Latest News From Veterinary Research

Grants Seek to Address Liver Abscess Formation in Cattle
Grants Seek to Address Liver Abscess Formation in Cattle

Four grants have been awarded by ICASA totaling roughly $1.15 million to identify why liver abscesses occur and develop diagnostic tools to enable informed decision-making to treat the condition.

 K-State is Now On a Mission to Estimate the Potential Economic Losses From Possible Foreign Animal Diseases
K-State is Now On a Mission to Estimate the Potential Economic Losses From Possible Foreign Animal Diseases

A team at K-State has been chosen by the World Organisation of Animal Health to lead an international effort that will develop decision-making tools and improve communication on the economic impacts of animal diseases.

Life-Saving Find: How This Missouri Soil Unearthed A Golden Medical Discovery 75 Years Ago
Life-Saving Find: How This Missouri Soil Unearthed A Golden Medical Discovery 75 Years Ago

Missouri soils unlocked a ‘golden’ antibiotic 75 years ago that’s still used in livestock today.

New Center at Kansas State University to Drive Innovation in Animal Vaccines and Antimicrobial Alternatives
New Center at Kansas State University to Drive Innovation in Animal Vaccines and Antimicrobial Alternatives

Launching the new Center on Vaccine Evaluation and Alternatives for Antimicrobials, or CVEAA, Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine aims to support animal vaccine development and usage.

Can Dogs Sniff Out Bovine Respiratory Disease?
Can Dogs Sniff Out Bovine Respiratory Disease?

The Texas A&M AgriLife research could revolutionize antimicrobial treatment in commercial beef production.

Liver Biopsies Could Replace “Bugs and Drugs” Approach
Liver Biopsies Could Replace “Bugs and Drugs” Approach

What was once a relatively invasive and tedious procedure has become a potentially standard method of monitoring the health and nutritional status of dairy cows.

Genvax Technologies Secures $6.5 Million to Advance Novel Vaccine Platform
Genvax Technologies Secures $6.5 Million to Advance Novel Vaccine Platform

United Animal Health, Johnsonville Ventures and the Iowa Corn Growers Association commit support to Genvax Technologies, a startup dedicated to advancing self-amplifying mRNA vaccine production in animal health.

Heartache: Bovine Congestive Heart Failure A Growing Concern
Heartache: Bovine Congestive Heart Failure A Growing Concern

Sudden deaths late in the feeding phase are both frustrating and expensive. Simplot Land & Livestock says its research suggests genetic selection can greatly reduce the incidence of bovine congestive heart failure.

Probiotics May Pose Risks to Animal and Human Health
Probiotics May Pose Risks to Animal and Human Health

Probiotics may not be as beneficial for animal and human health as people think, according to recently published research at Kansas State University. Here's why.

How Does Iowa State Research on Swine Sire Fertility Impact Cattle, Humans?
How Does Iowa State Research on Swine Sire Fertility Impact Cattle, Humans?

By adding one more pig to a litter, the U.S. pork industry could increase production by an estimated $120 million annually. To do that, Karl Kerns says we need to learn what influences the capacity of sperm to fertilize.

Is Bovine Respiratory Disease Painful?
Is Bovine Respiratory Disease Painful?

Kansas State College of Veterinary Medicine researchers addressed this important question in a recent study. Dr. Miriam Martin summarized the study results and what the team learned for Bovine Veterinarian readers.

ICASA Grant Examines Feedlot Heart Disease in Beef Cattle
ICASA Grant Examines Feedlot Heart Disease in Beef Cattle

Colorado State University will receive grants totaling nearly $1 million to study ways to reduce the risk of feedlot heart disease (FHD), a disease which has increased in recent years.

Researchers Seek Solutions to Feedlot Heart Disease
Researchers Seek Solutions to Feedlot Heart Disease

Researchers from the USDA’s Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Neb., and University of Nebraska-Lincoln have identified two major genes associated with bovine congestive heart failure in beef feedlot cattle.

Animal Health Companies Target Ways to Lower Antimicrobial Resistance
Animal Health Companies Target Ways to Lower Antimicrobial Resistance

Antimicrobial resistance is a “One Health” challenge that requires effort across both human and animal health sectors. Animal health companies have invested billions as part of a strategy to reduce antibiotic use.

Colostrum works like Fuel for the Calf Furnace
Colostrum works like Fuel for the Calf Furnace

A team of Brazilian researchers recently conducted a study on the longer-term impact of colostrum on calves’ ability to tolerate cold and regulate their body temperatures.

FDA Issues Draft Guidance on Donor Eligibility and Manufacturing of Cellular Therapies for Animals
FDA Issues Draft Guidance on Donor Eligibility and Manufacturing of Cellular Therapies for Animals

“ACTPs have the potential to make significant changes in how we treat diseases and may provide novel therapies for unmet therapeutic needs of animals,” reports Dr. Janet Woodcock, Acting Commissioner of the FDA.

Study Finds Beef Industry Can Cut Emissions
Study Finds Beef Industry Can Cut Emissions

A comprehensive assessment of 12 strategies for reducing beef production emissions found that industry can reduce GHG emissions by as much as 50% in certain regions, with most potential in the United States and Brazil.

Rebecca Poole, Ph.D., performs an ultrasound at the Nutrition and Physiology Center and in the lab at Kleberg Animal and Food Sciences Center.
Calves on the Ground Put Money in the Pocket

Texas A&M study aims to reduce cattle reproduction failures, economic losses.

Researchers Hope To 'Predict and Prevent' Future Pandemics
Researchers Hope To 'Predict and Prevent' Future Pandemics

Ohio State University scientists are looking for SARS-CoV-2 in animals and the environment.

Research Shows Rumen Additives and Controlled Energy Can Benefit Cows During Dry Period

New Research from the University of Illinois finds that diets containing consistent energy levels and a rumen supplement during dry periods may be key, rather than a gradual increase method.

Credit: REUTERS/Mike Segar
Vilsack Weighs In On Parallel Between COVID-19 and Animal Disease Outbreaks

If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught the country anything, it’s that there is a tremendous amount of synergy between the circumstances of a pandemic involving humans and those involving animals. 

Young Dairy Calves Ready To Transport May Benefit From An Immune Stimulant
Young Dairy Calves Ready To Transport May Benefit From An Immune Stimulant

Research showed a statistically significant decrease in respiratory disease in the animals at around 21 days of age,

Genetic sequencing allows for the identification of the specific DNA footprint of a disease, which will allow for improved disease surveillance when illness is detected in a herd.
Genetic Sequencing Research Could Assist in Quicker Emerging Disease Detection

Genetic sequencing allows for the identification of the specific DNA footprint of a disease, which will allow for improved disease surveillance when illness is detected in a herd.

U.S. feedlots will be selected at random.
National Feedlot Health Study Gets Underway In 2021

USDA’s National Animal Health Monitoring System wants to get the word out now to raise awareness for the study and encourage them to let feedlot owners and operators they work with know about the project.

One hundred countries around the globe are concerned about the overuse of antibiotics.
7 Alternatives To Antibiotic Use Identified By Researchers

A new report,“Beyond Antibiotics: The Future of Animal Health Alternatives,” identifies alternatives that could help support the animal health industry and producers, while reducing antibiotic use.

What In The World Is Ano-Genital Distance?
What In The World Is Ano-Genital Distance?

Dairy researchers may have unearthed yet another factor that affects productivity and profitability.

Sponsored
Testing provides a scientific basis for treatments and management decisions to address diseases.
The Critical Role Diagnostics Play In Cattle Disease Control

Testing provides a scientific basis for treatments and management decisions to address diseases.

Sponsored Content
 If the industry could put together all the best parts of the genome, significant production increases could be made.
'Huge Advancements' In Dairy Possible Through Genetics

If the industry could put together all the best parts of the genome, significant production increases could be made.

Feedlot cattle
Cattle Antimicrobial Resistance Research

A Texas Tech researcher has received funding from both USDA and NCBA for a project to evaluate the distribution of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes and the occurrence of horizontal gene transfer in high-risk cattle.

Study Addresses M. haemolytica Vaccination And Lost Milk Production
Study Addresses M. haemolytica Vaccination And Lost Milk Production

Elanco recently completed a randomized clinical trial to evaluate changes in milk production following vaccination of lactating dairy cows for M. haemolytica.

Feeder heifers
Texas Tech Investigates Antimicrobial Resistance in High-Risk Cattle

An award to Texas Tech from USDA is part of a near-$3 million investment from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture to mitigate antimicrobial resistance across the food chain.

Virginia Tech Testing Bee-Friendly Forage Material
Virginia Tech Testing Bee-Friendly Forage Material

Fescue is hardy, but can harbor a fungus that causes health issues for cattle. It also crowds out native plants, which can harm pollinator populations. A Virginia Tech study aims to solve both problems.

This high-resolution structure of the immature Zika virus discovered by Purdue scientists provides insights important to the development of effective antiviral treatments and vaccines. The tools used to solve this structure also will help advance animal health care through research in structural biology, microbiome discovery and protein evolution that Purdue and Elanco are collaboratively conducting.  
Purdue, Elanco Announce Animal-Health Partnership

The partnership allows Elanco to work side-by-side with Purdue’s leading life science research scientists.

Scout poses with members of UW Veterinary Care’s radiation oncology and anesthesia services during the commercial shoot. From left: Clinical Assistant Professor Michelle Turek and certified veterinary technicians Abigail Jones, Jennifer Borgen, Ashley Onsager and Molly Sehloff. 
“Lucky Dog” Super Bowl Ad Promotes UW Vet School

Viewers of Super Bowl LIV will endure a variety of over-the-top ads for otherwise undistinguished beer, trucks, fast food, other beer, insurance plans, more trucks, politicians and even the demise of a cartoon peanut.  

Mechanisms for transmission of CWD prions among captive or wild cervids are not fully understood.
Researchers Find CWD Proteins in Deer Semen

In research with potential implications for breeders and wild herds, scientists have detected the presence of chronic wasting disease (CWD) prions in semen and sexual tissues of prion-infected whitetail deer bucks.

Necropsy image shows the effects of right heart failure associated with bovine pulmonary hypertension.
New Genetic Test Indicates Risk for Bovine Congestive Heart Failure

MatMaCorp has translated genetic risk factors, ARRDC3 and NFIA, into a rapid and cost-effective test for BCHF, an untreatable, fatal condition prevalent in feedlot cattle in the Western Great Plains of North America

Research Connects Drug Treatments and Antimicrobial Resistance in BRD
Research Connects Drug Treatments and Antimicrobial Resistance in BRD

A new study from KSU on the treatment of non-responding cases of BRD sheds light on the relationship between drug treatments and the emergence of antimicrobial resistance.

W. Andy Tao and colleagues have developed a method to implant a chemical label that acts like a GPS tracker into live salmonella bacteria. Once inside the bacteria, the probe can be captured at any given time, showing in real time the proteins interacting with the bacteria.
Purdue Scientists Track Salmonella Infection in Real Time

Researchers have developed a chemical method — host and pathogen temporal interaction profiling, or HAPTIP — for labeling a living bacteria and tracking it as it invades a host cell.

K-State Veterinarian Mike Sanderson, DVM, PhD, will lead the project to model outbreak and control scenarios for foot and mouth disease.
K-State Research Grants Target FMD, ASF

New veterinary medicine research projects take on foot-and-mouth disease and African swine fever.

First identified in northern Colorado, CWD continues to spread in several U.S. states and in Canada.
Cautious Optimism on CWD

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has, so far, remained confined to deer and related cervids, but scientists increasingly urge action to protect public health.

Purdue Researcher Takes on Antibiotic Resistance
Purdue Researcher Takes on Antibiotic Resistance

Dr. Seleem’s expertise, and the focus of his research, is on developing new antimicrobials and improving delivery of drugs for the treatment of infectious diseases that affect both animals and humans. 

Proposals may address beef, dairy or both, and an effort will be made to award one beef and one dairy grant.
AABP Request for 2020 Proposals

The American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) Foundation announces the availability of two grants supporting clinical research in cattle. Each grant will be for up to $25,000.

A horned bull from a control group is flanked by two hornless offspring of a genome-edited bull.
Genome-Edited Bull Passes on Hornless Trait to Calves

Study Sheds Light on Future of Genome Editing in Livestock

In the black-and-white striped cows, the number of flies landing decreased by about half, resulting in a 20% reduction in fly-repelling behaviors.
Cows of a Different Stripe

Over the past 20 years or so, we’ve seen much of the U.S. cow herd shift toward black coats. Someday, perhaps the trend will become zebra stripes.

Using a combination of two or more products, from different anthelmintic classes, can boot efficacy well above that for either drug alone.
You Can Delay Drug Resistance in Parasites

In treating internal parasites in cattle, efficacy less than 100% eventually leads to at least some drug resistance.

Rachel Reams, DVM, PhD, serves as director of the MSU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.
MSU Scientists Test New Tech for Diagnosing CWD

Michigan State University and Michigan Department of Natural Resources scientists are testing a faster, more accurate way to screen and diagnosis chronic wasting disease, or CWD, in deer.

The report outlines specific goals and strategies for preserving availability of older livestock breeds and potentially critical genetic traits.
CAST Report Encourages Genetic Diversity

While genetic selection strategies around the world have improved livestock productivity and consistency, a lack of genetic diversity could put food production at risk.

Rumen Microbes the New Hot Topic of Cattle Nutrition Research
Rumen Microbes the New Hot Topic of Cattle Nutrition Research

You may think you’re feeding cattle, but research suggests the key is feeding cattle’s rumen microbes. New research is discovering how those microbes interact.

PCR testing improves detection of Histophilus somni, probably finding positive samples missed by culture methods.
Genomic Tools for Understanding BRD

While environmental factors and host genetics heavily influence BRD morbidity rates, understanding the genomic and molecular biology tools also can improve our understanding of pathogens and beneficial microorganisms .

The protozoan Ophryoscolex spp. has a unique and complex cell structure. With an average length of 185 micrometers, it is one of the largest in the cow's rumen.
Researchers Assemble Genomic "Jigsaw" of Cow Gut Microbes

Using high-tech tools, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and their cooperators have taken a deep dive into the microbial "soup" of the cow's rumen.