Behavior assessment and applications for BRD diagnosis: beef

Abstract

Assessment of behavior is a longstanding strategy to assist the diagnosis of clinical bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in beef cattle. Cattle with systemic inflammation caused by infectious pathogen(s) display predictable behavioral adaptations compared to healthy cohorts. Behavioral alterations in BRD-affected cattle include lethargy, social isolation, and anorexia. However, behavior assessment to support BRD case definition in the production setting is challenging because: (1) other bovine diseases cause behavior alterations similar to BRD; (2) cattle have inherent prey instinct to disguise sickness behavior during human evaluation; (3) labor constraints dictate very brief observation of animal behavior; and (4) traditional behavior assessment is subjective and agreement is often poor. Some of these challenges may be overcome with the use of advanced technologies that allow continuous, remote, and objective behavior assessment of individual cattle. Automated methodologies for behavior assessment include three-axis accelerometers that quantify physical behaviors, systems that document feeding/watering behavior, and triangulation systems that document spatial behavior. Each of these behavior-monitoring approaches generates unique information and may facilitate early detection of BRD compared to traditional methods. Nevertheless, adoption of behavior assessment technologies for BRD diagnosis in beef operations hinges upon improved detection, positive return on investment, and successful integration within existing BRD management practices.

Technological Tools for the Early Detection of Bovine Respiratory Disease in Farms

“…In addition to clinical signs, this diagnosis is also based on behavior changes. Behavioral changes and clinical signs in BRD-sick cattle include ocular and nasal discharge, cough, extended head, dry snout, floppy ears, poor coat, dull eyes, lethargy, social isolation, hypo-/anorexia, pyrexia, dehydration, tachypnea and dyspnea [ 7 , 27 ]. Clinical diagnosis may not be accurate and does not allow early detection of BRD, because the clinical and pathological presentations of this syndrome are varied [ 5 , 8 , 21 , 43 ].…”

“…Furthermore, cattle display prey behavior in attempting to disguise the clinical signs of their disease during a clinical exam. Due to the lack of manpower, observations of behavior are often short, subjective and may not reach consistent conclusions [ 21 , 27 , 45 , 46 ].…”

“…Furthermore, these tools allow the management of a large number of animals and an early diagnosis of diseases [ 26 ]. Using this approach, veterinarians have a list of animals suspected of having BRD that is generated by the system and sent to their phones, tablet or computer, that helps them in making diagnostic and treatment decisions [ 23 , 27 ].…”

Using Canine Olfaction to Detect Bovine Respiratory Disease: A Pilot Study

“…The health available for this study was treatment records. Sick animals were identified for treatment using visual sign-based screening, which typically includes factors such as lethargy and abnormal posture but may be subjective (39). BRD diagnosis from clinical signs has low sensitivity (13).…”

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“…Nonetheless, we need to better understand their cost–benefit ratio because treatment costs could increase as a result of improved sensitivity compared with traditional diagnostic methods. Commercial success and adoption will depend on improved diagnosis, decreased labor costs, decreased mortality, and increased performance that can offset the cost of the system, as well as the ability to integrate these systems within current management systems ( Richeson, 2020 ).…”