On-Call / Vet

Over the past several months, I have examined several beef cows that presented with chronic weight loss and diarrhea. Based on clinical findings, I decided to test several for Johne’s disease, and found cows from four separate farms that tested positive for the disease.

We are currently seeing an increase in rabies cases in our state. For several years we have been told by health officials that we should expect an increase in rabies cases as the virus moves north from Mexico. Since there is a significant health risk to humans, we need to be aware of what is happening. Rabies in humans is close to 100 percent fatal.

Watch for acorn toxicosis this fall.

This past week I was asked to necropsy a 1-week-old calf found dead. The owner had seen no evidence of sickness and the calf was with its mother all the time. The necropsy revealed an extremely emaciated body with no internal body fat present. The second client was a dairy client who was having trouble with calves dying between 1-2 weeks of age, with minimal clinical diarrhea or respiratory symptoms. While these cases are quite different, they got me to thinking about the reasons I see similar cases every year during this winter season.

Many types of squeeze chutes exist today, each with features that make cattle restraint easier.

The harsh conditions of winter can present a challenge to some horses in maintaining an adequate body condition. Colder temperatures require increased calorie intake to maintain body warmth. Loss of body condition is often a very gradual process, occurring over several weeks to months, the problem can "sneak up" on horse owners if they are not proactively observing and maintaining their horse’s body condition.

There have been many recent reports of deer found dead throughout Missouri; many of these deer have been reported to have died from bluetongue, but in all likelihood, most of these animals were infected with a disease known as epizootic hemorrhagic disease, or EHD. This viral disease is potentially devastating to the white tail deer population both wild and captive, and can affect domestic ruminants.

In the last issue we introduced the topic of bacterial pneumonia in cattle and discussed the significance of the disease, the basic mechanisms involved that result in pneumonia and effective prevention strategies. In this issue our focus will be on prompt and accurate diagnosis, followed by currently recommended treatment protocols.