Case notes on veterinary investigations in sheep, cattle and other species
2011 Spring edition of case studies
Spring 2011 State Report
Written by: Bruce Watt, Tablelands LHPA
Sheep
Listeriosis in silage-fed ewes
Written by: Ruth and Howard Thompson, Blayney Veterinary Hospital,
Erika Bunker, NSW State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, Menangle,
BR Watt, Tablelands Livestock Health and Pest Authority, Bathurst
Listeria monocytogenes is a bacterium
capable of surviving and multiplying in a wide range of environments including
moist soil, the gastro-intestinal tract of normal animals and in silage that
has been exposed to air and has a pH of above 4.5 ... Read More
Cattle
Benign Theileriosis in beef calves
Written by: Steve Eastwood, Senior District Veterinarian, New England LHPA
In October 2011, a 400 cow beef breeder enterprise at Yarrowitch on the eastern escarpment of the Northern Tablelands, had four calves, aged 12 weeks, die within a week ... Read More
BJD in a Market Assurance Program (MAP) herd
Written by: Matt Ball, District Veterinarian, Lismore
In September 2011 BJD was diagnosed by a private veterinarian in a single cow in a
North Coast dairy herd that was enrolled in the Market Assurance Program (MAP)
for BJD ... Read More
Calf diphtheria in Hereford calves
Written by: Bruce Watt - Tablelands Livestock Health and Pest Authority, Bathurst
Two calves approximately 2 months old in a mob of 25 Hereford cows with calves at foot were noticed to be sick ... Read More
Coliform abortion in a heifer
Written by: Bruce Watt - Tablelands Livestock Health and Pest Authority, Bathurst
An 8kg foetus was aborted from one of a mob of 28 Hereford cross
heifers ... Read More
Facial eczema in cattle ? FMD excluded
Written by: Kylie Greentree, District Veterinarian, Cumberland LHPA
This case study outlines a disease investigation that was in response to a farmer
contacting the Emergency Disease hotline. The syndrome reported by the farmer
could have been consistent with an exotic disease ... Read More
Fatal perforation of the reticulum and diaphragm caused by a cow eating a kangroo tibia
Written by: Derek Lunau, District Veterinarian, North West LHPA
A ten year old Hereford cross cow with a two month old calf at foot was reported to be losing weight and lethargic ... Read More
Lazy calving, dystocia and hypomagnesaemia
Written by: Judy Ellem, District Veterinarian, Central North LHPA, Coonabarabran
Owner reported prolonged calving times, 7 to 8 hours from first noticing heifer calving to calf being produced ... Read More
Lead poisoning in yearling cattle
Written by: Libby Read, District Veterinarian, North West LHPA
Four heifers died from a mixed mob of 45 yearlings grazing a sparse, mature oats
crop on sandy soil ... Read More
Listeria ivanovii abortion in sheep associated with decaying plant matter
Written by: Tanya Rajkumar, Katie Boulton (final year veterinary students University of Sydney) and Elizabeth Braddon (Lachlan LHPA DV, Young) and Ian Masters (Hume LHPA DV, Gundagai) and Helen McGregor (Hume LHPA DV, Wagga Wagga) and Michael Hornitzky (Senior Principal Research Scientist, EMAI) and Bruce Watt (Tablelands LHPA DV, Bathurst)
Within the Listeria genus, Listeria monocytogenes and Listeria ivanovii are the most important pathogenic organisms in animals, with sheep being more susceptible to infection than cattle ... Read More
Polymenia (supernumerary limbs) in Angus calves
Written by: Dr Laurence Denholm, DPI NSW and Lisa Martin, District Veterinarian, New England LHPA and Andrew Denman, Blayney Veterinary Hospital
Whilst sporadic cases of polymelia
in cattle have been reported all around the world in both Bos taurus and Bos indicus breeds, in recent years the incidence of this congenital defect seems to be increasing in
Angus calves in Australia ... Read More
Salmonellosis in adult beef cattle
Written by: Evelyn Walker, District Veterinarian Central West Livestock Health and Pest Authority, Dubbo
A beef producer lost 2 head of cattle just outside the Gulargambone area out of a
mob of 100 in early June 2011. At least 14 others were unwell ... Read More
Suspect Salmonellosis Case Study
Written by: Matthew Ball, District Veterinarian, Lismore
In late October 2011 a dairy/beef producer at Rous (between Ballina and Lismore) reported the deaths of two Australian Illawarra Shorthorn (AIS) mature cows from a mob of 35 cows and calves ... Read More
Theileriosis causing anaemia
Written by: Ted Irwin, North West Livestock Health and Pest Authority
Benign theileriosis has been causing increasing occurrences of disease on the coast
and inland in NSW. It is a protozoal organism spread by ticks that parasitises the blood cells... Read More
Other species
Listeriosis associated with silage feeding in goats
Written by: Bob Templeton, Southeast Livestock Health and Pest Authority and Keith Hart, Cumberland Livestock Health and Pest Authority and Bruce Watt, Tablelands Livestock Health and Pest Authority
Listeria monocytogenes occurs widely in the environment and can be isolated from soil, decaying plants and silage. Man and many animal species can also be asymptomatic carriers ... Read more