PARASITES AND DISEASES OF DAIRY CATTLE

DISEASE

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

PREVENTION AND CONTROL

Clinical Mastitis

• Clots in the milk
• Slight swelling of infected quarter
• Secretion is abnormal (bloody, clotted)
• Hot, swollen quarter or udder
• Fever, rapid pulse, loss of appetite, dehydration and depression
• Death may occur.

• Treating all cows at drying off and culling chronic cows
• Improved cleanliness of cow surroundings, especially in late dry period and at calving.

Subclinical Mastitis.

• There is no visible changes that occur in the appearance of the milk or the udder, but milk production decreases, bacteria are present and Somatic Cell Count (White blood cells) are elevated.

• Treating all cows at drying off and culling chronic cows
• Improved cleanliness of cow surroundings, especially in late dry period and at calving.

Milk Fever (Parturientparesis)

• Retained cleansing, reduced appetite problems associated with reduced food intake (LDA in particular),Recumbency, ‘S’ shaped neck, dry faeces, cold, animal stops regurgitation – eventually death.

• Limit calcium intake during close up dry period to less than 100g/cow/day
• Magnesium supplementation to maintain blood-calcium balance.

East Coast Fever

Lack of appetite, depression, fever (up to 42oC, Fast breathing and diarrhea, lymph nodes enlarge below the ear, at shoulder and flank, lasts for about 1 week; the animal dies or slowly recovers.

• Strategic dipping to control ticks is encouraged, every fortnightly and weekly for exotic.
• Vaccines have been developed for ECF and locally produced in Lilongwe at veterinary office, once for life (best to vaccinate calves

Heartwater (Cowdriosis)

• Often found dead suddenly, with no previous signs
• Other animals stop eating, show fever & diarrhoea
• The nervous signs develop, twitching, circling, aggression, chewing movements, progressing to collapse, fits and death,
• Most animals die unless treated very quickly. Whole khola may be wiped out

• Dipping or protect the animals through vaccinations

Anaplasmosis

• Adult animals are affected much more severely than young animals
• Animal goes off food, milk yield falls, it has a mild fever
• Membranes become anaemic, then jaundiced.
• It becomes thin and constipated. Weight loss, breathlessness, uncoordinated movements, abortion
• No red water but urine may be brown
• Animal dies after a week or remains weak for a long time.

• Dipping or protect the animals through vaccinations

Babesiosis Disease

Animal stops eating, milk yield drops, it has a fever, it is anaemic, later may have jaundice, it has redwater, nervous signs may develop, animal dies or remains weak/ill for many weeks.

• Dipping or protect the animals through vaccinations.

Trypanosomosis (Sleeping Sickness)

• Fever up to 41.5 oC, which may rise and fall every few days
• Listlessness and decreased appetite
• Anaemia and wasting of the body muscles
• Some animals have swollen glands
• Abortion is quite common.

• Advise owners to graze cattle far from known tsetse areas as possible
• Check cattle regularly for signs of trypanosomosis, If there are more than one or two cases of trypanosomosis per month, consider using drugs to prevent infections developing.