Cow dung

FMD in cows is a viral disease. It causes great damage to farms, because it spreads quickly and leads to the death of young animals, a decrease in live weight and milk yield. Foot-and-mouth disease can affect not only animals, but also humans. This article will tell you about the causative agent of the disease, about the signs of infection in cows, about methods of treatment and preventive measures.

FMD disease

What is foot and mouth disease in cows?

This disease is caused by an RNA-containing virus belonging to the Picornaviridae family and the genus Aphthovirus. It is transmitted by airborne and alimentary routes. Getting on the mucous membranes and skin of animals, it penetrates into the blood not in its entirety, but in part. First, most of the viruses are concentrated at the sites of introduction, in epithelial cells. It is in them that the pathogen multiplies. After some time, primary aphthae, foci of inflammation, begin to appear there. In cows, they are localized on the mucous membrane of the mouth, nose, and on the skin of the extremities.

Further development of the disease proceeds rapidly. Within a day, the concentration of the virus in the blood and lymph increases greatly, which leads to a general deterioration in the animal’s condition. The cow develops a fever, numerous secondary aphthae appear on the mucous membranes. To a greater extent, they are located in the oral cavity, nose, udder, interhoof gap and on the corolla. The danger lies in the fact that the virus affects not only the visible parts of the animal’s body, but also those that are hidden from human eyes, such as the heart, stomach and other organs. There are various forms of the course of the disease:

  • Benign.
  • Malignant.

In a benign course, recovery usually occurs within 10 days. The malignant form is fatal in most cases due to cardiac arrest in the cow.

The disease leads to cardiac arrest

The disease leads to cardiac arrest

Signs of infection with foot and mouth disease

Early diagnosis of foot-and-mouth disease is very important, but in most cases the disease goes unnoticed by farmers at the initial stage, since the clinical picture is very blurred in the first day or two. The cow does not show anxiety, eats, looks healthy, but at the same time, primary aphthae are already present on some part of the body. Most often they are located in the mouth, so they go unnoticed.

FMD symptoms become apparent in the second stage of the disease, when the concentration of the virus reaches its climax. Consider them:

  1. The cow begins to have a fever (the temperature rises sharply by 1,5-2 degrees).
  2. The condition is deteriorating rapidly.
  3. The animal refuses to eat.
  4. Due to intoxication, the cow is weakened and spends most of the time lying down.
  5. Secondary aphthae begin to appear in the mouth, in the nose, on the udder, on the corolla and in the interhoof gap.
  6. The animal has profuse salivation.
  7. A frothy mass gathers in the corners of the mouth, the cow seems to smack its lips because of pain and accumulating mucus.
  8. Milk production is drastically reduced.

Reference. Aphthae at the initial stage of the disease are the size of a small grain. In the future, they tend to increase and can coalesce with each other, forming large aphthous foci the size of a walnut.

As the disease progresses, the aphthae burst, fluid is released from them. Opened foci are converted into ulcers. At this stage, the likelihood of a bacterial infection is high. In this case, recovery can be delayed for up to three weeks due to complications.

It's raining cats and dogs

It’s raining cats and dogs

In young animals, the clinical picture of the disease may be different.Β Foot and mouth disease in calves up to 2-3 months of age in most cases proceeds without aphthous, but there are signs of gastroenteritis. The young animals are difficult to tolerate the infection, if therapeutic measures are not taken in time, the infected calves die.

Complications

Since open ulcers on the body of a weakened animal are fertile ground for the introduction of pathogenic bacteria, FMD is often complicated by other diseases:

  1. Mastitis.
  2. Corolla phlegmon.
  3. Pododermatitis.
  4. Endometritis.
  5. Jade.
  6. Bronchopneumonia.

Treatment of complicated foot and mouth disease is aimed at combating not only the virus, but also a bacterial infection.

Diagnostics

To make an accurate diagnosis, the veterinarian should exclude other pathologies, such as various types of stomatitis, malignant catarrhal fever and cowpox. The manifestations of these ailments are similar to foot and mouth disease. Facilitates the diagnosis of taking biomaterial for laboratory research:

  1. blood.
  2. Saliva.
  3. Content aft.

Analyzes in the laboratory

Analyzes in the laboratory

Biomaterial samples should be placed in sealed sterile capsules, frozen or preserved in accordance with the instructions of the epidemiological station. Transportation of samples is carried out in compliance with safety measures, since the FMD virus belongs to the category of microorganisms of a high degree of danger.

Treatment

Treatment of foot-and-mouth disease in cows is prescribed with a preliminary diagnosis. The sick animal is immediately separated from the herd and treated under quarantine. Of great importance for a weakened cow are the conditions in which it is kept. The litter should be soft, clean, the air should be fresh. The paddock is kept warm. In case of viral diseases, drinking plenty of water is recommended. It is necessary to monitor the purity of water.

How to properly organize the nutrition of a sick cow? Since the oral cavity and mucous membranes of the internal organs are severely affected, the menu should be radically changed. The diet includes only tender food – soft hay, fresh grass, flour talker, high-quality silage.

Treatment of aphthous lesions in the oral cavity

The oral cavity, udder and limbs of the animal must be decontaminated at least twice a day to prevent the spread of aphthae and the addition of a secondary bacterial infection. For this, solutions are used:

  • Acetic acid at a concentration of 2%.
  • Furacillin – 0,5%.
  • Potassium permanganate – 1%.

ΠœΠ°Ρ€Π³Π°Ρ†ΠΎΠ²ΠΊΠ°

ΠœΠ°Ρ€Π³Π°Ρ†ΠΎΠ²ΠΊΠ°

If there are a lot of aphthous foci, it is advisable to treat them with an ointment containing painkillers, disinfectants and wound healing components. You can cook it yourself. Take 70 g of vaseline, 20 g of fish oil, 2,5 g of novocaine powder, the same amount of anesthesin and 5 g of copper sulfate. Mix ingredients thoroughly. Lubricate the aphthous formations in the cow in the morning and evening. The use of this tool allows you to relieve pain and promotes rapid regeneration of affected tissues.

Processing of limbs and udder

Cow hooves also need to be processed, because ulcers also form on the skin of the limbs – on the corolla and in the interhoof gap. To prevent infection from getting into them, the limbs of the animal are daily lubricated with disinfectant solutions and fish oil with tar, taken in equal proportions. A good effect is achieved after treating the hooves with formalin solution at a concentration of 5%.

If the udder is also affected by aphthae, it should be treated daily. For this apply:

  • Emulsion with synthomycin.
  • Tripoflavin ointment with novocaine.
  • Ointment based on Vaseline with propolis.

What to do with a severe course of foot and mouth disease?

If the disease is severe and affects the heart, it is recommended to give the sick cow a sedative mixture to avoid overloading the heart valves. Prepare it like this. Dilute in 2 glasses of water 10 ml of valerian tincture, potassium bromide (6 grams), 15 ml of lily of the valley tincture. This amount of medicine is given to the animal to drink at one time.

With extensive damage to the internal organs, to maintain the health of the animal, it is often recommended to feed the sick individual with honey. If the cow does not eat anything at all, then a flour mash is introduced into her stomach with the help of a probe.

Reference. At the first symptoms of FMD infection, it is advisable to use FMD immunolactone or serum. Such funds help to activate the defenses of the animal’s body.

Prevention

Preventive measures help to significantly reduce the incidence of FMD in farms. They include:

  • Animal vaccination.
  • Livestock movement control.
  • The introduction of strict quarantine when cases of the disease are detected.

Vaccination

Vaccination

Vaccination is the most effective way to prevent FMD. There are various vaccines against this disease – inactivated, monovalent, bivalent, polyvalent. They are administered to animals, focusing on a specific vaccination schedule. Antibodies to foot-and-mouth disease begin to be produced in the body of cows within a few days after vaccination and remain in the blood for 6-12 months.

Foot and mouth disease is a viral disease that can quickly spread throughout the farm and neighboring farms. It is possible to protect animals from it with the help of timely preventive vaccination. Today, the epidemiological situation in farms is strictly monitored. If cases of foot-and-mouth disease are detected, it is recommended to get rid of a sick animal. If all cows are vaccinated, a sick animal is quarantined and treated according to the appropriate scheme. Recovery comes much faster and passes in a mild form, when there are antibodies against the foot and mouth disease virus in the cow’s body.

https://youtu.be/dnhhsyQFhwM

You can bookmark this page

Anna Evans

Author-editor

View all posts by Anna Evans →