Undifferentiated Neonatal Calf Diarrhoea

• A syndrome with many causes.

Clinical

• Is seen mostly in calves between 1 and 28 days old.
• Known as "white scour".
• Has a high morbidity in calves that are doing well and feeding well.
• Large amounts of milk coloured diarrhoea.
  • Tends to cover all over tail and hindquarters.
    • Often produces skin sores.
• Condition is lost quite quickly, and a high mortality may be caused.

Pathogenesis

• Certain conditions predispose calves to undifferentiated neonatal calf diarrhoea.
  • Stress
  • Insufficient colostrum
  • Cold milk
  • Mixing strange calves together after separating from mother.

• A mixture of viruses and bacteria are involved, some more commonly than others.
  • Undifferentiated neonatal calf diarrhoea is, however, a primarily viral disease.
  • Some of the agents below are also found also in perfectly normal calves.
    • Other viruses not listed are also probably involved.
    • The exact cause is not always important, since are cases all treated in the same way.

Virus	% Cases	Bacterium	% Cases
Rotavirus	40%	Cryptosporidium	20%
Coronavirus	20%	Enterotoxigenic E.Coli	20%
Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus	4%	Campylobacter	30-40%
Calici-, parvo-, adeno-, viruses	1% each

• The condition has a very characteristis appearance on post mortem examination.
  • The intestine is filled with gas and foam, and possibly flakes of milk.