Economic impact of an outbreak of botulism in a cattle feedlot

Abstract

Botulism is a febrile disease, fatal in most cases, which affects the muscles of locomotion, chewing, and swallowing, as well as the diaphragm and intercostal muscles, causing flaccid paralysis and respiratory arrest. In bovines, the etiology is due to the ingestion of neurotoxins types C and D formed by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum in an animal or vegetal substance, during decomposition. Vaccination is one of the most effective prophylactic means to prevent this disease. In this study, an outbreak of botulism was evaluated in a feedlot with 6,300 finishing cattle, wherein 25 died as a consequence of contracting this disease. The economic losses resulting from the deaths were analyzed, and economic analysis was conducted, involving the estimated cost of vaccination for the whole herd under risk, with the objective of evaluating whether this prophylactic practice is a viable action plan. The financial loss due to the deaths resulting from botulism in the case studied was found to be R$55,560.00, equivalent to 0.39% of the total monetary value of the herd. The cost of immunizing the entire herd under risk was 14.06% (for toxins exclusive to toxins C and D) and 22.22% (for polyvalent vaccines against clostridiosis) of the financial loss incurred as a consequence of the recorded deaths. It was concluded that botulism is a disease that can cause a significant economic impact on intensive livestock production systems, and that vaccination is an economically viable prophylactic action if performed with adequate sanitary planning.

Clostridial diseases diagnosed in cattle from the South of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. A forty-year survey (1978-2018) and a brief review of the literature

“…Botulism is endemic in Brazil, mainly in the Midwestern states (Soares et al 2018) and the BoNTs responsible for the outbreaks in cattle in our country are, mostly, types C and D (Barros et al 2006a, Silva et al 2016. In the last 15-20 years, botulism has emerged as a significant disease in Europe and a bioterrorism threat (Skarin et al 2013).…”

Cattle diseases in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil: a 24-year survey (1995-2018)

“…Samples of 50 cattle were analyzed. Two of those outbreaks occurred in feedlots -one associated with the feeding of moldy hay (Soares et al 2018a) and the other of contaminated rehydrated corn (Guizelini et al 2019). The other nine were observed in extensively raised cattle at pasture.…”

Causes of death in feedlot beef cattle and their control: a brief review

“…Feedlot cattle are more susceptible to infections respiratory diseases such as pneumonia and non-communicable diseases of the alimentary tract such as lactic acidosis and bloat (Smith 1998, Borges & Afonso 2007. There are reports of occasional outbreaks of other conditions affecting cattle in feedlots with significant losses, such as botulism in Rio Grande do Sul (Maboni et al 2010) and the Midwest (Soares et al 2018, Guizelini et al 2019 regions and tick fever in RS (Estima-Silva et al 2020).…”

“…In feedlot beef cattle, conditions such as botulism (Maboni et al 2010, Soares et al 2018, Guizelini et al 2019, Le Maréchal et al 2019 occasionally cause economic losses in feedlot beef cattle operations. The study of an outbreak of botulism in the Midwest region with morbidity and mortality of 0.4% and a financial loss of more than US $ 13,000.00 is described (Curci et al 2013).…”

“…The elimination of the source of contamination of the botulinic toxin is an adequate measure (Soares et al 2018). The storage and periodic cleaning of the food and water storage place and troughs minimize the risks of botulism outbreaks and are also part of animal welfare (Mota & Marçal 2019).…”