Latest News From Animal health

Services provided by animal health diagnostic center veterinarians and staff help practitioners in the field improve the quality of care and treatment they provide to all farm animals, whether livestock or pets.

While dairy cattle can’t verbally tell us when they’re not feeling their best, they can give us physical cues.

As spring nears and grass begins to turn green, producers are anxious to get cows out to grass. However, cool season predominate areas tend to have lush spring growth which can lead to grass tetany in cows.

Sound management, health protocols and facilities maintenance can help achieve the ultimate goal of keeping cattle healthy and productive.

Beginning June 11, 2023, most livestock antibiotics will no longer be available over-the-counter. Ohio State University dairy veterinarian Kevin Jacque shares his thoughts on adapting to the new rules.

Thirteen-year-old Addi Drury's best friend is a 1,520-pound bucking bull named Hard Labor. When tragedy struck a year ago, Addi's family loaded him up and headed for the OSU Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.

Household units and mini fridges are often unsuitable for maintaining veterinary products, according to a recent study by Emmanuel Rollin, DVM, College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia.

Scoring teat ends tells a story of how happy a cow is with how she is milked and treated. It also provides insights into whether the milking process is harmful to the animal and needs to be changed.

King brings more than three decades of animal health experience to the role. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine and practiced veterinary medicine for 10 years.

On June 11, 2023, the following antibiotics will no longer be available for purchase over-the-counter.

Veterinarians and researchers have hypothesized why H. somni is becoming more widespread and increasingly prevalent, but there is not a clear culprit.

The new indication is for control of pyrexia in dairy cows due to acute mastitis. There is a short milk withhold of 48 hours. 

Detecting respiratory disease in calves early – when treatment is most effective – should start by examining the head and facial features, according to veterinarian Tiago Tomazi with Merck Animal Health.

Providing bedding is one of the time-tested strategies for dealing with winter weather. But how does bedding affect the bottom-line?

The International Consortium for Antimicrobial Stewardship in Agriculture (ICASA) has awarded nine grants to develop management strategies that improve judicious antibiotic use in beef cattle and swine.

If you listed the top three disease problems in young dairy calves, diarrhea and pneumonia would likely come to mind immediately. The third one might not be as obvious: umbilical infection.

This article, developed by Margaret Masterson, DVM, The Ohio State University, covers surgery basics for supernumerary teats, slow milkers, teat obstructions, teat spiders, fistulas and teat lacerations.

Domestic sales and distribution of medically important antimicrobial drugs approved for use in food-producing animals decreased by less than 1% between 2020-21. Compared to 2015 (peak year), 2021 sales decreased 38%.

Sandra Stuttgen, bovine veterinarian and associate professor at the University of Wisconsin, says now is the time for livestock owners to establish a relationship with their DVM.

PRRS continues to be the most economically significant disease affecting the U.S. swine industry. Boehringer Ingelheim is launching a PRRS Knowledge Manual, chronicling years of research and best practices for control. 

Inflammation creates additional stress at calving.

Technology in the clinic and on the farm can come in really handy. Apps are just one of the tools you can use. Here are five to check out.

“Similar to Staph aureus and mycoplasma, Prototheca [mastitis] is hard to detect, has no known cure, and is contagious by intermittently shedding from cow to cow."

The first 10 days were hell, says Kyle Baade, a Nebraska pork producer. After that, if a visitor showed up, he says they would have no idea the farm had any issues. Here's his PRRS story and how it changed his life.

Veterinarians can enhance their relationship and business with producers by identifying ways they can be more efficient. Two good starting points: management of the parlor and the parlor environment.

This is the story of one dairy producer's struggle with the impact of stray voltage on her cows and family. She wants her family's experience to be something veterinarians and dairy producers can learn and benefit from.

Preliminary results of a field study found 73% of farms tested positive for BCoV in the respiratory pathway, and BCoV is associated with increased risk for Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD).

One of the lab’s key roles is to utilize the company's Microbial Terroir platform to provide unique insights on pathogenic challenges and tailor its Certillus brand of Targeted Microbial Solutions.

Dr. Shaw Perrin, DVM and assistant professor at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, offers recommendations on how to best assist down cows, along with some practices to avoid.

“Flies are hard to control. And a lot of times, we can't control them adequately with only one modality. We need to use a variety of options,” says Tony Hawkins, DVM.

This week, dangerous heat is sweeping across Texas to Wisconsin to Ohio to Georgia.

Asian longhorned ticks are moving across the U.S. Calves are particularly vulnerable to them. Of course, a variety of tick species are problematic for cattle and need to be addressed each year.

Drought is not a new issue to cow-calf producers, but many factors make this year unique. Kansas State will host a webinar to help producers weigh options on May 19.

Flies are a nuisance and contribute to lost productivity on the dairy. Controlling flies requires an integrated management plan that includes inspection, sanitation, treatment and monitoring. 

Bulls don't always transition well from one farm to the next. Some extra TLC could mean the difference in whether that animal stays in good condition and maintains good sperm quality and quantity or struggles to adjust.

Elanco Animal Health and Ducks Unlimited announce results from the year-one effort of a multi-year initiative to restore working grasslands in western Kansas.

In the quest to find alternatives to antibiotics to fight disease in dairy calves, essential oils are the subject of a growing body of calf health research.

The bulk of cases this year are from migratory birds, according to USDA, as opposed from farm-to-farm--which was the case in 2015. That year's avian flu outbreak was the largest animal disease outbreak in U.S. history.

Access to livestock drugs through over-the-counter (OTC) channels was curbed considerably starting in 2017. Soon, OTC antibiotics may no longer be available through traditional channels at all.

There are 24 grants. One of the funded projects is to develop safe and efficient drugs that block the activity of Cryptosporidium parvum, a highly prevalent parasite that causes a serious diarrheal illness in calves.

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.

The ongoing drought in south Texas has lowered the water level at the Rio Grande River making it easier for wildlife carrying cattle fever ticks to enter the U.S.

USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza in a flock of commercial broiler chickens in Stoddard County, Mo.

Drought covering the continental U.S. grew by 2 points this week, now covering nearly 60% of the country. As the drought grips the Wheat Belt and key areas for cattle production, it's creating concern for 2022.

SenseHub Feedlot offers those who manage and care for cattle an innovative new approach to detecting illness, including bovine respiratory disease.

Drought is expanding in the country. There is plenty of time to avoid widespread drought impacts but without significant moisture in the next 2-3 months, the cattle industry could see major impacts.

As one of the top scourges to calf raisers, cryptosporidium is an ever-present challenge that rarely takes a holiday.

Supply-chain disruptions are hitting America's meat producers and sending them scrambling for alternatives as they seek to care for farm animals and keep down costs.

Cattle kept flipping the floating de-icer out of the stock tank until Dan Norris, Markle, Ind., made a stationary frame.

Veterinarians with experience dealing with this bovine medical emergency offer insights and recommendations to help other practitioners, especially recent graduates.