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 – cause by virus.
• Nutritional diseases – brought about 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 red-­legged tick and brown ear tick.

Symptoms

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

Control and Prevention

• Control of vectors through dipping and fencing.

• Treatment by use of clexon in the early stages.

 

Anaplasmosis (gall sickness)

 Animals attacked:

• Cattle between 2 months and 2 years.
• Poult
• 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 giving injections.
• Coccidiosis

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 droppi

• Use of prophylatic 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 which leads to blindness.
• Diarrhoea
• Rough coat and sometimes without hair and may be 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

• Treating animals with trypanocidal drugs.

• Effective  vector (Tsetse flies)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 which include chicken, turkey and ducks.
• Causes: 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 the carcasses.
• Maintaining hygiene in the poultry house.
• Ensuring that the house is dry and well ventilated.
• Obtaining chicks from reliable sources.
• Treatment using sulphur drugs which are mixed in drinking water or mash.
• For example: application of Furazolidone (Furazol) at the rate of 0.04% in mash for 10 continuous days treats the disease effectively.

Foot Rot

• It is also referred to as foul-in-the foot.
• Animals attacked: cattle, sheep and goats.
• However, it is most serious in sheep.
• Cause: Bacteria (Fusiformis necrophorus and Fusiformis nodosus).

Symptoms

• Animal’s foot becomes swollen.
• Lameness is observed.
• Pus and rotten smell come out of the hoof.
• Sheep are found kneeling while grazing when the front feet are affected.
• Animals spend most of their time lying down when the hind feet are affected.
• Emaciation due to lack of feeding.

 

Control

• Hygiene in the living places.
• Regular foot examination and hoof trimming.
• Use of a foot bath of copper sulphate solution at 5-10% solution or formalin at 2-5% solution.
• Treating wounds on the feet with antiseptics.
• Affected animals should be given antibiotic injections.
• Isolation of sick animals from healthy ones.
• Avoid dampness and muddy conditions.

Contagious Abortion (Brucellosis/ Bang‘s Disease)

• Animals attacked: cattle, sheep, goats and pigs.

• It also affects ma

• Cause: Bacteria

• Brucella abortus in cattle,
• Brucella suis in pigs
• Brucella malitensis in goats and sheep.

Symptoms

• Spontaneous abortion or premature birth.
• Retained placenta if abortion occurs during the later stages of pregnancy.
• Infertility in cows while bulls have low libido and inflamed testis also known as orchitis.
• A yellowish brown, slimy, odourless discharge from the vulva may occur after the abortion.

Control

• Use of artificial insemination.
• Slaughtering affected animals followed by proper disposal of their carcasses.
• The attendant to the animals should avoid contact with the aborted foetus.
• A blood test should be carried out for all breeding animals to detect the infected ones.
• Hygiene in the animals’ houses.

Scours (white Scours)

• Animals atacked: calves, piglets, lambs and kids.
• Cause: A bacterium which attacks 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 observed in the faeces.
• Faecal matter sticks to the hind quarters.
• Sudden death if no treatment is given.

Control

• Maintaining hygiene in the young animal housing units.
• Avoiding dampness on the floor of the house.
• Fingers of the attendant training calves to drink milk from a bucket must be disinfected.
• Calving should be carried out in a clean area.
• Have separate attendants for the infected calves to prevent disease spread.
• Replacing milk with warm water mixture.
• Treating affected animals with antibiotics.

Black Quarter

• It is also known as black leg.
• Animals attacked: All ruminants aged between 8 – 18 months.
• Cause: Bacteria (Clostridium chauvei and Chauvei septicum)

Symptoms

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

Control

• Treating with recommended antibiotics.
• Vaccinating using black quarter vaccine known as blanthax.
• Burying the carcass deep or burning it completely.

Mastitis

• Is an inflammation of the udder.
• Animals attacked: Goats, cows, pigs and human beings.
• Cause: Bacteria (Streptococcus spp. or Staphylococcus spp.)

Pre–disposing Factors:

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

Symptoms

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

Control

• Proper milking techniques.
• Treatment by use of antibiotics.
• Culling of animals which are often attacked.

Anthrax

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

Symptoms

• Sudden death.
• High fever.
• Grinding of the teeth.

Pneumonia

• It is an 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.
• Breathing rapidly.
• Abnormal lung sounds when breathing.
• Coughing if the chest is pressed.
• Fluctuating body temperature.
• Nasal discharge.

Control

• Keeping young animals in warm pens.
• Proper sanitation.
• Isolation of the affected animals.
• Treating using antibiotics.

 

Viral Diseases

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

Rinderpest

• Animal 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 the mouth, hooves, udder and teats.
• Loss of appetite.

Control

• Vaccination.
• Quarantine
• nursing wounds with disinfectant.

New Castle

• Animals attacked: Poultry.
• Cause: Virus.

Symptoms

• Difficulties in breathing.

• Beaks remain wide open and necks are strained.

• Birds become dull.
• The birds stand with eyes closed all the time.
• Anorexia/loss of appetite.
• Nasal discharges which force the birds to shake their heads to clear it.
• Birds walk with a staggering motion.
• Paralysis of wings and legs may occur.
• Birds have their beaks and wings down.
• Birds produce watery greenish diarrhoea.
• Birds lay soft shelled eggs.

Control

• Killing all birds and burning them followed by cleaning and disinfecting the houses before bringing in new stock.

• Vaccination should be done during the first 6 weeks and then 2-3 months later.
• Quarantine.

FowlPox

• Animals affected: Poultry.
• Cause: A virus known as avian fox.

Symptoms

Two types of fowl pox with different symptoms.

• Cutaneous type
• Diptheritic type

The cutaneous type affects the skin and has the following signs:

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

The diptheritic type affects internal membranes and has the following symptoms:

• Injuries in the inside of the throat and mouth membranes resulting in difficult breathing and swallowing.
• Eyes and nose produces a watery liquid.
• Loss of appetite.
• Dullness.
• Emaciation.

Control

• Killing all affected birds followed by proper disposal of their carcasses.
• Vaccinating remaining healthy birds.

Gumboro

• It is also referred to as poultry AIDS.
• Animals attacked: Poultry.
• Cause: A virus known as Birma virus.

Symptoms

• The glands above the vent (bursa) become swollen.
• Drop in egg production.
• Birds develop respiratory distress.
• Loss of appetite.
• Low water intake by birds.
• Loss of immunity making the birds more susceptible to opportunistic diseases.

Control

• Vaccination.

• Administering vitamins and especially

African Swine Fever

• Animals attacked: All domesticated pigs.
• Cause: A virus known as Irido virus.

Symptoms

• Fever.
• Loss of appetite.
• Depression/dullness.
• Emaciation.
• Coughing.
• Nasal discharge.
• Diarrhoea in serious conditions.

Control

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

Nutritional Diseases/Disorders

Milk Fever

• It is a non-infectious disease brought about by calcium deficiency in animals which have recently given birth.
• Animals attacked: Cows, goats and pigs that have recently given birth.

Causes:

• Due to low calcium levels in the blood.
• Which leads to an increase in the magnesium and sugar level in the blood.
• Mostly occurs in high producing cows in the first few months of lactation.
• This is because these animals loose more calcium through milk secretion than they are getting from the diet.

Symptoms

• Dullness.

• Muscular twitching causing the animal to tremble.

• Staggering as the animals move.
• Animal falls down ands becomes unconscious.
• The animal lies down on its side and the whole body stiffens.
• Body functions such as urination, defecation and milk secretion stops.
•  Stomach contents are drawn into the mouth which later cause lung fever when breathing in.
• Loss of appetite.

Treatment

• Intravenous injection of soluble calcium salt in form of calcium boro-gluconate ,60gms dissolved in 500cc of water.
• Keeping the animal in a comfortable position on its sternum.
• Giving fresh water.

Note: The animals suffering from milk fever should not be given medicine orally for   the following reasons:

• It will not be able to swallow medicine.
• The medicine may get into the lungs thereby promoting lung fever.

Control

• Partial milking for the first 10 days.
• High yielding cows should be given rations containing phosphorus and calcium.
• Giving high doses of Vitamin D.

Bloat

• Animals attacked: Cattle and sheep.
• Cause: Accumulation of gases as a result of fermentation in the rumen.

Symptoms

• The left side is blown up.
• Sudden death.

Control

• Relieve by use of trocar and cannula.
• Chasing the animal around if noticed early.
• Drenching by use of stop bloat.
• Feeding ruminants with dry roughages during the wet season before grazing on lush pastures.