Content
Vibriosis of cattle is a type of infectious disease that affects the genitals, as a result of which the animal may have an abortion or this will lead to infertility. If an infected cow gives birth to offspring, the fetus will not be viable. In their natural habitat, the disease can affect any cattle, regardless of breed.
The causative agent of campylobacteriosis in cattle
The causative agent of vibriosis in cattle is a microorganism belonging to the genus Campylobacter fetus. This microorganism is polymorphic, its appearance resembles a comma, some compare it with a flying seagull. It is quite rare to find a pathogen in the form of a small spiral, which has 2-5 curls.
The bacteria have the following sizes:
- length - 0.5 microns;
- width - 0.2-0.8 microns.
The microbes of the infectious disease campylobacteriosis are mobile; during the reproduction process, the formation of capsules and spores does not occur. The causative agent of vibriosis is gram-negative, it can be gram-positive when old cultures are dissociated. It is also worth noting that when exposed to aniline paints, staining occurs.
To do this, you can use:
- fuchsin Tsilya;
- gentian violet;
- alcohol solution of blue;
- method of silvering according to Morozov.
During microscopy, you can find the pathogen in the hanging drop. As a rule, flagella can be seen in the short form of the pathogen, the length of which varies between 5-10 and 15-30 microns. Such flagella can be found at one or both ends of the body.
Fetus is an obligate parasite that provokes abortion and infertility in the animal. The pathogen is transmitted sexually. It is usually found in the vaginal mucus of an infected cow or in the semen of bulls.
Sources and routes of infection
As practice shows, in most cases, the pathogen is transmitted to a healthy individual during sexual intercourse - during artificial or natural mating. In this way, up to 80% of cattle are infected. Also, immature calves and milk jugs are exposed to infection upon contact with an animal that is already sick with vibriosis.
In addition, it is worth taking into account the fact that there are other ways of transmitting vibriosis infection to healthy animals among cattle:
- through obstetric instruments that have not been disinfected - rubber gloves are the most common option;
- clothing for service personnel on a farm;
- through the litter.
Vibriosis actively develops in those places where cattle live crowded, and when zohygienic requirements were not observed during mating or artificial insemination.
Symptoms and course of the disease
Vibriosis in cattle manifests itself clinically in the form of a complex of symptoms, among which there are concomitant pathologies:
- vaginitis;
- endometritis;
- salpingitis;
- oophoritis.
These phenomena contribute to the violation of reproductive functions, as a result of which barrenness in cattle increases.
As a rule, abortion occurs regardless of the stage of pregnancy, but in most cases (and this is more than 85%) at 4-7 months. There are cases when the termination of pregnancy occurs at 2 months, but, as a rule, the attendants rarely notice this. Only in the case when the second estrus begins after insemination can the first signs of vibriosis disease be noticed. If there was no termination of pregnancy, then weakened calves are born, which are exposed to the disease in the first few days and die within a week.
In bulls, signs of vibriosis are not observed. The only thing is that the mucous membrane, prepuce and penis turn red, there is an abundant secretion of mucus. After a while, the symptoms disappear, and the bull becomes a lifelong carrier of the disease.
In aborted fetuses, you can see swelling in certain areas, hemorrhages in the chest area. The content of the abomasum in the fetus is liquefied, cloudy, with a brown tint. Quite often, the fruits are mummified.
Diagnostics of the vibriosis of cattle
It is possible to diagnose campylobacteriosis in cattle on the basis of clinical and epizootic data and isolation of the pathogen. If a heifer is observed to be excessive, barren, the birth of an unviable calf - this is only a suspicion of vibriosis. To clarify the diagnosis or refute it, laboratory tests are required, namely bacteriological.
To conduct a bacteriological study, it is necessary to send an aborted fetus or part of it to the laboratory: head, stomach, liver, lung, placenta. Material for research must be submitted no later than 24 hours after the abortion. The cow is sampled for mucus from the cervix in the first few days after the abortion.
Only after all the necessary material for research has been obtained, it is possible to establish an accurate diagnosis of the disease.
Treatment of cattle vibriosis
If vibriosis was detected or suspected, cattle are treated according to the instructions. After an abortion, it is necessary for infected animals to inject vegetable oil or fish oil with a volume of 30 to 50 ml into the uterine cavity, to which 1 g of penicillin is previously added.
Such a mixture of oil and penicillin must be administered to cows up to 4 times, with an interval of 2-3 days between procedures. Together with this type of treatment, it is recommended to simultaneously inject penicillin intramuscularly about 3 times throughout the day, using the following dosage - 4000 units per 1 kg of cow weight.
In addition, it is necessary to carry out treatment according to clinical signs. Bulls are injected with antibiotics in a preputial sac. To do this, take 3 g of penicillin, 1 g of streptomycin, dissolve in 10 ml of pure water and mix with 40 ml of vegetable oil.
This mixture is injected through a catheter into the upper part of the prepuce, after which the insertion site is massaged from top to bottom. Treatment continues for 4 days. At the same time, 4000 units of penicillin are injected for each kg of live weight of the bull.
Forecast
As a rule, the disease in cattle can be acute or chronic, and symptoms may not always appear. If you carefully examine the animals, then in infected individuals you can find redness of the mucous membrane of the genital organs.
In some individuals, after 5-15 days, the following can be observed:
- increased body temperature;
- constant worry;
- copious secretion of mucus from the genitals.
In addition, the animal begins to move in a hunched over, the tail is constantly raised, and pus of a muddy shade appears on the genitals.
Prevention of campylobacteriosis in cattle
Preventive measures to combat vibriosis in cattle must be carried out in accordance with sanitary and veterinary rules.In order to prevent the appearance of an infectious disease on a farm in cattle, it is worth adhering to the following recommendations:
- cattle should not move around the farm freely, without the accompaniment and permission of a veterinarian;
- veterinary and sanitary rules for feeding and keeping animals must be strictly observed;
- to replenish the herd, it is worth using only those individuals that are not susceptible to vibriosis;
- in the event that bulls entered the farm for breeding purposes, then the animals must be quarantined for 1 month:
- breeding bulls-producers must undergo a study to identify diseases every 6 months - 3 times with an interval of 10 days.
In addition, vaccines are often used to prevent disease in cattle.
Conclusion
Vibriosis of cattle negatively affects the future offspring, causing abortions and infertility in cows. The causative agent of the disease located in the external environment can die in 20 days if the temperature regime is + 20 ° C and above. At lower temperatures, the pathogen can live up to 1 month. If the temperature reaches + 55 ° C, microbes die in 10 minutes, when dried - in 2 hours. In frozen semen of cattle, the causative agent of vibriosis can survive up to 9 months.
