CONTROLLING BOVINE RESPIRATORY DISEASE.
Bovine respiratory disease continues to be a significant economic and welfare problem for the cattle
industry.
It costs the UK industry an estimated £80 million per year, with each case in beef suckler calves
costing £82 per head and in dairy calves £43 per head.
Studies have shown that 60% of the costs can be attributed to weight loss, reduction in daily
liveweight gain, additional labour and mortality with only 40% coming from veterinary and medicine
costs.
Respiratory disease in cattle is a complex disease, resulting from a combination of management and
environmental factors, calf susceptibility and infectious agents.
In the majority of outbreaks viruses and sometimes Mycoplasma bovis are the initiators. They
damage the lungs and can cause severe disease on their own, but they also open up the respiratory
tract to secondary bacterial attack which can lead to further extensive lung damage.
Controlling bovine respiratory disease needs to be based on an integrated approach of
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Management practices which will influence the incidence of respiratory disease.
The early detection and aggressive treatment of sick animals.
Vaccination to increase the animal’s immunity to viral or bacterial infections.
Management issues.
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Nutrition-good calf nutrition including adequate colostrum intakes and stress free weaning.
Stress management-avoid multiple stresses such as weaning, dehorning, castrating, and
housing.
Housing-ensure housing is well ventilated but draught free, well bedded and drained to
reduce the build up of humidity .Ensure stocking rates are appropriate for the air and pen
space and house in groups as small as practical.
Mixing-don’t mix cattle of different ages, bought in and home reared cattle and sick and
healthy cattle.
Other diseases- Immunosuppression caused by the BVD virus will increase the risk of
respiratory disease. Calves that have had scour are three times more likely to get
pneumonia.
Early detection and treatment.
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Aim to detect cases of respiratory disease early and treat with a correct dose of an antibiotic
effective against pneumonia pathogens. The minimum duration of antibacterial treatment
should be three days and the use of anti-inflammatories will reduce fever and lung damage
and lead to a better recovery.
Isolate all sick animals in a separate airspace and return recovered calves to their original
group wherever possible rather than mixing with different cattle.
Where a proportion of calves are affected with respiratory disease (15-20%) then consider
treating the in contact cattle as well. A recent study showed that whilst 35% of calves were
diagnosed and treated for pneumonia, at slaughter 72% were found to have lung damage
caused by the disease. Although these calves appeared healthy, they suffered reduced
growth rates compared to calves with healthy lungs.
Vaccination.
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Vaccines can be used to help control respiratory disease as part of a disease prevention
programme that also addresses any environmental and management deficiencies on the
farm.
Vaccination programmes should be completed ahead of the main risk period for
respiratory disease on the farm.
Develop a vaccination programme with your vet which takes into account any
respiratory pathogens isolated on your farm.
On farms where the cause of pneumonia is unknown or where buying in stock increases
the risk of mixed infections, the ideal vaccine should provide broad spectrum protection
which lasts throughout the housed period.
In summary, develop a respiratory disease control plan with your vet which looks at management
and environmental influences and considers treatment and vaccination options appropriate for your
farm.