It is important for the farmers to understand the most common animal diseases so as to identify them early and have idea on how to treat them.
Good husbandry, proper feeding, and hygiene are the main contributors to animal health on the farm, bringing economic benefits through maximised production. When, despite these precautions, animals still become sick, they are treated with veterinary medicines, by the farmer and the veterinarian. When farmers treat their own animals, they are required to follow the guidelines for treatment and to record the treatments given.
Animals are susceptible to a number of diseases and conditions that may affect their health. Some, like classical swine fever and scrapie are specific to one type of stock, while others, like foot-and-mouth disease affect all cloven-hoofed animals. Where the condition is serious, governments impose regulations on import and export, on the movement of stock, quarantine restrictions and the reporting of suspected cases.
Vaccines are available against certain diseases, and antibiotics are widely used where appropriate. At one time, antibiotics were routinely added to certain compound foodstuffs to promote growth, but this practice is now frowned on in many countries because of the risk that it may lead to antibiotic resistance. Animals living under intensive conditions are particularly prone to internal and external parasites; increasing numbers of sea lice are affecting farmed salmon in Scotland. Reducing the parasite burdens of livestock results in increased productivity and profitability.
1.
Anthrax
Anthrax, a highly infectious and fatal disease of cattle, is caused by a
relatively large spore-forming rectangular shaped bacterium
called Bacillus anthracis. Anthrax causes acute mortality in ruminants.
The bacteria produce extremely potent toxins which are responsible for the ill
effects, causing a high mortality rate. Signs of the illness usually
appear 3 to 7 days after the spores are swallowed or inhaled. Once signs begin
in animals, they usually die within two days.
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
Treatment and control
·
Due to the acute nature of the disease resulting in
sudden death, treatment is usually not possible in animals even though Anthrax
bacilli are clines. Treatment is of use in cases showing sub-acute form of the
disease.
·
In most cases, early treatment can cure anthrax. The
cutaneous (skin) form of anthrax can be treated with common antibiotics.
Preventive measures:
·
Regular annual vaccination of animals in endemic areas
will prevent the disease from occurring.
·
Vaccination may be carried out at least a month prior
to expected disease occurrence in endemic areas.
·
Never open a carcass of an animal suspected to have
died from anthrax.
·
Contact a veterinarian immediately if the following
symptoms are seen and seek advice on control measures to be adopted.
2. Black quarter (black-leg)
It is an acute infectious and highly fatal, bacterial disease of cattle.
Buffaloes, sheep and goats are also affected. Young cattle between 6-24 months
of age, in good body condition are mostly affected. It is soil-borne infection
which generally occurs during rainy season. In India, the disease is sporadic
(1-2 animal) in nature.
Causal organism
it is a bacterial disease caused by Clostridium
chauvoei
Symptoms:
·
Fever (106-108°F), Loss of appetite, Depression and
dullness
·
Suspended rumination
·
Rapid pulse and heart rates
·
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.
Treatment:
·
Early treatment can be possible to complete cure of
the animal.
·
Consult with veterinarian immediately.
3. Rabies (Mad dog disease)
Rabies is a
disease of dogs, foxes, wolves, hyaenas and in some places, it is a disease of
bats which feed on blood.
The disease
is passed to other animals or to people if they are bitten by an animal with
rabies. The germs which cause rabies live in the saliva of the sick (rabid)
animal. This is a killer disease but not every dog which bites is infected with
rabies.
When the
rabid animal bites another animal or human, the germs which live in its saliva
pass into the body through the wound caused by the bite. The germs travel along
the nerves to the brain. The time between the bite and the first appearance of
signs that the bitten animal or human has been infected can take from 2 to 10
weeks or more. The time taken depends on the distance of the bite from the
brain. If the bite is on the face or head, the bitten animal or human will
quickly show signs, but if the bite is on the leg it will take much longer for
signs to develop.
General signs of rabies
You should
first look for the marks of the bite and discover where and when the animal was
bitten. All rabid animals show similar signs in the beginning.
·
they change their normal behaviour and behave very
strangely.
·
They stop eating or drinking.
·
Male animal will try to mate (mount) other animals.
·
there is no change in the body temperature.
·
These signs will continue for 3 to 5 days. Then,
before it dies, the animal will develop one or the other of two types of the
disease:
·
the furious (mad) type of the disease makes the animal
aggressive and it will bite anything.
·
The quiet (dumb) type when the animal is quiet and
does not move.
Rabies in the dog
Dogs show either of the two types of rabies.
·
a dog with the dumb or quiet type of the disease
cannot move. It looks as if it has a bone stuck in the mouth and saliva drips
from the mouth.
·
rabies in the dog lasts about 10 days before the
animal dies. If the animal does not die after this length of time then it may
not be suffering from rabies.
Rabies in sheep, goats and cattle
Rabies is
characterised by the animals becoming restless and excited. They may bite
themselves and saliva drips from the mouth. The most important sign in cattle
is that the animal bellows (calls) very frequently and with strange sound. The
animals will become paralysed and die.
Rabies in the horse and camel
The horse
will show the furious (mad) type of the disease. It will kick and bite and show
signs similar to colic. The animal will die after paralysis of the back legs.
In the
camel the signs of rabies are similar to those shown by an animal in the rut.
What to do with a biting dog
Remember
that not every dog which bites has rabies. If the dog belongs to somebody ask
the owner about its normal behaviour. If the dog is showing signs of rabies you
must inform your veterinary officer immediately. The dog must be shot and if it
has bitten anybody, they must be taken to a hospital immediately for
vaccination.
Control of rabies
Dogs in
your community can be vaccinated against rabies. You should ask your veterinary
service about vaccination against rabies. If there is an outbreak of
rabies, the livestock in your community can be vaccinated too.
Treatment (ethnovet practices) :
Leaves of
chirchra (Achyranthes aspera) 100gm and onion 50 gm are ground well and smeared
over the bitten place. The extract of these ingredients is administered orally
twice in a day.
4. Blue tongue
Bluetongue, a disease which is transmitted by midges, infects domestic
and wild ruminants and also camelids, however sheep are particularly badly
affected. Cattle, although infected more frequently than sheep, do not always
show signs of disease. Virus spreads between animals occurs via the midges of
Cullicoides species.
The likelihood of mechanical transmission between herds and flocks, or
indeed within a herd or flock, by unhygienic practices (the use of contaminated
surgical equipment or hypodermic needles) may be a possibility.
Clinical signs
Sheep : eye and nasal discharges, drooling, high body temperature,
swelling in mouth, head and neck, lameness and wasting of muscles in hind legs,
haemorrages into or under skin, inflammation of the coronary band, respiratory
problems, fever, lethargy.
In cattle: nasal discharge, swelling of head and neck, conjunctivitis,
swelling inside and ulceration of the mouth, swollen teats, tiredness, saliva
drooling, fever.
Note: a blue tongue is rarely a clinical sign of infection
Control
Inspect stock closely, particularly focusing on the lining of the mouth
and nose and the coronary band (where the hoof stops and the skin
starts). If an animal is suspected as having bluetongue, it must be
reported as quickly as possible. Telephone your local animal health office
immediately.
Preventive measures and treatment (ethovet):
Since the animal is not taking any feed the starvation may lead to death. So the animal has to be administered orally the following food. Banana fruits (one) smeared with sesame oil (50 ml) for 2 to 3 times. By this animal will recover little. However, this will not control the disease fully. Next the leaf pulp of "sothukathalai"(Aloe vera) has to be administered daily.
Administering of Aloe vera has to be continued for more days till the animal
fully recovers from this disease. By this treatment the infected animal will
recover from the disease. The disease will not spread to other animals if all
animals are administered with Aloe vera as a preventive treatment.
Administering aloe vera also increases the body weight of animals as it is
against all intestinal parasite.
5. Pox
Epidemiology : sheep-pox is a highly contagious disease. It causes
a mortality of 20 to 50 per cent in animals below the age of 6 months, and
causes damage to the wool and skin in adults. Of the pock diseases, sheep-pox
ranks only second to human small-pox in virulence. The disease is transmissible
to in-contact goats but not to other species of animals. It, however, spreads
slowly.
Symptoms : The disease in characterized by high fever, and symptoms of
pneumonia and acute enteritis. Skin lesions appear particularly in parts free
from wool, notably around the eyes, inner side of the thigh, udder and under
surface of the tail. The internal organs such as trachea, lungs, kidneys and
intestines are also affected. The disease results in emaciation and, as already
mentioned, frequent deaths of affected animals.
Treatment, prevention and control
The diseased animal should be treated with palliatives. In the young
ones nursing is more important than medication. The infected litter should be
burnt and the bedding changed every day. Affected animals should be kept on
soft diet. The ulcers on the skin should be washed with potassium permanganate
lotion and dusted with boric acid; strict hygienic measures should be adopted.
Preventive measures and treatment (ethnovet)
External application of paste prepared by grinding neem leaves, tulsi
leaves each 100 gm and turmeric powder- 50gm sprinkled with sufficient water.
Continue for 3 to 5 days. Administer orally the same mixture by diluting with
water.
6.
Tetanus
This is an infectious, non-febrile disease of animals and man, and is
characterized by spasmodic tetany and hyperaesthesia. This disease is prevalent
all over the world.
Transmission
Infection
takes place by contamination of wounds. Deep punctured wounds provide
favourable conditions for the spores to germinate, multiply and produce toxin
which is subsequently absorbed in the animal body. The micro-organism is
present in soil and in animal faeces, and is carried into the wound by a
penetrating object. The organism is present in the intestine of normal animals,
and under some undetermined conditions multiplies rapidly and produces toxin in
sufficient quantities to be absorbed and cause the disease.
Symptoms
The
incubation period is generally 1-2 weeks but it may be as short as 3 days.
Tetanus affects many species of domesticated animals but occurs particularly in
horses and lambs; less frequently in adult sheep, goats, cattle, pigs, dog and
cats; and rarely in poultry. The initial symptoms are mild stiffness and an
unwillingness to move all the animals. More severe symptoms develop after 12-24
hours which are stiffness of limbs, neck, head, tail and twitching of muscles.
The spasms develop in response to noise. In terminal stages ears are erect,
nostrils dilated, nictitating membrane protruded. Mastication becomes very
difficult because mouth cannot be opened, hence the name lockjaw.
Treatment
The
treatment is carried out by first injecting antitoxin then treating the wound.
Penicillin parenterally is beneficial. Muscular relaxation is achieved by
injection of relaxants. The animal should be kept in a dark room and fed with
the help of stomach tube.
Control
Proper
hygiene and cleanliness at castration and other surgical procedures should be
observed. Sheep should be given 2 injections based 3 weeks apart to develop a
solid immunity.
7.
Johne`s
disease
Johne`s disease is a specific chronic contagious enteritis of cattle,
sheep, goat, buffaloes and occasionally of pigs. The disease is characterized
by progressive emaciation and in cattle and buffaloes by chronic diarrhea and
thickening of the intestine.
Transmission
Under natural conditions the disease spread by ingestion of feed and water contaminated by the faeces of infected animals. The infection occurs mostly in the early month of life. The incubation period extends from 12 months to several years. The animal aged 3 to 6 years mostly suffer from the disease. Affected animals may not show clinical symptoms continue to discharge organisms in faeces.
The organisms persist in pastures
for about 1 year. The organisms are susceptible to sunlight, drying and high ph
of soil; continuous contact of urine with faeces reduces the life of bacteria.
In cattle clinical signs appear mainly during 2-6 years of age. The infected
animals which are apparently healthy, often show clinical signs after
parturition.
Treatment
the organisms is more resistant to chemotherapeutic agents
invitro than mycotuberculosis. Because of this the practical utility of
treatment in clinical cases is poor.
Control
The affected animal should be segregated and their faeces
properly disposed off. Alive vaccine has been developed. It reduces the
incidence of clinical disease. It consists of a non-pathogenic strain of
jhone`s bacillus with an adjuvant. The calves soon after birth are inoculated
with vaccine subcontaneously. The vaccinated animals become reactors of jhonin.
Vaccination is generally done in heavily infected herds.
8.
Footrot
Foot rot is a common cause of lameness in cattle and occurs most frequently when cattle on pasture are forced to walk through mud to obtain water and feed. However, it may occur among cattle in paddocks as well, under apparently excellent conditions.
Foot rot is caused when a cut or scratch in the skin allows infection to penetrate between the claws or around the top of the hoof. Individual cases should be kept in a dry place and treated promptly with medication as directed by a veterinarian.
If the disease becomes a herd problem a foot
bath containing a 5% solution of copper sulphate placed where cattle are forced
to walk though it once or twice a day will help to reduce the number of new
infections. In addition, drain mud holes and cement areas around the water
troughs where cattle are likely to pick up the infection. Keep pens and areas
where cattle gather as clean as possible. Proper nutrition regarding protein,
minerals and vitamins will maximize hoof health.
9. Bovine rhinotracheitis
Infectious
bovine rhinotracheitis (ibr) is a highly contagious, infectious respiratory
disease that is caused by bovine herpesvirus-1 (bhv-1). It can affect young and
older cattle. In addition to causing respiratory disease, this virus can cause
conjunctivitis, abortions, encephalitis, and generalised systemic infections.
Ibr is characterized by acute inflammation of the upper respiratory tract.
Treatment
There is no
direct treatment for viral diseases. Infected animals should be isolated from
the rest of the herd and treated with anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotics
for secondary infections if necessary. Carrier cattle should be identified and
removed from the herd.
Prevention
Control of
the disease is based on the use of vaccines.
10. Ringworm
This is the most common infectious skin disease affecting beef cattle.
It is caused by a fungus, and is transmissible to man. Typically, the disease
appears as crusty grey patches usually in the region of the head and neck and
particularly around the eyes.
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