work, it’s worth having a good clean
out half-way through the housing season.’
CAL F PNEUMONI A
WORKING
TOGETHER
FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE...
13
LIVESTOCK MATTERS
Treatment tip
Not all antibiotics treat all
of the bacterial causes of
pneumonia. So it’s still a
good idea to test to identify
the culprit pathogens - this
will help ensure the right
antibiotic is being used to
treat re-occurring cases on
a given farm.
A more complex case
Controlling pneumonia wasn’t so simple for
Willie Woodman and his beef suckler unit
near Haltwhistle in Northumbria.
At Great Chesters, Willie runs a herd of
Limousin-cross suckler cows with 100 calving
over April and May, and another 150 autumn
calvers (August-October). Calves are weaned
at 10-12 months of age, and then sold as
stores the following spring, at Hexham mart.
Pneumonia had been a problem over the
years, especially in the youngstock. Willie’s
vet Colin Lindsay of Capontree Veterinary
Centre in Brampton, had instigated a
vaccination protocol.
Colin explains: ‘We had blood tested some
of the older cattle and identified the presence
of IBR and PI3, RSV and BVD, and so an
appropriate multi-valent vaccine was being
used. But despite this, pneumonia was still
endemic. Willie continually had to treat
calves with antibiotics, and experienced
losses of around 15 calves per season.’
In the spring of 2013, Colin carried out some
post mortem examinations on-farm. He
explains: ‘Infected calves would go downhill
very quickly, hence we were expecting acute
viral pneumonia such as RSV. However, from
the post mortems we discovered that around
two-thirds of the lung tissue was damaged.
This explained their sudden deterioration -
there just wasn’t enough functional tissue left
for them to breathe.’
Farmer Willie Woodman
Colin Lindsay, Capontree Veterinary Centre