Cow Diseases List

In 2009, the cattle industry in the United States produced $73 billion in beef cattle, according to the U. S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service. When cows become sick or debilitated, farmers and ranchers suffer economic losses due to animal death, lack of milk production, loss of newborn stock and the expense of veterinary treatment. Both the thousand-acre ranch foreman and the small farmer need to know the signs of common cattle diseases that can cost money and threaten the health of the herd.

  1. Mastitis

    • Mastitis is a bacterial infection of the mammary glands in cows. Symptoms typically include swollen, inflamed teats and udders, and purulent or discolored milk or discharge from the glands. The glands may abscess or become totally plugged and unable to produce milk. Farmers can prevent the disease by keeping the barns and milking areas clean and dry, and dipping the teats into an antibiotic solution prior to milking. Treatment of mastitis calls for antibiotic therapy.

    Pinkeye

    • Cows with infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis, also called pinkeye, suffer from inflammation of the conjunctiva or mucosal part of the eye and excessive watering or tearing. Because the disease often results in corneal ulcers and can be particularly painful, cattle will squint and seek to get out of sunlight by grazing in shade or a darkened area. Milk productivity decreases as the animal grazes less. Caused by the Moraxella bovis bacteria, pinkeye spreads from cow to cow on the legs or wings of flies that feed on the eye secretions of sick animals. Treatment includes applications of topical antibiotics and intramuscular injections of a long-acting oxytetracycline antibiotic. Often, veterinarians will stitch the infected eye closed until healing is complete, says the University of Kentucky's College of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service.

    Scours

    • Newborn calves run the risk of contracting neonatal calf diarrhea, also called calf scours. Caused by viral and bacterial agents, scours typically infects calves under stress from crowded conditions, those who receive inadequate colostrum from the cow, and calves overexposed to bacteria living in unsanitary conditions.

      Symptoms include acute diarrhea, weakness, lethargy, an inability to move and an unwillingness or inability to eat or drink. This leads to dangerous levels of dehydration and electrolyte imbalances that can kill the calf. Treatment begins with the administration of oral electrolyte solutions designed to re-hydrate the animal and restore mineral balances in the body. Veterinarians also prescribe antibiotics to prevent secondary systemic infections from bacteria leaking into the calf's bloodstream.

    Coccidiosis

    • Cattle industry experts estimate that ranchers lose $100 million each year due to a single-celled protozoan organism called coccidia. Endemic to the environment and the intestinal tracts of most cattle, an overgrowth and infestation of coccidia causes severe disease in susceptible calves and weakened, stressed adults. Many cattle show an inability to thrive and gain weight without ever displaying obvious symptoms. Signs of acute coccidiosis include severe, often bloody diarrhea, straining to defecate, loss of appetite and slight fever. Without antibiotic treatment, these animals become debilitated and die due to the body's inability to retain necessary nutrition from food.