Calf diarrhea is a major economic burden for the US cattle industry. A variety of infectious agents are implicated in calf diarrhea and co-infection of multiple pathogens is not uncommon in diarrheic calves. A case-control study was conducted to assess infectious etiologies associated with calf diarrhea in Midwest cattle farms. A total of 199 and 245 fecal samples were obtained from diarrheic and healthy calves, respectively, from 165 cattle farms. Samples were tested by a panel of multiplex PCR assays for 11 enteric pathogens: bovine rotavirus group A (BRV-A), bovine coronavirus (BCoV), bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), bovine enterovirus (BEV), bovine norovirus (BNoV), Nebovirus, bovine torovirus (BToV) Salmonella spp. (Salmonella), Escherichia coli (E. coli) K99(+), Clostridium perfringens with β toxin gene and Cryptosporidium parvum (C. parvum). The association between diarrhea and detection of each pathogen was analyzed using a multivariate logistic regression model. More than a half of the fecal samples from the diarrheic calves had multiple pathogens. Statistically, BRV-A, BCoV, BNoV, Nebovirus, Salmonella, E. coli K99(+), and C. parvum were significantly associated with calf diarrhea (p<0.05). Among them, C. parvum and BRV-A were considered to be the most common enteric pathogens for calf diarrhea with high detection frequency (33.7% and 27.1%) and strong odds ratio (173 and 79.9). Unexpectedly BNoV (OR=2.0) and Nebovirus (OR=16.7) were identified with high frequency in diarrheic calves, suggesting these viruses may have a significant contribution to calf diarrhea.

Transportation stress can result in significant economic losses to producers due to decreased animal productivity and increased medication costs associated with sickness such as bovine respiratory disease (BRD). Meloxicam (MEL) provides pain relief and anti-inflammatory effects in cattle for several days after a single oral treatment. Our hypothesis was that MEL administration before shipping would reduce the impact of long-distance transportation on circulating physiological biomarkers of stress and inflammation in beef steers. Ninety-seven beef steers were blood sampled for baseline biomarker determination and then randomly assigned to receive either 1 mg/kg MEL (n = 49) or a placebo (CONT; n = 48) per os before a 1,316-km transportation event lasting approximately 16 h. Calves were then blood sampled on arrival and 5 d later. Changes in the hemogram, circulating plasma proteins, total carbon dioxide (TCO 2 ), fibrinogen, substance P (SP), cortisol, haptoglobin (Hp)-matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) complexes, and tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) between treatments over time were compared using a mixed effects model with statistical significance designated as P < 0.05. Analysis of covariance was conducted to assess the relationship between circulating MEL concentrations and biomarker changes over time. An increase in neutrophil, platelet, monocyte, white blood cell, and red blood cell counts occurred after transportation (P < 0.0001) and a decrease in lymphocyte count were observed (P < 0.0001). Meloxicam treatment reduced the stress-induced neutrophilia (P = 0.0072) and circulating monocyte count (P = 0.013) on arrival. Mean corpuscle hemoglobin (P = 0.05), mean corpuscle volume (P = 0.05), and lymphocyte count (P = 0.05) were also greater in the CONT calves compared with MEL calves after transportation. Furthermore, Hp-MMP-9 complexes, TCO 2 , TNFα, plasma proteins, and SP increased and cortisol decreased after shipping (P < 0.01). Meloxicam treatment tended to reduce serum cortisol concentrations (P = 0.08) and there was evidence of a time × treatment interaction (P = 0.04). An inverse relationship between plasma MEL concentrations and circulation cortisol concentrations (P = 0.002) and neutrophil (P = 0.04) and basophil counts (P = 0.03) was also observed. The results suggest that MEL administration may reduce the impact of long-distance transportation on circulating physiological biomarkers of stress and inflammation in beef calves. ABSTRACT: Transportation stress can result in significant economic losses to producers due to decreased animal productivity and increased medication costs associated with sickness such as bovine respiratory disease (BRD). Meloxicam (MEL) provides pain relief and anti-inflammatory effects in cattle for several days after a single oral treatment. Our hypothesis was that MEL administration before shipping would reduce the impact of long-distance transportation on circulating physiological biomarkers of stress and inflammation in beef steers. Ninety-seven beef steers were b...

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Results of this study indicated factors associated with calf BRD risk; modification of these factors could potentially decrease the incidence of BRD in nursing calves.

Transportation stress can result in significant economic losses to producers due to decreased animal productivity and increased medication costs associated with sickness such as bovine respiratory disease (BRD). Meloxicam (MEL) provides pain relief and anti-inflammatory effects in cattle for several days after a single oral treatment. Our hypothesis was that MEL administration before shipping would reduce the impact of long-distance transportation on circulating physiological biomarkers of stress and inflammation in beef steers. Ninety-seven beef steers were blood sampled for baseline biomarker determination and then randomly assigned to receive either 1 mg/kg MEL (n = 49) or a placebo (CONT; n = 48) per os before a 1,316-km transportation event lasting approximately 16 h. Calves were then blood sampled on arrival and 5 d later. Changes in the hemogram, circulating plasma proteins, total carbon dioxide (TCO 2), fibrinogen, substance P (SP), cortisol, haptoglobin (Hp)-matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) complexes, and tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) between treatments over time were compared using a mixed effects model with statistical significance designated as P < 0.05. Analysis of covariance was conducted to assess the relationship between circulating MEL concentrations and biomarker changes over time. An increase in neutrophil, platelet, monocyte, white blood cell, and red blood cell counts occurred after transportation (P < 0.0001) and a decrease in lymphocyte count were observed (P < 0.0001). Meloxicam treatment reduced the stress-induced neutrophilia (P = 0.0072) and circulating monocyte count (P = 0.013) on arrival. Mean corpuscle hemoglobin (P = 0.05), mean corpuscle volume (P = 0.05), and lymphocyte count (P = 0.05) were also greater in the CONT calves compared with MEL calves after transportation. Furthermore, Hp-MMP-9 complexes, TCO 2 , TNFα, plasma proteins, and SP increased and cortisol decreased after shipping (P < 0.01). Meloxicam treatment tended to reduce serum cortisol concentrations (P = 0.08) and there was evidence of a time × treatment interaction (P = 0.04). An inverse relationship between plasma MEL concentrations and circulation cortisol concentrations (P = 0.002) and neutrophil (P = 0.04) and basophil counts (P = 0.03) was also observed. The results suggest that MEL administration may reduce the impact of long-distance transportation on circulating physiological biomarkers of stress and inflammation in beef calves.