Failure of Passive Transfer

(FPT)

Inadequate absorption of immunoglobulin.

It occurs because of 4 main reasons:

1. The neonate did not receive any colostrum.
2. The neonate did not receive enough colostrum.
3. The neonate did not absorb enough colostrum.
4. The quality of the colostrum was inadequate.

Colostrum quality (amount of IgG) depends on:

• Breed - antibody and milk fat are correlated, thus Jersey cows have the highest amount of immunoglobulin. Conversely Holsteins have the lowest amount of immunoglobulin.
• Nutrition - it is especially important for cows during the dry period (last 2 months of pregnancy) to have the correct nutrition in order to produce immunoglobulin.
• Season - the lowest quality of colostrum is produced in the late winter months as this is correlated to the quality of forage available.
• Stress - dams under increased stress produce colostrum of reduced quality.
• Immunostatus of the dam - dams exposed to specific diseases mount an immune response and produce antibodies for that particular disease, these antibodies are then transferred to the neonate via colostrum. Dams may also be vaccinated which, if done during the colostrum production period (last 2 months of gestation), will also provide the neonate with some protection via passive transfer.
• Milk yield - increased yield dilutes the amount of immunoglobulins in the colostrum.
• Pre milking - omitting a dry period or mistakenly milking a cow during the dry period removes any colostrum produced.
• Dripping from teats - poor teat confirmation may result in a poor teat seal and thus dripping before the calf has been born or sucked.
• Parity - older cows have better quality colostrum as they have been exposed to more pathogens and may have had multiple vaccinations causing their colostrum to have a higher amount of immunoglobulin.

Colostrum quantity depends on:

• Amount the neonate suckles - a strong neonate and good mothering from the dam increases the amount the neonate suckles. Udder conformation also influences the accessibilty of the teats to the neonate. Dystocia may reduce mothering and produce a weak calf potentially causes an increased time to the first suck and/or reducing the amount the neonate consumes.
• Premature births - if born early the dam has a shorter period of time for concentration of antibodies from the blood to the colostrum. It is more likely that the neonate will also be weaker and smaller, causing the amount of colostrum sucked to be reduced.

Failure of absorption from the intestines:

• If the neonate is provided with colostrum 30 hours post partum the FcRn receptors will be completely absent and thus no IgG will be absorbed.

As a rough guide 8-10% of the neonate's body weight of good quality ('green') colostrum should be given over the first 12 hour period of a neonate's life to prevent FPT. This can be done effectively by hand feeding using bottles or with oesophageal feeders.

See Colostrum Quality Testing

References

Books

A.H. Andrewa Bovine Medicine - Diseases and Husbandry of Cattle Blackwell Publishing 2004 2nd Edition

Koterba, Drummound and Kosch Equine Clinical Neonatology Williams and Wilkins 1990

P. Lydyard, A. Whelan and M.W. Fanger Immunology Garland Science 2nd Edition 2004

Websites

www.sheepandgoat.com