Читать книгу Farm Animal Medicine and Surgery - Graham R Duncanson - Страница 215

• This occurs in dry cows and in-calf heifers but rarely in maiden heifers.

• The author has on rare occasions seen it in the mammary tissue of bulls.

• The disease, which is bacterial, is spread by the fly Hydrotaea irritans, which has a predilection for trees.

• There is a sequence of events; initially the udder is colonized by S. dysgalactiae, there is a slight swelling and the animal will be only slightly ill with a pyrexia. If treatment with antibiotics, normally penicillin, is initiated immediately, the disease will not progress further and the infected quarter will be saved.

• If the animal is not treated, other bacteria, namely Arcanobacterium pyogenes, Peptococcus indolicus, Bacteroides melaninogenicus and Fusobacterium necrophorum will colonize and the animal will become ill and the quarter will be lost, even with antibiotic treatment.

• At this stage, the udder discharge will be creamy and malodorous, alerting the clinician to the poor prognosis for the udder.

• Animals will be stiff behind and often their hocks will swell so treatment with NSAIDs as well as antibiotics would be appropriate.

• Prevention is with dry cow therapy, teat sealants and fly control.