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.
- Tends to cover all over tail and hindquarters.
- 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.