How to treat bronchopneumonia in meat donkeys?
Bronchopneumonia is also called lobular pneumonia. It occurs frequently in all kinds of livestock, and is even more common in young and old animals. Clinically, it is characterized by a remittent fever pattern, increased respiratory rate, and crepitant rales on auscultation.
[Causes]
When hunger, overwork, cold stimulation, or inhalation of irritating gases, etc., reduce the body's resistance, pneumococci and various pathogenic microorganisms take the opportunity to develop and multiply, causing this disease. Bronchopneumonia can also occur secondary to the course of diseases such as strangles, glanders, and common cold.
[Symptoms]
(1) General changes At the beginning of the disease, the symptoms are those of bronchitis, but the general symptoms are relatively severe. The sick animal is depressed, the conjunctiva is congested or cyanotic, the pulse is accelerated, 60 to 100 times per minute, and respiration is shallow and increased, up to 40 to 100 times per minute. The degree of respiratory difficulty varies with the size of the inflamed area. Body temperature rises above 40°C within 2 to 3 days after onset, and afterward mostly shows a remittent fever pattern. In individual sick animals with extremely weak constitution, the body temperature is not necessarily elevated. The blood white blood cell count is increased, with a left shift.
(2) Chest auscultation At the lesion site, at the beginning of the disease, alveolar breath sounds are weakened, and crepitant rales can be heard. Later, when the alveoli and bronchioles are completely filled with exudate, the alveolar breath sounds disappear; because the properties of the inflammatory exudate differ, as airflow passes through the bronchial lumen of the inflamed area, dry rales or moist rales can be heard. In the healthy part of the lung, alveolar breath sounds are enhanced due to compensatory breathing.
[Treatment]
(1) Eliminating inflammation In clinical practice, sulfonamides and antibiotics are commonly used. The commonly used sulfonamide preparation is sulfadiazine. The commonly used antibiotic is penicillin, 1 million to 2 million units by intramuscular injection, once every 8 to 12 hours. For severe cases in horses, 1 million units of penicillin can also be added to 500 milliliters of compound sodium chloride solution or 5% glucose saline, and after dissolution, slowly injected intravenously, with marked effect. Broad-spectrum antibiotics such as oxytetracycline can also be selected.
(2) Stopping exudation and promoting absorption of inflammatory exudate Intravenous injection of 50100 milliliters of 10% calcium chloride solution can be given once daily. Or intravenous injection of 200 milliliters of calcium gluconate solution.
(3) Symptomatic treatment To strengthen cardiac function and improve blood circulation, cardiotonics such as caffeine sodium benzoate solution, camphor water, and coramine solution may be appropriately selected.