“One of the points I always try to reinforce is that cattle, by design, are prey species,” Vlietstra says. “They try to hide their illnesses and weaknesses from predators, but also from people. And so, just by nature, a lot of times if we wait until we see overt signs of BRD, there’s going to be a lot of subclinical disease.”
By the time a calf shows obvious signs of pneumonia, respiratory disease may already be well established. Emerging monitoring technologies could give veterinarians and producers more opportunities to recognize changes earlier, before clinical signs become apparent.
For Dr. Curt Vlietstra, senior professional services veterinarian with Boehringer Ingelheim and the most recent guest on “The Bovine Vet Podcast”, the next generation of calf pneumonia detection will build on technologies already used in adult cattle, with new opportunities to monitor young animals and make better use of the information those systems collect.
Even attentive calf caregivers can miss early cases. Vlietstra says the people responsible for calf care on many farms are highly observant, but traditional detection methods still have limitations.
“There are different ways that a calf can express [disease], whether it’s labored breathing, nasal discharge, fever, listening to the lungs,” he says. “There’s some benefit to having consistent clinical scoring. But if you wait for those signs of disease, a lot of the newer studies will say that you’re still missing a good percentage of early cases.”
Vlietstra grew up on a dairy farm in northwest Iowa and practiced veterinary medicine for approximately 13.5 years in South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa before moving into his current industry role with Boehringer Ingelheim. His experience on both sides of the veterinary profession informs his interest in technologies that can improve detection while remaining practical for dairy operations.
Activity Monitoring Technology Could Extend to Calves
Some of the most promising opportunities may come from adapting monitoring systems already developed for adult cattle.
“If we look at the adult cows, there’s been a major expansion of activity monitors that can measure a lot of different things,” Vlietstra explains. “I know there’s work being done on applying some of that technology to the young calves.”
One possibility Vlietstra foresees is an ear tag that could detect changes in temperature and measure respiration, giving caregivers another way to identify animals that may be developing respiratory disease.
Vlietstra also sees potential in adapting internal monitoring technology.
“If you look at the technology we have on the adult side to be able to put a bolus into the animal that can measure everything that’s going on inside the animal,” he says. “I would expect that we’re going to see a lot more of that be applied for the calves.”
These technologies could provide information between routine visual checks, helping caregivers recognize changes that might otherwise go unnoticed. Their application to young calves is still developing, but Vlietstra expects continued progress as monitoring systems become more adaptable.
Artificial Intelligence Could Make Herd Data More Useful
More monitoring devices will mean more information. Making sense of that information could become just as important as collecting it. Its value may come less from replacing existing technology and more from making the information those tools produce easier to understand.
“If nothing else, we’ve seen AI be very useful at summarizing large amounts of data,” he says. “So even if it doesn’t change a technology, it makes the interpretation of the data a lot less intimidating.”
For veterinary practices and operations, that could help connect information from multiple sources and make patterns easier to recognize. Data from monitoring devices, health records and diagnostic testing may each provide part of the picture. The challenge is bringing those pieces together in a way that supports decisions.
Making Technology Practical on the Farm
Vlietstra is optimistic about new tools, but he emphasizes that technology does not automatically translate into better disease detection. Some of the tools veterinarians need are already available. The opportunity is to make them more widely and consistently implemented.
“I think a lot of it is that we have the tools and they’re being implemented at a lot of places, just maybe not as many places as they could be,” he says. “Because they’re all going to help. And even if you have some wild new technology, there’s still going to be a need for diagnostics. There’s still going to be a need for vaccinations.”
Lung ultrasound is one example. It can identify lung lesions in calves that may not yet show obvious clinical signs, giving veterinarians another way to assess respiratory health and evaluate herd-level disease patterns. However, making ultrasound part of a routine screening program takes time, training and labor.
Vlietstra says he would like to see more replacement heifer calves evaluated before weaning. The technology is available, but screening large groups can be time-consuming. He points to the need for tools that make existing diagnostic approaches easier to implement across different farm sizes.
“For some of these large groups, to be able to scan 25% of the calves in the beginning of the window is a two-day process,” he says. “So to be able to help make some of the current technology more useful and more easily implemented across a variety of farms” is an important opportunity.
Not every promising technology has translated smoothly into practice. Vlietstra points to computerized stethoscopes as one example. These devices were designed to assess lung sounds and provide a digital score, potentially reducing the training and interpretation required from the person using them.
“It makes sense to try it, but the application hasn’t always gone over quite as well,” he says.
Still, he cautions against dismissing technologies that have not yet found their ideal application.
“Not everything pans out,” he explains. “But it doesn’t mean that there’s no application for it. And it doesn’t mean that having that tool today that we don’t quite know how to use means it won’t be useful. We might just need one more thing to be able to plug in that makes our tool great.”
Shifting Calf Pneumonia Detection Toward Prevention
Vlietstra does not expect technology to eliminate calf pneumonia. Respiratory disease will continue to occur, and veterinarians will still need effective diagnostics, vaccination programs and treatment protocols.
He hopes, however, that improvements in detection and data interpretation will help shift more of the focus toward preventing disease.
“I like to say that I’m not a pessimist, but I don’t think that five years from now we’re not going to have sick calves,” he says.
He sees progress already underway, with more opportunities to apply new technologies in the coming years. The goal will be to combine earlier signals, better interpretation and practical diagnostic tools to give veterinarians and producers a clearer picture of respiratory health.
“I think we’re already getting closer and I think we’re going to continue to see that progress,” Vlietstra says.
To hear more from Dr. Vlietstra on pneumonia and respiratory disease management, tune in to the latest episode of “The Bovine Vet Podcast":
