Below is a statement from the American Association of Bovine Practitioners regarding a disease outbreak that has occurred on dairy farms in Texas and potentially other parts of the southwest.
Always consult your veterinarian for the health of the animals on your own farm.
Clinical case presentation that has been reported is:
- Sudden reduction in feed intake with decreased ruminations evident on physical exam and rumination monitors.
- Sudden decrease in milk production on a herd level. Individual cows that are more severely affected have milk that is yellow and concentrated with the appearance of colostrum.
- Variations in manure consistency with the most common finding being tacky to dry manure, although some cows appear to have diarrhea.
- Secondary infections such as pneumonia and mastitis.
The affected cases appear to be in lactation 2 or greater animals that are more than 150 days in milk. Calves, heifers, and dry cows appear not to be affected. Disease rate is around 10% of the animals. Cases present over a 7-10 day time period and the first herds report a return to near normal production in 3 weeks. Diagnostic labs that have received submissions have not identified a cause of disease. Investigations are ongoing to attempt to identify the etiology.
If the above presentation is seen, you are encouraged to immediately address it with your veterinarian to submit samples from infected and healthy to a veterinary diagnostic laboratory.
Good biosecurity practices will help reduce the spread of this disease between farms. These practices include wearing clean shoes and clothes when leaving your farm and changing back into shoes and clothes that are only worn on your farm when returning.
AABP will continue to provide timely updates regarding this disease event as new information surfaces. Please be vigilant for these signs and perform the appropriate diagnostics if these signs are observed.