Black leg ...

case5130

The father was doing some work for a lad that nearly lost a cow today with black leg ... Got me wondering what's the cause and when they most likely to get it going to inject them the weekend for peace of mind

Mad4simmental

It's caused by spores in the right conditions, perfect blackleg time at the moment with the heat and heavy dew at night.

atlantic mist

its in the soil certain areas are prone to it, few miles from us there is an area people will only put horses to graze cows just drop if they go into it
lost 2 heifers on rented ground few years ago with it never got to speak wit owner was done through an auctioneer, its an expensive vaccine

case5130

He was saying that fresh grass a good cause and feeding meal helps prevent it or this just pub talk ...

White Clover

case5130 wrote: »

He was saying that fresh grass a good cause and feeding meal helps prevent it or this just pub talk ...

Are you sure he didn't mean tetany ?

case5130

White Clover wrote: »

Are you sure he didn't mean tetany ?

That's what I was thinking but he said was black leg... think they getting them all mixed up ...

Farrell

case5130 wrote: »

That's what I was thinking but he said was black leg... think they getting them all mixed up ...

Is Black-leg not anything up to top teeth, & once they've the teeth they ok?

High bike

Had a man near me loose 2 PB Angus bull weanlings to it bout a month ago,by all accounts he never vaccinated them

White Clover

case5130 wrote: »

That's what I was thinking but he said was black leg... think they getting them all mixed up ...

Lactating cow....cold nights....lush grass....meal as a preventative. Has to be tetany

case5130

White Clover wrote: »

Lactating cow....cold nights....lush grass....meal as a preventative. Has to be tetany

Think you right there ...they might be mixed up on the prevention's

The man in red and black

atlantic mist wrote: »

its in the soil certain areas are prone to it, few miles from us there is an area people will only put horses to graze cows just drop if they go into it
lost 2 heifers on rented ground few years ago with it never got to speak wit owner was done through an auctioneer, its an expensive vaccine

Blackleg vaccine is cheap as chips! Losing one animal would generally have covered the cost of vaccinating whole herd for 10-20 years in most herds!

whelan2

If an animal gets blackleg can it be cured or do they all die? What would treatment be?

nhg

Every animal we buy, once it arrives into our yard gets dosed & blacklegged and then blacklegged again 4 to 6 weeks later because we would have no way of knowing if they were ever blacklegged before.

Do animals need a booster annually or is it just the two shots protect them - we would have calves on our farm for approx 2.5 yrs until finish....

WheatenBriar

whelan2 wrote: »

If an animal gets blackleg can it be cured or do they all die? What would treatment be?

If there is treatment, there isnt time,its an instant killer
An animal could be grand one afternoon and dead the next morning
Its a cheap and essential vaccine
The old addage.. One dead animal
You only need to vaccinate the first 2 seasons, then they get a full immunity in our experience
Cows or in calf heifers are never done here

longgonesilver

I saw an animal once that survived. Young pedigree heifer that was born later than the others and missed her vaccine.

The owner copped her slightly lame and off form in a front leg and as vet was coming anyway he showed her to him. Nothing in the hoof but vet copped swelling with the tell tale sign of 'crackling' noise when he pressed the muscle, -gas builds up in the flesh.

As far as I remember antibiotics were reasonably straight forward, but he was then told to take the animal out on the tarred road, quite narrow with high ditches and to run her up and down until nightfall ( about 10 hours) and that if they let her lie down they would not be able to get her up again and she would die. This was to get the toxins out of the muscle. They did this, gave her water as she walked and she survived although the muscle in the shoulder withered away completely.



Blackleg is a highly fatal disease of young cattle caused by the spore forming, rod shaped, gas producing bacteria Clostridium chauvoei. The spores of the organism can live in the soil for many years. The bacteria enters the calf by ingestion and then gains entrance to the body through small punctures in the mucous membrane of the digestive tract. Cattle that are on a high plane of nutrition, rapidly gaining weight and between 6 months and 2 years of age are most susceptible to the disease. The disease is not transmitted directly from sick animals to healthy animals by mere contact.

The first sign observed is usually lameness, loss of appetite, rapid breathing and the animal is usually depressed and has a high fever. Characteristic swellings develop in the hip, shoulder, chest, back, neck or elsewhere. First the swelling is small, hot and painful. As the disease progresses, the swelling enlarges and becomes spongy and gaseous. If you press the swelling, gas can be felt under the skin. The animal usually dies in 12 to 48 hours. In most cases the animal is found dead without being previously observed sick. The speed with which blackleg kills usually makes individual treatment useless.

Blackleg is almost entirely preventable by vaccination.

greysides

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/generalized_conditions/clostridial_diseases/blackleg.html


Blackleg is an acute, febrile, highly fatal disease of cattle and sheep caused by Clostridium chauvoei * and characterized by emphysematous swelling, commonly affecting heavy muscles ** (clostridial myositis). It is found worldwide.


C chauvoei is found naturally in the intestinal tract of animals. Spores remain viable in the soil for years and are purported to be a source of infection. Outbreaks of blackleg have occurred in cattle on farms in which recent excavations have occurred or after flooding. The organisms probably are ingested, pass through the wall of the GI tract, and after gaining access to the bloodstream, are deposited in muscle and other tissues (spleen, liver, and alimentary tract) and may remain dormant indefinitely***.

In cattle, blackleg infection is endogenous. Lesions develop without any history of wounds, although bruising or excessive exercise may precipitate disease in some cases. Commonly, the animals that contract blackleg are of the beef breeds, in excellent health, and gaining weight. Outbreaks occur in which a few new cases are found each day, sometimes for several days****. Most cases are seen in cattle from 6–24 mo old, but thrifty calves as young as 6 wk and cattle as old as 10–12 yr may be affected*****. The disease usually occurs in summer and fall and is uncommon during the winter. Interestingly, in sheep, the disease is almost always the result of a wound infection and often follows some form of injury such as shearing cuts, docking, crutching, or castration. The case fatality rate approaches 100%.


My comments:

*Other Clostridial family members have been isolated from lesions so a multivalent vaccine, containing as many clostridial antigens as possible, is sensible.


**Can affect all muscles though, so you can have an internal not-so-obvious case eg. Heart, Diaphragm, muscle cells in lungs, tongue.
The smaller the muscle group the greater the chance of the animal surviving........... should you want them to survive...........


***Dormant spores can be activated by bruising so Blackleg is a disease included in the preventative programmes in feedlots.


****While outbreaks may well occur, I've only ever encountered individual cases.


***** Doesn't make sense not to keep adult cattle vaccinated, considering their worth v. the price of the vaccine.

patsy_mccabe

It feels like 'Bubble Wrap' under the skin.
I lost a great weanling heifer for the first time last year. Raging, because I was due to vaccinate them a few days later. I had forgotten to give it the last time I had them in the yard.

mikeoh

I think death is the main symptom!!!.....

Cattlepen

It's quite common to reappear if there has been any digging going on the farm or cleaning ditches

case5130

Well ye where right done the herd today and year all right the cost of it is daftness not to do them ...do ye all give them the follow up injection

cj maxx

case5130 wrote: »

Well ye where right done the herd today and year all right the cost of it is daftness not to do them ...do ye all give them the follow up injection

I do

welton john

We had a black LM heifer contract it about ten years ago.will never forget it. The vet cut three slits across her hind quarter which swelled up. It was very hot weather at the time. Every day for over a week I had to clean the maggots out of the wound and wash it out with disinfectant..she lived anyway but quarter completely wasted. Every calf is vaccinated here since.

Count Mondego

I inject all calves with Covexin 10, and booster 5 weeks later. I'd advise this over most the blackleg vaccine as it covers a whole family of the f#ckers. Probably costs 80 quid to do 20 calves incl booster so small money really. I don't do the older cattle.

farmersfriend

whelan2 wrote: »

If an animal gets blackleg can it be cured or do they all die? What would treatment be?

Penicillin cures it, have cured a couple over the years, but u have to get it early. Vaccine is the only way to be sure.

greysides

case5130 wrote: »

...do ye all give them the follow up injection

A lot of people don't bother, which is incredibly daft. If they're not going to do it right, why bother! The answer when asked is that it seems to work. How the hell do they know that? Blackleg is a sporadic disease. If they'd thrown water on the animals back and had no cases that year then would that have been proof the water worked?

The way a vaccine of that nature works is that the first shot is a wake-up call to the immune system to prepare it to respond with a full response to the second shot. Yes, they may get a very small amount of immunity with the first shot but not enough by any means to depend upon. When they are paying for peace of mind, there's no way to have it if they're only doing a botch-job. All they have done is pull the wool over their eyes.

Limestone Cowboy

greysides wrote: »

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/generalized_conditions/clostridial_diseases/blackleg.html


Blackleg is an acute, febrile, highly fatal disease of cattle and sheep caused by Clostridium chauvoei * and characterized by emphysematous swelling, commonly affecting heavy muscles ** (clostridial myositis). It is found worldwide.


C chauvoei is found naturally in the intestinal tract of animals. Spores remain viable in the soil for years and are purported to be a source of infection. Outbreaks of blackleg have occurred in cattle on farms in which recent excavations have occurred or after flooding. The organisms probably are ingested, pass through the wall of the GI tract, and after gaining access to the bloodstream, are deposited in muscle and other tissues (spleen, liver, and alimentary tract) and may remain dormant indefinitely***.

In cattle, blackleg infection is endogenous. Lesions develop without any history of wounds, although bruising or excessive exercise may precipitate disease in some cases. Commonly, the animals that contract blackleg are of the beef breeds, in excellent health, and gaining weight. Outbreaks occur in which a few new cases are found each day, sometimes for several days****. Most cases are seen in cattle from 6–24 mo old, but thrifty calves as young as 6 wk and cattle as old as 10–12 yr may be affected*****. The disease usually occurs in summer and fall and is uncommon during the winter. Interestingly, in sheep, the disease is almost always the result of a wound infection and often follows some form of injury such as shearing cuts, docking, crutching, or castration. The case fatality rate approaches 100%.


My comments:

*Other Clostridial family members have been isolated from lesions so a multivalent vaccine, containing as many clostridial antigens as possible, is sensible.


**Can affect all muscles though, so you can have an internal not-so-obvious case eg. Heart, Diaphragm, muscle cells in lungs, tongue.
The smaller the muscle group the greater the chance of the animal surviving........... should you want them to survive...........


***Dormant spores can be activated by bruising so Blackleg is a disease included in the preventative programmes in feedlots.


****While outbreaks may well occur, I've only ever encountered individual cases.


***** Doesn't make sense not to keep adult cattle vaccinated, considering their worth v. the price of the vaccine.

Lost 4 weanlings in the space of a few days in December around 10 years ago and 2 six week old calves on the same day in April about 5 years ago. Never again want to see it. There was a good coat of frost in both cases as far as I can remember.

greysides

Limestone Cowboy wrote: »

Lost 4 weanlings in the space of a few days in December around 10 years ago and 2 six week old calves on the same day in April about 5 years ago. Never again want to see it. There was a good coat of frost in both cases as far as I can remember.

Are you sure it was Black leg? Could you feel gas under the skin?
Braxy, an enterotoxaemia, is the one usually associated with eating frozen forage.

Limestone Cowboy

greysides wrote: »

Are you sure it was Black leg? Could you feel gas under the skin?
Braxy, an enterotoxaemia, is the one usually associated with eating frozen forage.

Ya, it was like bursting bubble wrap when you rubbed the inside of their back legs. Had the vet to one of the calves that was still alive when I spotted her aswell.