Effect of Passive Transfer Status and Vaccination with Escherichia coli (J5) on Mortality in Comingled Dairy Calves

Abstract

The effect of vaccination with a commercially available R-mutant coliform mastitis vaccine on the survival of comingled dairy calves on a farm with endemic salmonellosis was examined. A total of 864 calves were randomly assigned to either vaccine (n = 435) or control (n = 429) groups. Passive transfer status of each calf was determined using refractometer determination of serum total protein concentration. Logistic models were developed to determine the effects of vaccine group and passive transfer status on calf survival to 100 days of age. In a model in which serum protein concentration was treated as a categorical variable, increasing serum total protein concentrations were associated with decreased mortality until these concentrations exceeded 6.0 g/dL. Calves with serum protein concentrations > 6.0 g/dL had increased risk for mortality compared with calves with serum protein concentrations > 5.5 g/dL but < or = 6.0 g/dL. This increased risk for mortality was supported by the results of a logistic model in which serum protein concentration was treated as a continuous variable. The increased risks associated with high serum protein concentration probably reflect the effect of dehydration in calves with occult disease. Neither model demonstrated any significant association between vaccination status and survival to 100 days of age. Based on these results, the routine immunization of calves cannot be recommended as a strategy to prevent mortality on farms with endemic salmonellosis.

Factors Affecting Serum Total Protein and Immunoglobulin G Concentration in Replacement Dairy Calves

“…Traditional research in Holstein calves has established cutoff values for FPT at IgG concentration at 1,000 mg/dL in serum [14], which has [5,[20][21][22][23][24]. As in previous studies [19,21,22], we found that serum IgG and TP concentrations were correlated, but less so than in other studies.…”

“…This relationship allows measuring serum TP concentration via refractometer under field conditions as a proxy for IgG concentration. Using the commonly accepted cutoff limit of 1,000 mg/dL of IgG to define FPT has resulted in a broad variation in cutoff values for serum TP in Holstein calves between 5.0 and 5.5 g/dL [5,[20][21][22][23][24].…”

Addition of Casein or Whey Protein to Colostrum or a Colostrum Supplement Product on Absorption of IgG in Neonatal Calves

“…Total protein in plasma, particularly when estimated by refractometry, has commonly been used to estimate the acquisition of passive immunity in newborn calves fed colostrum Tyler et al, 1999). The correlation between plasma total protein and plasma IgG in neonates is usually sufficient to allow adequate estimation of status of passive transfer.…”

Longitudinal study on morbidity and mortality in white veal calves in Belgium

“…High mortality risks (8.2%) have been reported in farms which purchase young calves from different origin [41]. Surprisingly, the mortality risk in veal calves was similar to live born calves in dairy replacement herds in Great Britain (5.0%), Norway (4,6%), Sweden (4.0%) and crossbred cow-calf farms in Switzerland (5.0%) and even smaller than reported in large scale dairy calf rearing in Northern America (7,6% and 13,3%) [2,3,7,9,35,42].…”