Agriculture Form 3 – Livestock Health III : (Diseases)

Introduction

Livestock diseases are classified according to causative agents as follows:

• Protozoan diseases – caused by protozoans.
• Bacterial diseases – caused by bacteria.
• Viral diseases – caused by viruses.
• Nutritional diseases – caused by nutritional disorders.

Protozoan Diseases

• East Coast Fever (ECF)
• Anaplasmosis (Gall sickness)
• Coccidiosis
• Trypanosomiasis (Nagana)

East Coast Fever

• Animals attacked: Cattle
• Cause: Protozoan (Theileria parva)
• It is a tick-borne disease transmitted by the red-legged tick and brown ear tick.

Symptoms

• Rise in body temperature
• Swelling of lymph glands below the ear
• Difficulty in breathing
• Dullness

Control and Prevention

• Control of vectors through dipping and fencing
• Treatment using clexon in the early stages

Anaplasmosis (Gall Sickness)

• Animals attacked: Cattle between 2 months and 2 years, poultry, lambs and kids, rabbits

Cause: Protozoan (Anaplasma marginale)

• Transmitted by the blue tick
• Contaminated surgical instruments and hypodermic needles

Symptoms

• Fever/rise in body temperature
• Constipation or hard dung
• Paleness in the gums, eyes, and lips
• Drop in milk production

Control

• Tick control
• Intramuscular injection of antibiotics and iron supplements

Coccidiosis of Poultry

• Cause: Protozoan (Eimeria spp.)

Symptoms

• Sudden death of chicks
• Whitish, yellow, and blood-stained diarrhoea
• Ruffled feathers
• Chicks become paralysed before dying
• Chicks become anaemic and dull

Control

• Disinfection of chick house
• Prevention of contamination of food and water with droppings
• Use of prophylactic drugs, for example, coccidiostats

Trypanosomiasis (Nagana)

• Animals attacked: Cattle, sheep, and goats
• Cause: Protozoan of the trypanosome species
• Vector: Tsetse flies

Symptoms

• Fever
• Dullness
• Anorexia/loss of appetite
• Loss of body condition/emaciation
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Lachrimation leading to blindness
• Diarrhoea
• Rough coat, sometimes without hair and cracked
• Swelling in parts of the belly
• Drop in milk production in lactating cows
• Loss of hair at tail end
• Anaemia
• Abortion may occur in pregnant females

Control

• Treat animals with trypanocidal drugs
• Effective vector (tsetse fly) control
• Confinement of wild animals in game parks

Bacterial Diseases

• Fowl typhoid
• Foot rot
• Contagious abortion
• Scours
• Blackquarter
• Mastitis
• Anthrax
• Pneumonia

Fowl Typhoid

• Animals attacked: All domestic birds including chicken, turkey, and ducks
• Cause: Bacteria (Salmonella gallinarum)

Symptoms

• Depression/appearing very sick
• Respiratory distress
• Dullness
• Drooping wings
• Sleepy eyes
• Anaemia resulting in pale and shrunken combs and wattles
• Greenish yellow diarrhoea

Control

• Killing all affected birds and proper disposal of carcasses
• Maintaining hygiene in the poultry house
• Ensuring the house is dry and well ventilated
• Obtaining chicks from reliable sources
• Treatment using sulphur drugs mixed in drinking water or mash
• For example, application of Furazolidone (Furazol) at 0.04% in mash for 10 continuous days effectively treats the disease

Foot Rot

• Also referred to as foul-in-the-foot
• Animals attacked: Cattle, sheep, and goats (most serious in sheep)
• Cause: Bacteria (Fusiformis necrophorus and Fusiformis nodosus)

Symptoms

• Swelling of the foot
• Lameness
• Pus and rotten smell from the hoof
• Sheep kneeling while grazing when front feet are affected
• Animals lie down most of the time when hind feet are affected
• Emaciation due to lack of feeding

Control

• Maintain hygiene in living areas
• Regular foot examination and hoof trimming
• Use foot baths with copper sulphate solution (5-10%) or formalin (2-5%)
• Treat wounds on feet with antiseptics
• Give antibiotic injections to affected animals
• Isolate sick animals from healthy ones
• Avoid dampness and muddy conditions

Contagious Abortion (Brucellosis/Bang’s Disease)

• Animals attacked: Cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs; also affects humans
• Cause: Bacteria:

• Brucella abortus in cattle
• Brucella suis in pigs
• Brucella melitensis in goats and sheep

Symptoms

• Spontaneous abortion or premature birth
• Retained placenta if abortion occurs late in pregnancy
• Infertility in cows; bulls have low libido and inflamed testis (orchitis)
• Yellowish brown, slimy, odourless discharge from vulva after abortion

Control

• Use artificial insemination
• Slaughter affected animals and properly dispose of carcasses
• Attendants should avoid contact with aborted foetuses
• Blood tests for all breeding animals to detect infection
• Maintain hygiene in animal houses

Scours (White Scours)

• Animals attacked: Calves, piglets, lambs, and kids
• Cause: Bacterium attacking young animals in the first week of life

Symptoms

• White or yellowish diarrhoea
• Pungent smelling faeces
• Fever
• Anorexia/loss of appetite
• Listlessness
• Sunken eyes
• Undigested milk and mucus with blood spots in faeces
• Faecal matter sticks to hindquarters
• Sudden death if untreated

Control

• Maintain hygiene in young animal housing
• Avoid dampness on house floors
• Disinfect attendants’ fingers when training calves to drink from buckets
• Calving should occur in clean areas
• Have separate attendants for infected calves to prevent spread
• Replace milk with warm water mixture if necessary
• Treat affected animals with antibiotics

Black Quarter

• Also known as blackleg
• Animals attacked: All ruminants aged 8–18 months
• Cause: Bacteria (Clostridium chauvei and Clostridium septicum)

Symptoms

• Lameness
• Fever
• Fast and heavy breathing
• Cracking sound on swollen parts when touched
• Swelling of affected parts, usually hindquarters, shoulders, chest, or back
• Dullness
• Anorexia
• Grunting and grinding of teeth
• Animal stops chewing cud

Control

• Treat with recommended antibiotics
• Vaccinate using blackquarter vaccine known as Blanthax
• Bury carcasses deep or burn completely

Mastitis

• Inflammation of the udder
• Animals attacked: Goats, cows, pigs, and humans
• Cause: Bacteria (Streptococcus spp. or Staphylococcus spp.)

Pre-disposing Factors

• Incomplete milking
• Injuries on udder and teats
• Weak sphincter muscles of teats allowing free milk flow

Symptoms

• Milk is watery, blood-stained, or clotted
• Swollen udder

Control

• Proper milking techniques
• Treatment with antibiotics
• Culling frequently affected animals

Anthrax

• Attacks all domestic animals
• Cause: Bacteria (Bacillus anthracis)

Symptoms

• Sudden death
• High fever
• Grinding of teeth

Pneumonia

• Inflammation of the lungs
• Animals attacked: Calves, kids, lambs, piglets, and poultry

Cause:

• Bacteria (Mycoplasma mycoides)
• Dust
• Worms in the lungs

Symptoms

• Dullness
• Anorexia/loss of appetite
• Staring coat
• Emaciation
• Rapid breathing
• Abnormal lung sounds when breathing
• Coughing when chest is pressed
• Fluctuating body temperature
• Nasal discharge

Control

• Keep young animals in warm pens
• Maintain proper sanitation
• Isolate affected animals
• Treat with antibiotics

Viral Diseases

• Rinderpest
• Foot and mouth disease (FMD)
• New Castle
• Fowl pox
• Gumboro
• African swine fever

Rinderpest

• Animals attacked: Cattle and wild game
• Cause: Virus

Symptoms

• Harsh staring coat
• Rise in temperature
• Eye discharge (lachrimation)
• Diarrhoea and dysentery
• Ulcers in the mouth

Foot and Mouth Disease

• Animals attacked: Cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs
• Cause: Virus

Symptoms

• Sharp rise in temperature
• Blisters in mouth, hooves, udder, and teats
• Loss of appetite

Control

• Vaccination
• Quarantine
• Nursing wounds with disinfectant

New Castle

• Animals attacked: Poultry
• Cause: Virus

Symptoms

• Difficulty in breathing
• Beaks remain wide open and necks strained
• Birds become dull
• Birds stand with eyes closed all the time
• Anorexia/loss of appetite
• Nasal discharges causing birds to shake heads
• Birds walk with staggering motion
• Paralysis of wings and legs may occur
• Birds hold beaks and wings down
• Watery greenish diarrhoea
• Soft-shelled eggs

Control

• Killing all affected birds and burning them, followed by cleaning and disinfecting houses before restocking
• Vaccination during first 6 weeks and again 2–3 months later
• Quarantine

Fowl Pox

• Animals affected: Poultry
• Cause: Virus known as avian pox

Symptoms

Two types of fowl pox with different symptoms:

• Cutaneous type
• Diphtheritic type

The cutaneous type affects the skin and shows:

• Injuries on combs, wattles, legs, vent, and under wings
• Loss of appetite

The diphtheritic type affects internal membranes and shows:

• Injuries inside throat and mouth membranes causing difficulty breathing and swallowing
• Watery discharge from eyes and nose
• Loss of appetite
• Dullness
• Emaciation

Control

• Killing all affected birds and proper disposal of carcasses
• Vaccinating remaining healthy birds

Gumboro

• Also called poultry AIDS
• Animals attacked: Poultry
• Cause: Virus known as Birnavirus

Symptoms

• Swollen glands above the vent (bursa)
• Drop in egg production
• Respiratory distress
• Loss of appetite
• Low water intake
• Loss of immunity, making birds susceptible to opportunistic diseases

Control

• Vaccination
• Administer vitamins, especially B12

African Swine Fever

• Animals attacked: All domesticated pigs
• Cause: Virus known as Iridovirus

Symptoms

• Fever
• Loss of appetite
• Depression/dullness
• Emaciation
• Coughing
• Nasal discharge
• Diarrhoea in severe cases

Control

• Vaccination
• Quarantine
• Killing affected animals and proper disposal of carcasses
• Double fencing to keep wild animals away

Nutritional Diseases/Disorders

Milk Fever

• Non-infectious disease caused by calcium deficiency in animals recently given birth
• Animals attacked: Cows, goats, and pigs recently given birth

Causes

• Low calcium levels in blood
• Increase in magnesium and sugar levels in blood
• Mostly occurs in high-producing cows in early lactation
• Animals lose more calcium through milk secretion than they get from diet

Symptoms

• Dullness
• Muscular twitching causing trembling
• Staggering while moving
• Falls down and becomes unconscious
• Lies on side with body stiffened
• Body functions such as urination, defecation, and milk secretion stop
• Stomach contents drawn into mouth, causing lung fever when inhaled
• Loss of appetite

Treatment

• Intravenous injection of soluble calcium salt (calcium boro-gluconate), 60g dissolved in 500cc water
• Keep animal comfortably positioned on sternum
• Provide fresh water

Note: Animals with milk fever should not be given medicine orally because:

• They cannot swallow medicine
• Medicine may enter lungs, promoting lung fever

Control

• Partial milking for first 10 days
• Feed high-yielding cows rations containing phosphorus and calcium
• Give high doses of Vitamin D

Bloat

• Animals attacked: Cattle and sheep
• Cause: Accumulation of gases due to fermentation in rumen

Symptoms

• Left side of animal is swollen
• Sudden death

Control

• Relieve bloat using trocar and cannula
• Chase animal around if bloat not noticed early
• Drench with anti-bloat medication (stop bloat)
• Feed ruminants dry roughages during wet season before grazing on lush pastures