Biology, Management, Diseases,
and Uses of Sheep, Goats, and
Cattle
CPT Chad D. Foster
Chief, NHP Clinical Medicine
USAMRIID
26 Oct 05
Previously Presented By:
• CPT Curtis Klages – Goats
• CPT Christopher Keller – Sheep
• LTC Kelcin Buchanan – Sheep & Goats
Purpose
Outline
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Taxonomy
Uses in research
Sources/Evaluation
Management and Husbandry
Unique Biology
Goat Normal Values
Basic Nutrition
Reproduction
Behavior
Diseases
Taxonomy
Sheep
• Order: Artiodactyla (even toed
ungulates)
• Sub-order: Ruminantia (cud
chewing animals)
• Family: Bovidae
• Sub-family: Caprinae
• Genus and sub-genus: Ovis
• Domestic sheep = Ovis aries
• Subgenus Pachyceros includes
the wild North American breeds
Breeds
Sheep
• Meat
– Dorset, Columbia, Suffolk,
Hampshire, Southdown, Border
Cheviot
• Wool
– Merino, Rambouillet, Lincoln,
Romney
• Hair
– Barbados
• Dual-Purpose:
– Targhee, Polypay
Terminology
Sheep
• Female: ewe
• Intact Male: ram
• Young Animal: lamb
– Ewe lamb
– Ramb lamb
• Castrated Male: wether
• Birthing Process: lambing
Taxonomy
Goats
• Order: Artiodactyla (even toed
ungulates)
• Sub-order: Ruminantia (cud chewing
animals)
• Family: Bovidae
• Sub-family: Caprinae
• Genus and sub-genus: Capra
• Capra hircus is domestic goat
originated from western Asian goats
• Others include:
– Capra pyrenaica (Spanish goat)
– Capra ibex (Goats of the Red Sea and
Caucasus area)
– Capra falconiere (wild goat of
Afghanistan)
Breeds
Goats
• Dairy
– Nubian, Alpine, Toggenbutg, La
Mancha, Saanen, Oberhaslie
• Fiber
– Angora, Cashmere
• Meat
– Boer, Sapel, Ma Tou, Kambling,
Pygmy
• Leather
– Mubend (Uganda), Red Sokoto
(West Africa)
Terminology
Goats
Female: doe or nanny
Intact male: buck or billy
Young goat: kid or goatling
Young male: buckling
Young female: doeling
Castrated Male: wether or steer
Birthing Process: kidding
Taxonomy
Cattle
• Order: Artiodactyla (even
toed ungulates)
• Sub-order: Ruminantia (cud
chewing animals)
• Family: Bovidae
• Subfamily: Bovinae
• Genus & Species
– Bos taurus (domestic cattle)
– Bos indicus (Zebu cattle)
Breeds
Cattle
• Dairy
– Holstein-Fresian (most common
cow used as animal model),
Jersey, Brown Swiss, Milking
Shorthorn, Ayrshire, Guernsey
• Beef
– Angus, Hereford, Simmental
Terminology
Cattle
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Female: cow
Intact Male: bull
Young Animal: calf
Female prior to first calf:
heifer
• Castrated Male: steer
• Birthing Process: calving
Uses in Research
• Ruminants
– Cardiac Research
• Transplantation, cardiac assist & prosthetics
– Reproductive Research
• Embryo transfer, AI, reproductive cycle
control
– Genetics
• Gene transfer, cloning, nuclear transfer,
genetic engineering
– Antibody Production
– Surgically Induced: Osteopenia,
Fracture repair, ACL reconstruction
(Sheep & Goats)
Uses in Research
• Sheep Disease
Models
– General
• Fetal &
Reproductive
Research
• Circadian
Rhythms related
to day-length
• Interaction
between olfactory
cues and
behavior
Uses in Research
• Sheep Disease Models
– Squamous Cell Carcinoma (No.
252)
• Animal: Ovine SCC
• Human: SCC
– Congenital Goiter (No. 350)
• Animal: Congenital Goiter in Merino
Sheep
• Human: Congenital Goiter
– Intestinal Adenocarcinoma
• Animal: Adenocarcinoma of the SI of
Sheep
• Human: Adenocarcinoma of the Human
Colon
Uses in Research
• Sheep Disease Models
– Congenital Hyperbilirubinemia (No. 2)
• Animal: Dubin-Johnson Syndrome in Corriedale
• Dubin-Johnson Syndrome
• Hepatic organic anion excretory defect
– Congenital Hyperbilirubinemia (No. 8)
• Animal: Gilbert’s Syndrome in Southdown Sheep
• Human: Gilbert’s Syndrome
• Hepatic organic anion uptake defect
Uses in Research
• Sheep Disease Models
– Muscular Dystrophy (No. 51)
• Animal: Congenital Progressive Ovine Muscular
Dystrophy
• Human: Muscular Dystrophy
– Immune-Mediated Arthritis (No. 418)
• Animal: Lentivirus-induced arthritis of sheep &
goats (OvLV & CAEV respectively)
• Human: Rheumatoid Arthritis
Uses in Research
• Sheep Disease Models
– GM1 Gangliosidosis (No. 395)
• Animal: Ovine GM1 Gangliosidosis in Suffolk
• Human: GM1 Gangliosidosis
– Wilson’s Disease (No. 307)
• Animal: Chronic (cumulative) Cu Poisoning
• Human: Wilson’s Disease
• Induced model
Uses in Research
• Sheep Disease Models
– Transmissible Spongiform Encephaolopathy
• Animal: Scrapie
• Human: Kuru, Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease (CJD)
– Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency in
Dorsett Sheep
– Pulmonary Adenomatosis (jaagsiekte)
– Other Induced Models
• Arteriosclerosis
• Hemorrhagic shock
• Metabolic toxicosis
Uses in Research
• Goats (General)
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Immunology
Mastitis
Nutrition
Parasitology
Vascular
Uses in Research
• Goat Models
– Beta-Mannosidosis (No. 369)
• Animal: Beta-Mannosidosis in Nubian
goats
– this inbred line of Nubians also serve
as models for therapeutic cell
transplantation strategies
• Human: Beta-Mannosidase
Deficiency
– Congenital Myotonia
• Animal: Caprine Myotonia Congenita
(“fainting goats”)
• Myotonia Congenita (Thompsen’s
Disease)
Uses in Research
• Goat Models
– Other disease models
• Osteoporosis
• Caprine Mucoploysaccharidosis IIID (Sanfillipo Syndrome
Type D)
• Melanoma
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease
• Afibrinogenemia
• Hereditary Congenital Goiter
• Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease (sx induced)
– Hyperimmune Serum Production
Uses in Research
• Cattle (General)
– Permanent fistula
• ruminal fluid for research,
teaching, treatment
– Infectious Diseases
– Metabolic Diseases
Uses in Research
• Cattle Disease Models
– Tritrichomonas (Trichomonas) fetus
• Animal: Bovine Trichomoniasis
• Human: Trichomonis vaginalis infection
– Inherited Cardiomyopathies in HolsteinFresian, Simmental-Red Holstein, Black
Spotted Fresian, & Polled Hereford with wooly
coat.
– Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency Syndrome
Uses in Research
• Cattle Disease Models
– Lipofuscinosis in Ayrshires & Fresians
– Glycogenesis in Shorthorns & Brahmans
– Hereditary orotic aciduria in Holstein-Fresian
& Fresian cattle
– Hereditary Zinc Deficiency in Holstein-Fresian
& Fresian cattle
Sources
• Commercial vendors
• USDA licensed dealers
Health Screening
Sheep
• Diseases
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Coxiella burnettii (Q fever)
Contagious Ecthyma
Caseous lymphadenitis
Johne’s Disease
Ovine Progressive
Pneumonia
– Internal Parasites (nasal
bots, lungworms, intestinal
worms)
– External Parasitism (sheep
keds)
• Vaccinations
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Bluetongue
Brucella ovis
Campylobacter spp.
Chlamydia
Clostridial Diseases
Pneumonia complex
Ovine ecthyma
Dichelobacter nodosus
Arcanobacterium
pseudotuberculosis
– Bacillus anthracis
– Fusobacterium
necrophorum
Health Screening
Goats
• Diseases
– Coxiella burnettii (Q
fever)
– CAE (caprine arthritis
encephalitis)
– Brucellosis
– Tuberculosis
– Johne’s Disease
– Caseus lymphadenitis
– Contagious ecthyma
– Mycoplasma
• Vaccinations
– Tetanus & other Clostridial
diseases
– Campylobacter spp.
– Chlamydia
– Caseous lymphadenitis
– Contagious ecthyma
– E. coli
– Fusobacterium
necrophorum
Health Screening
Cattle
• Screening
– Johne’s Disease
– Brucellosis
– Tuberculosis
– Respiratory Diseases
– Internal and External Parasites
– Foot Rot
– Hairy Heel Warts
Health Screening
Cattle
• Essential Vaccinations
– Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus
– Infectious Bovine
Rhinotracheitis Virus
– Bovine Respiratory Syncytial
virus
– Parainfluenza-3
– Leptospira pomona
– Tritrichomonas fetus
– Rotavirus
– Coronavirus
– Campylobacter (vibrio)
– Pasteurella haemolytica
– Pasteurella multocida
– Brucella abortus
• Other Available Vaccines
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Clostridial diseases
Moraxella bovis
Fusobacterium necrophorum
Staph aureus (mastitis)
Haemophilus somnus
Rabies
Tetanus
Bacillus anthracis
Enterotoxigenic E. coli
Anaplasma
Other Leptospira spp.
Laboratory Management and
Husbandry
Laboratory Management and
Husbandry
• Stress reduction in transportation, handling,
and husbandry practices
• Floor – prevent slippage & support wt.
• Feeders conformed to species
• Continuous-access waterers
• Social and herding animals need to be in
eyesight and hearing of other animals
• Single housed animals should have regular
human contact
• Environmental enrichment governed by SOP,
protocol, and IACUC
• Light cycle – close to natural conditions
• Light intensity – around 220 lux
Unique Biology
Ruminants
• Three compartment
forestomach
– Rumen, reticulum,
omasum
• Rumen
– Anaerobic fermentation
chamber
• bacteria & protozoa
• Cellulase & other enzymes
– Produce volatile fatty acids
(VFA) – main source of
energy
• Acetic, propionic, butyric
Unique Biology
Ruminants
• VFA absorbed in large intestine
– Unlike monogastrics
• Microorganisms also synthesizes vitamins B,
K and provide protein
• Gases produced and eructated
– CO2, Methane, Nitrogen
• Spiral Colon
• No upper incisors
Unique Biology
Ruminants
• Immunoglobulins
absorbed by pinocytosis
in neonates and crucial
to passive transfer
• Functional for the first
36 hours after parturition
• Neonatal ruminants are
immunocompetent
Unique Biology
Ruminants
• Ruminants have fewer neutrophils then
lymphocytes
• BUN cannot be used as indicator of renal
function due to metabolism of urea by rumen
microorganisms
• Can go several days w/o water before
dehydration occurs b/c _____________
• Urine Ph is generally alkaline in adults
Unique Biology
Ruminants
• Erythrocytes are smaller than other
mammals
• Hematocrits tend to be over estimated
unless spun longer
• Increased RBC fragility
• Limited rouleaux formation - none in cattle;
limited in sheep and goats
• Sheep reported to have at least 6 different
types of hemoglobin (in addition to fetal
hemoglobin)
Unique Biology
Ruminants
• Caprine erythrocytes
– More frail in Pygmy and Toggenburg
– Lack central pallor
– Flat and lack bioconcavity
– May exhibit poikilocytosis
– 5 Blood groups (B, C, M, R-O, and X)
– Cross matching advisable but not practical
• Blood loss of up to 25% red cell mass well
tolerated by goats (withdrawals of 10ml/kg
BW safe)
Basic Nutrition
Ruminant
– Commercial feeds, pasture, hay, concentrates
– Sheep & Cattle: Grazers
– Goats: Browsers
• Can be very selective, eating only leafy parts;
waste hay
• Tend to eat grasses, seeds, nuts, fruits, and woody
stemmed plants
• Do not tolerate finely ground concentrates
• Do not prefer “sweet” feeds (except our “fat” goats)
– Make nutrition changes slowly
Basic Nutrition
Ruminants
– Ration high in Ca or Phos or elevated Mg may
induce urinary calculi in male ruminants
– May also occur in grasses or pastures high in
silicates and oxalates
– Newborns
• Passive immunity form colostrum (mostly IgG)
usually w/in 3 hrs of birth
• Trypsin inhibitors allow passage of intact
immunoglobulin
• Colostrum dependent on herd management
practices (vaccinations, nutrition, parasite control)
Reproduction
Sheep
• Seasonally polyestrous
– Breed fall/winter; lamb in spring
• Puberty: 7-8 months
• Estrus cycle: 17 days
• Estrus duration: 24-30 hours
– Ovulate spontaneously @ end
• Gestation 147-150 days
• Prolificacy varies greatly with
breed
• Epitheliochorial placentation
Reproduction
Goats
• Seasonally polyestrous
– Short day breeders
• Puberty: 7-10 months
• Estrus cycle: 18-24 days
• Estrus duration: 24-96 hours
– Ovulate late in estrus
• Gestation: 145-155 days
• Does bear singletons, twins, &
triplets & kid only once per year
• Epitheliochorial placentation
• Pseudopregnancy common
Reproduction
Cattle
• Polyestrous
• Puberty
– 10-12 months (dairy)
– 11-15 months (beef)
• Estrus cycle: 21 days
• Estrus duration: 6-24 hours
(avg 12-16)
– Ovulation: 24-32 hrs after estrus
• Gestation 270-292 days
• Epitheliochorial placentation
Reproduction
Ruminants
• Weaning
– Sheep: 4-8 weeks
(usually 6-8 wks)
– Goats: 6-10 weeks
– Cattle
• 4-7 wks (dairy)
• 7 months (beef) – beef
cows tend to stay with
their mother cows until
weaning
Behavior
Signs of stress
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Excessive vocalizations
Bruxism
Decreased appetite
Decreased cud chewing
Restlessness
Prolonged recumbency with out
stretched neck and head
– Hunched appearance when
standing
– Limb favoring
– Rough dull hair coats
Behavior
– Sheep
• Easily scared – move slowly and
gently
– Goats
• Orally investigative
• May readily chew through wooden
gates or fencing
• May make sneezing noises to
confront unfamiliar intruders
– Cattle
• Dairy=docile; Beef=not
• Calves: non-nutritive suckling
Diseases
Bacterial
• Actinobacillosis (“Wooden Tongue”)
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Agent: Actinobacillus lignieresii
Animals: Cattle & Sheep
Organism penetrates wounds
Diffuse abscesses/granulomas in
tissues of head
• Tongue lesions more common in cattle
• Lip lesions more common in sheep
• Soft-tissue/LN swelling with draining
tracts
– Treatment
• Softer feeds
• Antibiotics: sulfonamides, tetracyclines,
ampicillin
Diseases
Bacterial
• Arcanobacterium
– Arcanobacterium bovis – Lumpy Jaw
• Normal flora; enters through wounds/abrasions
• Causes firm, non-painful, immovable mandibular mass;
fistulas may develop
• Tx: pennicillin (or derivatives); sodium iodides (IV);
potassium iodides (orally)
• Poor prognosis
– Arcanobacterium pyogenes (actinomycosis)
• Omphalophlebitis, omphaloarteritis, omphalitis, navel ill
Diseases
Bacterial
• Anthrax
– Agent: Bacillus anthracis
– Animals: sheep, cattle, goats
– Transmission: abrupt climate changes lead to
spore release; spores ingested by grazing
animals (sheep & cattle more than goats)
– Clinical signs: swelling around shoulders, ventral
neck, and thorax; bloody secretions; death
– Prevention: vaccination with Sterne-strain spore
vaccine
– Zoonotic
Diseases
Bacterial
• Brucellosis (Bang’s Disease)
– Agents:
• Brucella melitensis – 1o in sheep & goats
• Brucella abortus – 1o in cattle
• Brucella ovis
– Transmission: ingestion of infected tissues (milk,
vaginal/uterine discharges)
– Signs: abortions, hygromas, swollen scrotum
– Treatment: cull and slaughter
– Vaccination:
• Rev 1 (sheep) – not available in the U.S.
• Strain 19 (cattle) – public health risk (undulant fever)
• RB51 – official calfhood vaccine
– Zoonotic (B. melitensis is leading cause of human
brucellosis)
Diseases
Bacterial
• Campylobacteriosis (Vibriosis)
– Agent: Campylobacter fetus
• Subsp. intestinalis – most important cause of ovine abortion
in the U.S.
– Transmission: GI tract  Blood Stream; NOT venereal
– Causes abortions (last trimester), stillbirths, weak lambs
• Subsp. venerealis – cattle only
– Transmission: venereal
– Signs: high % return to estrus after breeding; abortions
– Prevention: bacterin
– Treatment:
• Sheep: penicillin, oral chlortetracycline
• Cattle: intrauterine penicillin
– Zoonotic
Diseases
Bacterial
• Clostridial Infections
– C. perfringens type C (Enterotoxemia, Struck)
• Common in sheep, goats, and cattle
• Causes fatal hemorrhagic enterocolitis, enterotoxemia
– C. perfringens type D (Pulpy Kidney Disease)
– Disease of sheep
– sudden death
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C. chauvoei - Blackleg
C. septicum - Malignant Edema
C. novyi - Big Head, Black Disease
C. hemolyticum – bacillary hemoglobinuria, “redwater”
C. tetani - Tetanus
Diseases
Bacterial
• Clostridial Infections
– Source: ubiquitous in environment; GI tract;
contaminated feeds
– Transmission: ingestion; contamination of wounds
– Prevention: vaccinate (multivalent vaccine available)
– Treatment:
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usually futile
antibiotics
supportive
antitoxin for tetanus
Diseases
• Caseous
Lymphadenitis
– Common, chronic
contagious infection of
lymph nodes of sheep
and goats
– Cause: Corynebacterium
pseudotuberculosis
– Prevention: reject animals
with lymphadenopathy or
wounds
– Treatment: antibiotics,
lance and drain
abscesses, cull animals
Diseases
Bacterial
• Corynebacterium renale group
– C. renale
• Normal inhabitant of bovine genitourinary tract
• acute pyelonephritis in cattle results from ascending infection
following a compromise of protective mechanisms
• Tx: penicillin (3 weeks)
– C. pilosum & C. cystitidis
• Normal inhabitants of prepuce of sheep and goats
• Posthitis (pizzle rot) and vulvovaginitis
– high-protein diets increase urinary pH; ammonia irritates
prepucial and vulvar skin, increasing vulnerability
• Tx: decrease dietary protein
Diseases
Bacterial
• Foot Rot of Sheep and Goats
– Cause: Fusobacterium necrophorum
(normal inhabitant) and Dichelobacter
nodosus (environmental contaminant)
– Most common cause of lameness in
sheep
– Prevention
• maintain dry, clean environment
• reject clinical cases at delivery
• vaccinate
– Treatment
• foot baths - 10% formalin or 10% zinc sulfate or
10% copper sulfate
• penicillin and streptomycin
• trim affected tissue
Diseases
Bacterial
• Foot Rot of Cattle
– Cause: Fusobacterium necrophorum and
Bacteroides melaninogenicus
– Signs: Acute lameness, malodor w/ little discharge
– Prevention
• maintain dry, clean environment
• Vaccinate
– Treatment
• foot baths – 2.5% formalin or 10% zinc sulfate or 5% copper
sulfate
• penicillin and oxytetracycline
• trim affected tissue
Diseases
Bacterial
• Heel Warts (Bovine Digital Dermatitis,
Interdigital Papillomatosis, Papillomatous
Digital Dermatitis, Hairy Foot Warts)
– Cattle only
– Cause?: Fusobacterium spp., Bacteroides
spp., Dichelobacter nodosus, + poor facility
management
– Lesions of haired digital skin: erect hairs;
loss of hair; thickened skin, painful moist
plaques (red, gray, or black)
– Treatment: antibiotics, footbaths, surgical
debridement
– Prevention: as noted for foot rot
Diseases
• Thromboembolic Meningoencephalitis (TEME)
– Agent: Haemophilus somnus (also involved in BRD
complex)
– Signs: depression, ataxia, falling, conscious
proprioceptive deficits, death within 36 hours
– Transmission: respiratory secretions
– Vaccination for viral respiratory pathogens may
predispose
– Prevention: avoid vaccinating for for IBR and BVD
during times of stress
– Treatment: penicillin, oxytetracycline
Diseases
• Mastitis
– Sheep:
• Pasteurella hemolytica most
common
– Goats:
• Staphylococcus epidermidis
most common
– Cattle:
• Staphylococcus aureus,
Streptococcus spp., E. coli,
Enterobacter aerogenes,
Serratia marcescens, Klebsiella
pneumoniae, Mycoplasma spp.,
Salmonella spp.
• Mastitis is disease of greatest
economic impact for dairy cattle
Diseases
Bacterial
• Infectious Bovine Keratoconjunctivitis (Pinkeye)
– Agent: Moraxella bovis
– Cattle only
– Signs: lacrimation, photophobia, blepharospasm,
conjunctival injection, ulceration
– More severe in animals infected with IBR or who have
recently been vaccinated for IBR (modified-live vacc)
– Transmission:
• shed in nasal secretions
• Fomites, flies, aerosols, direct contact
– Treatment
• Topical antibiotics
• Subconjunctival injections of Pennicillin
Diseases
Bacterial
• Tuberculosis
– Cause: Acid-Fast Bacteria
• Mycobacterium bovis (sheep, goats, cattle)
• Mycobacterium avium (sheep, goats)
• Mycobacterium tuberculosis (goats)
– Signs:
• may be asymptomatic
• dyspnea, coughing, and pneumonia
• diarrhea, bloat, constipation
– Prevention: intradermal tuberculin test, cull and slaughter
– Treatment: None
– Zoonotic
Diseases
Bacterial
• Johne’s Disease (Paratuberculosis)
– Chronic, contagious, granulomatous disease
of adult ruminants
– Cause: Mycobacterium paratuberculosis
(acid-fast)
– Long incubation period
– Signs: chronic wasting, pasty feces,
diarrhea
– Transmission: direct or indirect contact
– Prevention: Test and slaughter
– Treatment: None
Diseases
Bacterial
• Respiratory Disease Complex of Ruminants
– BRDC in cattle, BRD in calves, “shipping fever”
– Most economically important disease of beef cattle
• Combinations of numerous agents
– Bacterial: Pasteurella haemolytica, P. multicida,
Hemophilus somnus, Corynebacterium pyogenes
– Viral: Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR).
Parainfluenza-3 (PI-3), Bovine Respiratory Syncytial
virus (BRSV), Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD)
– Mycoplasma bovis, M. dispar
Diseases
Bacterial
• Respiratory Disease Complex of Ruminants
– Onset of disease related to stress:
• Shipping, weaning, weather changes, dietary changes,
overcrowding, shearing
– Signs: nasal discharge, fever, coughing, dyspnea,
diarrhea, depression, death
– Treatment:
• Antibiotics: ceftiofur, tilmicosin, florfenicol, oxytetracycline,
tilosin
• Anti-inflammatory: Banamine
• Supportive Care
– Prevention: reduce stress, precondition, vaccinate
Diseases
Bacterial
• Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia
– Cause: Mycoplasma mycoides biotype F38
– Signs: severe dyspnea, nasal discharge,
cough, and fever
– High morbidity and mortality
– Transmission: aerosol
– Prevention: vaccinate; quarantine
– Treatment: Tylosin and Oxytetracycline
Diseases
Bacterial
• Q-Fever
– Highly contagious disease of sheep and goats
– Agent: Coxiella burnetti - rickettsial organism
– Transmission
• Ixodid or Argasid ticks
• Ingestion of infected materials (placenta, milk, urine
, feces, nasal secretions)
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–
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Major cause of late abortion in sheep
Usually asymptomatic in cattle and goats
Treatment: oxytetracycline
Zoonotic (single organism shown to cause
disease)
Diseases
Viral
• Bluetongue Virus
– Most common ulcerative disease of sheep in US (less
common in goats and cattle)
– Cause:
• Reoviridae family, Orbivirus genus
• Transmission: biting midge (Culicoides variipennis)
– Signs:
• hemorrhage and ulcers in mouth and nose, cyanosis of the
tongue, ulcerations of coronary band, lameness, pneumonia,
abortions, diarrhea, death
– Prevention: modified live virus vaccine
– Treatment: supportive care
– Reportable disease (resembles FMD)
Diseases
Viral
• Bovine Lymphosarcoma
– Adult cattle:
• associated with Bovine Leukemia Virus (BLV)
• Transmission: inhalation, colostrum, fomites
• 2 forms
– Malignant Lymphoma: most common bovine neoplastic disease
in the U.S.
– Leukosis (B-lymphocyte proliferation): rare
– Young cattle:
• not associated with BLV
• Rare
– Sheep: natural infection has occurred; experimental
model
– Goats: seroconvert to BLV, but do not develop clinical
disease
Diseases
Viral
• Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus (Flavivirus)
– BVD virus is ubiquitous (70-90% of all cattle seropositive)
– Acute Form (NCP)
• Affects immunocompetent, but immunologically naïve cattle
• Signs: diarrhea, fever, leukopenia, oral erosions, oculonasal
discharge, hypogalactia
– In utero infection (NCP)
• abortions, congenital anomalies, persistently infected calves
– Mucosal Disease
• PI animal that becomes infected with a CP strain (mutant)
• Usually results in death
• 10% will survive to first calving Real Problem
– Prevention: Vaccination
Diseases
Viral
• Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis Virus
– Most important viral disease of goats
– Cause: Lentivirus (similar to OPPV)
– Transmission
• vertical via colostrum and milk
– Signs
• progressive arthritis (six months and older)
– Carpal joint most common, followed by stifle, hock, and hip
• neurological symptoms in kids
• pneumonia (older animals)
• mastitis (older animals)
– Prevention:
• remove kids at birth; test and cull
– Treatment: None – Infection is lifelong
Diseases
Viral
• Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis
– Agent: IBR virus, Bovine Herpesvirus 1
• BHV-1.1 (IBR)
• BHV-1.2 (IBR-Infectious Pustular Vulvovaginitis)
• BHV-1.4 (neurologic disease)
– Fibronecrotic rhinotracheitis is pathognomonic
– Signs: gray pustules/plaques on muzzle, nasal
discharge, open-mouth breathing,
– IBR and BVD are the most common causes of bovine
abortion
– Treatment: antibiotics
– Prevention: vaccinate
Diseases
Viral
• Border Disease (Hairy Shaker
Disease)
– Primarily a disease of sheep;
– Cause: Pestivirus; closely related to BVD virus
– Transmission: PI animals shed virus in urine,
feces, and saliva
– In Utero infections result in:
• early embryonic death
• abortion
• developmental abnormalities - tremor,
hirsutism, hypothyroidism, CNS defects, joint
abnormalities
– Prevention: Vaccinate with killed BVDV vaccine
– Treatment: supportive care
Diseases
Viral
• Contagious Ecthyma (Orf)
–
–
–
–
Viral infection of sheep and goats
Cause: parapoxvirus - capable of surviving for years
Usually seen in young animals
Signs:
• lesions and scab formation around mouth, nostrils, eyes, nonwooled areas around mammary gland and vulva
– Most commonly at commissures of mouth
• Infected lactating ewes may abandon lambs
– Treatment: supportive
– Prevention:
• Vaccinate
• Disinfect equipment etc. in between use
– Zoonotic
Diseases
Viral
• Malignant Catarrhal Fever (MCF)
– Severe disease primarily of cattle, but all ruminants
susceptible
– Signs
• Corneal edema starting at limbus and progressing
centripetally is nearly pathognomonic
• Other signs include: oral erosions, purulent nasal discharge,
encephalitis, lymphadenopathy, shed horns and hooves,
diarrhea, sudden death
– Transmission
• Goats and cattle that survive are reservoirs
• Shed from nasopharynx
• Direct contact, water troughs, placenta, aerosols, fomites
– Infection is lifelong
Diseases
Viral
• Ovine Progressive Pneumonia Virus (OPPV,
Maedi/Visna)
– Cause: Lentivirus (closely related to CAEV)
– Signs
• after long incubation period (up to 2 years)
• progressive weight loss, pneumonia, lameness, paralysis, mastitis,
death
– Transmission
• horizontal (aerosol)
• vertical - in utero and via infected milk and colostrum
– Prevention:
• Test and cull
• Remove lambs from ewes at birth
– Treatment: none
Diseases
Viral
• Pulmonary Adenomatosis
(Jaagsiekte)
– Rare Disease
• progressive respiratory signs
(dyspnea, hyperpnea) and wasting
• Incubation up to 2 years
– Cause: Type D retrovirus
– Transmission: aerosol
– Treatment: None
Diseases
Viral
• Papillomatosis (Warts, Verrucae)
– Agent: Bovine Papillomavirus (types 1-5)
• BPV-1 and BPV-2: fibropapilomas on teats, penis, head,
neck, dewlap
• BPV-3: flat warts anywhere on body
• BPV-4: warts in GI tract
• BPV-5: small white warts on teats
– Very common in cattle, less common in sheep and
goats
– Sheep and goats rarely get verrucious type warts
which may develop into squamous cell carcinomas
– Transmission: direct/indirect contact through wounds
– Treatment: often spontaneously resolve (not BPV-3
and BPV-5); surgical excision; cryosurgery
– Prevention: commercial vaccine (cattle); autogenous
Diseases
Viral
• Pseudorabies (Mad Itch, Aujeszky’s Dz)
– Primarily a clinical disease of cattle (less frequently in
sheep and goats)
– Signs: abrasions, swelling, pruritis, hyperthermia,
vocalize frantically, salivation, neurologic signs
– Usually fatal
– Transmission
• Swine are primary host and reservoir and are usually
assymptomatic
• Oral, intranasal, intradermal, or SQ introduction of virus
(including modified-live swine vaccine)
– No treatment
– Reportable: nationwide eradication program
Diseases
• Tranmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies
– Caused by prion (nonantigenic replicating proteins)
– Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
• Incubation period of years
• Progressive neurological illness
– Scrapie
• More common in sheep than goats
• Affects young animals, but incubation 2-5 years
• Signs: excitable, tremors of head and neck muscles,
uncoordinated movements, “bunny hopping”, severe pruritis,
blindness, death within 4-6 weeks
• Suffolk especially susceptible; Targhee resistant
– USDA prohibits feeding mammalian proteins to
ruminants
– Reportable
Diseases
Viral
• Vesicular Stomatits
– Agent: Vesicular Stomatitis Virus
(Rhabdoviridae)
– Disease of Cattle; rarely sheep (also
horses & swine)
– Signs: vesicles on oral MM, teats and
interdigital spaces, ulcers and
erosions; anorexia, salivation
– Transmission: secretions spread by
fomites, human hands, possibly
contaminated feed and water, and
possible some flying insects
(mechanical vectors)
– Treatment: segregate; topical
antibiotics for 2o infections
– Prevention: vaccine during outbreak
– Reportable because similarity to FMD
– Zoonotic – flu-like disease in humans
Diseases
Viral
• Viral Diarrhea Diseases
– 1o young animals
– Sheep
• Rotaviruses, Coronaviruses
– Goats
• Rotaviruses, Coronaviruses, Adenoviruses
– Cattle
• Rotaviruses – diarrhea is typically distinctive yellow; may
become zoonotoic
• Coronaviruses
• Parvoviruses
• Winter Dysentary – diarrhea has distinctive musty sweet
odor, light brown and bubbly
– Prevention: good quality colostrum
Diseases
Chlamydial
• Enzootic Abortion
– Cause: Chlamydphila psittaci (formerly Chlamydia psittaci)
– Signs:
• late abortion
• birth of stillborns
• birth of weak kids/lambs
– Transmission
• direct contact with infectious secretions (placental, fetal, and uterine
fluids)
• Indirect contact with contaminated feed and water
– Prevention
• Vaccinate – prevents abortions, but not infection
• Quarantine - recovered does/ewes usually immune thereafter
– Treatment - Oxytetracycline
Diseases
• Conjunctivitis-Polyarthritis Syndrome
– Cause: Chlamydphila psittaci
(Formerly Chlamydia psittaci)
– Signs:
• ocular lesions
– Most common cause of infectious keratoconjunctivitis in
sheep
– Conjunctival hyperemia, edema, ulceration, opacity
• arthritis
– Lameness in one or all legs
– Prevention: Quarantine
– Treatment:
• Self-limiting: resolves spontaneously in 2-4 weeks
• Ocular - tetracycline ophthalmic medication
• Systemic Disease - Oxytetracycline
Diseases
Parasitic
• Anaplasmosis
– Agent: Anaplasma marginale (protozoa)
– Hemolytic disease of cattle
– Spread by Dermacentor andersoni and D.
occidentalis
– Tx: oxytetracycline
• Babesiosis
– Agent: Babesia bovis and Ba. Bigemina
(protozoa)
– Subclinical infections in cattle
– Spread by Boophilus ticks
– Hemolysis  liver and kidney disease
– Reportable
Diseases
Parasitic
• Coccidiosis (protozoa)
– Causes hemorrhagic diarrhea in ruminants
– Transmitted via ingestion of sporulated
oocysts
– Treatment
• Coccidiostats preferable to coccidiocidals
because the former allow development of
immunity
• Sulfonamides, amprolium, decoquinate,
lasalocid, monensin
• Cryptosporidiosis (protozoa)
– Common cause of diarrhea in young
ruminants
– Dx: oocysts in iodine-stained feces; fecal
floats without sugar
– Tx: none - self-limiting
– Zoonotic
Diseases
Parasitic
• Neosporosis
–
–
–
–
–
Neospora caninum (protozoa)
Common cause of bovine abortion (3rd -7th month)
Transmission: transplacental; ingesting ooccysts
No treatment
Definitive host: canine
• Toxoplasmosis
–
–
–
–
–
–
Toxoplasma gondii (protozoa)
Major case of abortions in sheep and goats
Transmission: ingesting oocysts; transplacental
No effective treatment
Definitive host: feline
Zoonotic
Diseases
Parasitic
• Trichomoniasis
– Agent: Tritrichomonas fetus (protozoa)
– Signs: infertility, pyometras, abortions
• Organism does not interfere with conception;
embryonic death occurs within 2 months of
infection
– Transmission: venereal
– Prevention: vaccinate; cull chronically infected
bulls
– Treatment: imidazole effective, but cannot be
used in food animals
Diseases
Parasitic
• Nematodes
– Haemonchus contortus (barber pole
worm)
• Most important internal parasite of sheep
and goats
• Anemia, hypoproteinemia,
intermandibular and cervical edema
– Ostertagia circumcincta (medium
stomach worm)
• Sheep and goats
– Ostertagia ostertagia (cattle stomach
worm)
• Most pathogenic and costly cattle
nematode
– Dictyocaulus (lungworms)
• Various respiratory signs in all ruminants
– Tx: Ivermectin, Levamisole
Diseases
Parasitic
• Trematodes
– Fascioliasis (liver fluke disease)
• Agents
– Fasciola hepatica
– Fascioloides magns
– Dicrocelium dendriticum
• Intermediate host: usually a freshwater snail
• Signs of acute liver disease related to migration of immature
flukes through the liver
• Chronic disease from damage to bile ducts and
cholangiohepatitis
• Predisposes to invasion with Clostridial spp.
• Necropsy: livers pale and friable =/- migration tunnels
• Tx: albendazole
Diseases
Parasites
• Mites – rare in ruminants in the U.S., but
Sarcoptes and Psorergates are reportable
• Lice
– Sheep
• Biting: Damalinia ovis
• Sucking: Linognathus ovillus, L. pedalis
– Goats
• Biting: D. caprae, D. limbatus, D. crassipes
• Sucking: L. stenopis, L. africanus
– Cattle
• Biting: D. bovis
• Sucking: L. vituli, Solenoptes capillatus,
Haematopinuseurysternus, H. quadripertusis
• Ticks – many Ixodidae and Argasidae species
Diseases
Parasites
• Other parasites
– Nasal bots/head grubs (Oestrus ovis)
– Screwworm flies (Cochliomyia hominivorax)
• Reportable
– Sheep Keds (Melophagus ovinus)
Diseases
Fungal
• Dermatophytosis (Ringworm)
– Common fungal infection of cattle
– Trichophyton verrucosum is 1o agent
– Signs: multiple, gray, crusty,
circumscribed, hyperkeratotic lesions
around head, neck and ears
– Dx: Dermatophyte Test Media (DTM)
– Spontaneous recovery 1-4 months
– Treatment
• Topical: 2-5% lime-sulfur solution, 3%
captan, iodophors, thiabendazole, and
0.5% hypochlorite
• Systemic: griseofulvin
– Zoonotic
Diseases
Genetic
• Entropion – sheep and goats
• Beta-Mannosidosis – goats (Nubian)
– Lysosomal storage disease
– Intention tremors, difficulty standing, deaf
• Congenital Myotonia – goats
– “fainting goats” – transient spasms of skeletal muscle brought
about by visual, tactile, or auditory stimuli
• Congenital erythropoietic porphyria – cattle
• Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency Syndrome –cattle
(Holstein)
• Goiter of Sheep – sheep (Merino)
• Spider Lamb Syndrome – sheep (Suffollk and
Hampshire)
– Hereditary chondrodysplasia
Diseases
Metabolic
• Abomasal displacement
– RDA
• May be complicated by torsion
• surgical emergency
– LDA
• More common
– Signs: anorexia, decreased cud chewing, decreased ruminal
contractions, decreased respiratory rate, increased heart rate
– Dx: “Pinging”
– Cause:
• Gas accumulation causes abomasum to “float” up
• No exact cause identified
– Treatment
• RDA: surgery
• LDA: surgical or non-surgical correction
Diseases
Metabolic
• Rumen Tympany (Bloat)
– Frothy bloat - excessive ingestion of highly
fermentable carbohydrates
• Treatment
– Mineral oil, household detergents, or anti-fermentatives via
stomach tube
– Trocarize rumen
– Free gas bloat
• Interference with normal eructation mechanism
– Esophageal obstruction, vagal nerve paralysis, some CNS
conditions
• Prevention
– withhold feed for at least 24 hours prior to anesthesia, etc.
• Treatment
– pass stomach tube
– trocarize rumen
Diseases
Metabolic
• Lactic Acidosis (Grain overload)
– Cause: excessive ingestion of highly fermentable
carbohydrates
• Leads to shift from gram-negative rumen bacterial population
to gram-positive Streptococcus and Lactobacillus
• Lactic acid acidifies the rumen leading to inflammation
•  ulcers, liver abscesses, laminitis, polioencephalomalacia
– Prevention:
• avoid sudden dietary changes
• avoid over feeding of high carbohydrate diets
– Treatment:
•
•
•
•
IV fluids
magnesium hydroxide intraruminal; Na bicarb IV
flush rumen or rumenotomy
transfaunation
Diseases
Metabolic
• Traumatic ReticulitisReticulopertonitis
–
–
–
–
Also Traumatic Reticulitis-Pericarditis
Aka. Hardware disease
Cattle, rarely small ruminants
Caused by ingestion of sharp metallic
objects which drop into the reticulum &
penetrates the reticulum; further
migrations may lead to penetration of the
diaphragm and pericardium
– Prevention
• Eliminate sharp objects in food and
environment
• Forestomach magnets
Diseases
Metabolic
• Pregnancy Toxemia (Ketosis, Twin Lamb
Disease)
– 1o in Sheep and Goats that are overweight or
bearing twins
– Seen in during late gestation or early lactation
– Signs
• depression, anorexia, weakness, neurologic
signs, fetal death, ketonuria
– Cause: inadequate glucose production
secondary to increased requirements
– Prevention: increase nutrition
– Treatment:
• IV fluids, IV glucose, B vitamins, propylene
glycol, induce abortion or c-section
– Protein Energy Malnutrition in heifer cattle is
similar, but generally not associated with
overconditioning or twins
Diseases
Metabolic
• Hypocalcemia (Parturient Paresis, Milk Fever)
– Sheep: overweight ewes during last six weeks of gestation or
first few weeks of lactation
• Signs: muscle tetany, incoordination, paralysis, coma, death
– Goats: not as common
• Signs: bloated, weak, unsteady, recumbent
– Cattle: 24-48 hours before/after parturition
• Signs: weak, muscle tremors, inability to stand, coma, death
– Cause:
• calcium needs exceed body’s uptake of calcium
– Prevention:
• Maintain proper nutrition during last trimester
• appropriate Ca:P ratio
• limit Ca intake early on
– Treatment: IV calcium borogluconate, calcium gels & boluses
Diseases
Metabolic
• Urinary Calculi (Obstructive Urolithiasis, Water Belly)
– Rare in ruminants
– Urethral blockage
• male sheep and goats: pizzle
• male cattle: sigmoid flexure
– Signs
• treading, straining, arched back, raised tail, squatting, pizzle may be
discolored
– Type: 1o struvite
– Prevention
• diet with 2:1 Ca:P ratio,  dietary roughage and salt, add
ammonium chloride to diet
– Treatment
• surgical - amputate pizzle, perineal urethrostomy
Diseases
Metabolic
• Copper Intoxication
o
– 1 a disease of sheep
– Acute hemolytic crisis
• sudden weakness, recumbency, hemoglobinuria,
intravascular hemolysis, anemia, icterus, sudden death
– Cause: chronic ingestion of copper
• Feeding cattle feeds and concetrates to sheep
• Copper-containing pesticides
• Soil additives
– Prevention: Feed proper ration
– Treatment
• ammonium molybdenate, sodium molybdenate, Dpenicillamine, transfusion
Diseases
Metabolic
• Selenium/Vitamin E Deficiency (White Muscle
Disease)
– A nutritional muscular dystrophy
– Two forms
• Cardiac - seen most often in neonates
– Respiratory difficulty due to damage of cardiac, diaphragmatic,
and intercostal muscles; locomotor disturbances and circulatory
failure
• Skeletal
– Reluctant to move; painful muscles
– Cause: Selenium (most common) and/or Vit. E
Deficiency
– Prevention: proper diet; awareness of regional
selenium deficiencies
– Treatment: injectable selenium and/or Vitamin E
Diseases
Metabolic
• Thiamine Deficiency
(Polioencephalomalacia)
– Animals affected:
• Adult ruminant on high-concentrate diets – most
common
• Ruminants exposed to toxic plants or moldy feed
containing thiaminases
• Ruminants on high-sulfate feeds
– Signs: bruxism, hyperesthesia, involuntary
muscle contractions, opisthotonus,
seizures, wandering aimlessly, headpressing, death
– Prevention: provide enough high quality
roughage to prevent overgrowth of
thiaminase-producing ruminal flora
– Treatment: thiamine hydrochloride
Diseases
Management-Related
•
•
•
•
•
•
Failure of Passive Transfer
Laminitis
Photosensitization - 2o (liver dz) most common)
Vaginal & Uterine Prolapses
Rectal Prolapses
Trichobezoars
Diseases
Neoplastic
• Neoplasia and tumors relatively rare in ruminants
• Sheep
– Lymphosarcoma/leukemia – results from a virus related to BLV
– Pulmonary carcinoma (pulmonary adenomatosis)
• Goats
– Thymoma
– Cutaneous papillomas which may progress to SCC
• Cattle
– Lymphosarcoma of various organ systems
– Ocular Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) – “cancer eye”
– Papillomatosis (warts) are common
Diseases
Misc.
• Amyloidosis – cattle
– Accumulations of amyloid in kidney, liver, adrenal
glands, and GI tract associated with chronic
inflammatory disease
– Signs: chronic diarrhea, wt. loss, proteinuria
– Poor prognosis; no treatment
• Dental Wear – sheep
– Associated with dietary contamination with silica, or
grazing in sandy environments
• Sole Abscesses – cattle
– Fusobacterium necrophorum often involved
Diseases
• Other Important Diseases
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Rabies – zoonotic, reportable
Leptosporosis - zoonotic
E. coli - zoonotic
Salmonellosis - zoonotic
Lyme Disease - zoonotic
Tularemia - zoonotic
Foot & Mouth Disease – reportable
Proliferative Stomatitis - zoonotic
Pseudocowpox - zoonotic
Recent Literature
• The Genetic Immunodeficiency Disease, Leukocyte
Adhesion Deficiency, in Humans, Dogs, Cattle, and
Mice. CM, Vol. 54, No. 4, August 2004
• Ovine Model to Evaluate Ovarian Vascularization by
Using Contrast-Enhancd Sonography, CM, Vol. 55,
No. 2, April 2005
References
•
•
•
Laboratory Animal Medicine, 2nd Edition,
2002,pages 519-614.
Large Animal Internal Medicine:
Diseases of Horses, Cattle, Sheep, and
Goats, 2nd Edition, Smith, 1996.
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