Prevention and Treatment Methods for Common Cattle Diseases After Floods

Summer is hot and rainy, with frequent floods and waterlogging, making it a high-incidence season for cattle diseases. Therefore, it is essential to pay attention to the prevention and treatment of diseases to which cattle are susceptible during this period. Anthrax

This is an acute infectious disease shared by humans and animals, and cattle are most susceptible. It occurs frequently during the rainy season and after floods, when blood-sucking insects are active. The disease is characterized by the sudden onset of high fever, coma, purplish eye conjunctiva, whole-body trembling, teeth grinding, spasms, and bleeding from natural orifices in affected cattle. Dead cattle show incomplete rigor mortis, uncoagulated blood that is coal-tar colored, bleeding in subcutaneous and subserosal tissues appearing as red gelatinous material, and an enlarged spleen.

Prevention and treatment measures: After anthrax is confirmed, cattle that are not infected should be vaccinated as quickly as possible, using 1 milliliter of avirulent anthrax spore vaccine, and 0.5 milliliter for calves. Affected cattle should be isolated as early as possible, and treated at the same time with antiserum and penicillin, among other drugs. Each cow should be injected with 100-300 milliliters of antiserum. Penicillin should be injected 3 times a day, 1.6 million international units each time, until recovery. Carcasses and manure must all be burned, and contaminated barns, ground, tools, and other items should be disinfected with a 20% bleaching powder solution or 10% caustic soda water once every 2 hours, for 3 consecutive disinfections. Contaminated soil should be removed to a depth of 15 cm and buried deep. Prevention and treatment personnel should take care to protect themselves and prevent infection.

Cattle Necrobacillosis

This is a chronic infectious disease caused by Fusobacterium necrophorum. Affected cattle show necrosis of the skin, subcutaneous tissue, and digestive tract mucosa. Adult cattle mostly develop foot rot. When calves eat feed with awns and the mucosa is punctured, or when they are teething and become infected with Fusobacterium necrophorum, they show necrotic stomatitis, which often causes bronchitis. Calves are also prone to necrotic enteritis, and when diarrhea is severe, the feces contain pus and blood.

Prevention and treatment measures: In normal times, care should be taken to protect cattle hooves, prevent trauma, and treat wounds promptly if any occur. Strengthen feeding management, and do not feed forage with hard or awned parts. Ditches should be dug outside cattle farms and barns to ensure smooth drainage. Do not graze on low-lying, damp grassland, and barns should be built in high, dry areas and kept sanitary and dry. Barns should be disinfected with 10% lime milk or 3%-5% Lysol solution. The surface layer of earthen floors should be removed to a depth of 15 cm and replaced with new soil. For cattle with foot rot, local treatment is the main approach: first rinse with potassium permanganate solution or 3% hydrogen peroxide, then apply a mixture of 1 part formalin and 4 parts pine tar. For systemic treatment, tetracycline, oxytetracycline, and other drugs can be used. To treat necrotic stomatitis in calves, first remove the pseudomembrane, rinse with 1% potassium permanganate solution, then apply iodine glycerin, twice a day, and continue until recovery. Cattle Foot-and-Mouth Disease

Affected cattle develop fever (40°C-41°C), drooling, and blisters on the mouth, tongue, and lips, which later ulcerate, with symptoms of pharyngitis and gastroenteritis; the coronary band and interdigital area become red and swollen, with blisters and ulceration, and sometimes blisters appear on the udder and can also cause mastitis. Calves show symptoms of myocarditis and hemorrhagic enteritis, with a high mortality rate.

Prevention and treatment measures: When foot-and-mouth disease is found in cattle, it must be reported immediately, the epidemic area sealed off, and affected cattle and cattle in the same group isolated and emergency-slaughtered. Contaminated barns, sites, tools, and other items should be strictly disinfected with 1%-2% caustic soda water or 10% lime milk. Strengthen care for affected cattle and let them drink more water. For affected cattle that can still eat grass, thin rice gruel can be fed. For oral lesions in cattle, after washing with vinegar and clean water, use 1%-2% alum water to disinfect and astringe the ulcerated surface. For the hooves, first wash clean with 3% Lysol solution, then apply iodine glycerin and bandage. When there are blisters on the udder, wash with soapy water, then apply penicillin ointment. For malignant cases in cattle, symptomatic treatment with caffeine sodium benzoate, glucose, and other drugs can be used.