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Chlamydia in cattle is one of the causes of infertility in adult queens and a lot of “diseases” in young animals. Like AIDS, chlamydia masquerades as other illnesses that could take years to cure. Until the true cause is eliminated, the animals will not recover.
What is chlamydia in cattle
This is a contagious infectious disease caused by microorganisms of the genus Chlamydia. Outwardly, chlamydia does not manifest itself in any way. With this infection, the farmer usually believes that his calves are very sickly and constantly suffer from colds, indigestion, or conjunctivitis.
With chlamydia, young cattle are “sick”:
- bronchopneumonia;
- rhinitis;
- polyarthritis;
- keratoconjunctivitis;
- gastroenteritis;
- encephalomyelitis.
The latter can also occur in adults. Bulls of chlamydia are “beaten” on the most valuable. Males develop orchitis and urethritis. In cows infected with chlamydia, the following is observed:
- mastitis;
- premature birth of non-viable or dead calves, usually such an abortion occurs at 7-9 months of pregnancy;
- in aborted uterus, the separation of the placenta is delayed;
- development of endometritis;
- prolonged infertility.
Because of this diversity, it is very difficult to “catch” chlamydia. The basis for suspicion of chlamydia may be the mass manifestation of various “diseases” at the same time.
The causative agent of chlamydia in cattle
An obligate intracellular parasite Chlamydophila psittaci common to birds, mammals and humans. Infection with this microorganism in cattle is called chlamydia, in humans this disease is known as ornithosis (psitaccosis).
In addition to Chlamydophila psittaci, chlamydia in cattle can be caused by its subspecies Chlamydophila abortus. Therefore, if a person usually has chlamydia infection looks like the beginning of the flu, then abortions can occur in cows.
Chlamydia differ from viruses in the presence of DNA and RNA and are included in the intermediate group between bacteria, viruses and rickettsiae. Chlamydia have an oval or spherical shape. Being the same species, chlamydia can exist in two types:
- intracellular form in the form of reticular bodies with a diameter of 1,2 microns, the structure of these bodies is typical for gram-negative bacteria;
- viral form with a body diameter of 0,3-0,4 microns.
Just like gram-negative bacteria, chlamydia is sensitive to the tetracycline group of antibiotics.
Parasites are relatively stable in the external environment:
- water – up to 17 days;
- unpasteurized milk – 23 days;
- in products processed by lyophilization (dehydration after freezing) – up to 3 years;
- at a very low temperature – almost forever, or as long as they store the frozen sperm of a sick bull.
At the same time, chlamydia is very sensitive to high temperatures. They are easy to neutralize with disinfectants in the usual concentration.
Chlamydia under the microscope
Ways of transmission of chlamydia
Potential hosts of chlamydia are very different animals. So much so that they should not have common infectious diseases. However, chlamydia is one of them. Chlamydia carriers can be:
- birds;
- cattle;
- horses;
- pigs;
- sheep;
- people.
A sick organism releases chlamydia into the external environment in several ways:
- with sperm;
- when exhaling air;
- with milk;
- with faeces;
- with urine;
- during abortion and childbirth.
Accordingly, infection of cattle with chlamydia also occurs in several ways:
- aerogenic;
- orally when eating infected feed;
- during mating or artificial insemination using the sperm of a bull from a farm that is unfavorable for chlamydia.
Cattle chlamydia is also dangerous because, having got into the farm once, it remains there for years. Young animals constantly develop pulmonary, gastrointestinal, joint and eye diseases. The decrease in productivity, reproduction and safety of cattle leads to large financial losses. The disinfection of the farm from chlamydia is also very expensive.
The birth of non-viable calves is one of the signs of chlamydia on the farm
Forms of chlamydia in cattle
In cattle, there are 5 forms of the course of the disease. The type of chlamydia depends on the site of infection. The form of chlamydia can be:
- genital;
- intestinal;
- encephalitic;
- respiratory;
- conjunctival.
Symptoms of chlamydia in cattle
Common to all forms of chlamydia in cattle is the incubation period, which lasts from 3 to 20 days. Otherwise, they can be very different from each other.
Genital
Development of endometritis and metritis. Detention of the placenta and abortion. Pereguly, sometimes infertility is observed in cows. Such symptoms are also possible with non-contagious hormonal disruptions.
Chlamydial abortion often goes along with other infectious diseases:
- brucellosis;
- streptococcosis;
- salmonellosis;
- vibriosis;
- trichomoniasis
In such cases, adult queens often die due to general septicemia.
With the development of the genital form of chlamydia in a bull, the infection causes inflammation of the testicles (orchitis) and urethritis. Orchitis may not be infectious, but traumatic in nature. In this case, the development of chlamydia will go further.
Signs of orchitis in a bull:
- swelling of the scrotum;
- soreness in one or both eggs;
- general oppression;
- increased body temperature;
- rare bouts of anxiety.
In an attempt to alleviate the pain in the groin, the bull puts his hind leg out and with difficulty brings it forward.
Urethritis is an inflammation of the mucous membrane of the urethra, which often occurs for a non-infectious cause. The main symptoms in a bull:
- an admixture of blood, pus and mucus in the urine;
- frequent urination;
- erection of the penis.
It is easy to make a mistake if you make a diagnosis only on the basis of anamnesis. A laboratory urine test will most likely show the presence of chlamydia. Provided that the analysis on a clamidiosis will be made.
Orchitis is not only a symptom of chlamydia
Intestinal
Signs of the intestinal form may resemble viral diarrhea:
- temperature 40-40,5 ° C;
- loss of appetite;
- general oppression;
- diarrhea;
- hyperemia of the mucous membrane of the mouth;
- sometimes the presence of pasteerosions and ulcers.
Symptomatic treatment in this case will not work.
Encephalitic
If the parasite has managed to penetrate the nervous system, the cattle develops chlamydia according to the encephalitic type. Cattle show signs of CNS damage:
- uncoordinated movements;
- convulsions of the occipital and cervical muscles;
- shaking head.
Symptoms of CNS damage usually appear shortly before death, in which case the cow is unlikely to be saved.
Respiratory
This form of chlamydia can be confused with a good half of respiratory diseases:
- fever;
- the temperature of 40-41 ° C lasts only the first 1-2 days, later decreasing to normal;
- serous discharge from the nose after 3-4 days turn into mucopurulent;
- nasal mucosa is edematous and hyperemic;
- cough;
- frequent pulse;
- conjunctivitis or slight swelling of the eyelids;
- frequent breathing.
With this form of chlamydia, the farmer often tries to treat cattle with folk remedies.
Conjunctival
The name of this form speaks for itself. Observe keratitis, lacrimation and conjunctivitis.
One of the consequences of chlamydia infection
Diagnosis of the disease
The primary diagnosis is made on the basis of clinical signs and epidemiological data. The final one is established after laboratory and pathological studies.
To diagnose chlamydia in a patient with cattle, blood samples, feces, and swabs from the conjunctiva and nasal cavity are taken. Blood serum samples are taken for serological examination: in the first days of the appearance of clinical signs and after 2-3 weeks. Samples of internal organs are taken from forcedly slaughtered or dead animals:
- mucous membranes of the trachea, nasal cavity, larynx;
- spleen;
- light;
- to the mouse;
- small intestine;
- medulla oblongata;
- synovial membrane of the joints;
- hard and soft meninges.
During abortions, vaginal mucus and pieces of the placenta of aborted uterus, the contents of the abomasum and parenchymal organs of the fetus are taken. Ejaculate, semen samples and swabs from the prepuce are taken from bulls. The selected materials are delivered to the laboratory in a frozen form.
The diagnosis is considered established if the following results were obtained during laboratory tests:
- the pathogen was isolated and identified from the test material;
- positive results were obtained in the study of blood serum for chlamydia;
- there is an increase in antibody titer by 2 or more times when examining blood from aborted queens.
Chlamydia must be differentiated from other infectious diseases. The intestinal and respiratory form of chlamydia in cattle is differentiated from:
- parainfluenza-3;
- infectious rhinotracheitis;
- salmonellosis;
- viral diarrhea;
- adenovirus infection;
- coronavirus enteritis;
- colibacteriosis;
- rotavirus infection;
- mycoplasmosis.
The encephalitic form of chlamydia is differentiated from rabies, listeriosis, Aujeszky’s disease, and toxicosis.
You may not check. Legs hanging in the air – a sign of the absence of diseases
Pathological changes
When examining fetuses aborted due to chlamydia, they find:
- numerous hemorrhages in the epicardium, pleura, endocardium, abomasum mucosa, kidneys;
- in the subcutaneous tissue serous edema;
- granular and fatty degeneration of the liver;
- in internal cavities hemorrhagic transudate.
Enteritis and ulcerative gastritis are also present.
Autopsy of adults and young cattle
For the respiratory form:
- mucous membranes of the respiratory tract are edematous and hyperemic, with hemorrhages;
- mucus, often mixed with pus, in the bronchi;
- hard knots in the lungs;
- enlarged bronchial lymph nodes with hemorrhages.
For intestinal form:
- dystrophy of the kidneys, spleen, liver;
- petechial hemorrhages in the internal organs;
- inflammation of the intestinal mucosa;
- ulcerative enteritis.
Proliferative-fibrinous arthritis usually affects young cattle, but sometimes they occur in adults.
Treatment of chlamydia in cattle
Once an accurate diagnosis has been established, treatment can begin. Used in the case of other infectious diseases “traditional” antibiotics, in the case of chlamydia are useless. They do not act on intracellular parasites. For the treatment of chlamydia, it is necessary to use antibiotics of the tetracycline group. The most effective are teramycin and geomycin retard. Enough double application at a dose of 1 mg/10 kg of live weight. The interval between injections is 3-4 days.
The unsanitary condition of the barn is one of the ways for the spread of infections
Preventive measures
Preventive measures are prescribed in the sanitary and veterinary rules:
- it is forbidden to keep different types of animals together;
- contact with birds, wild and domestic, should be as limited as possible;
- complete the livestock only with healthy animals from farms safe for chlamydia;
- sires in spring and autumn are serologically examined for chlamydia in cattle;
- indoors create an optimal microclimate.
To form immunity, an inactivated vaccine against bovine chlamydia and the drug “EPL” are used. The latter is administered twice with an interval of 1 day. The required doses are indicated in the instructions for the preparations.
Conclusion
Chlamydia in cattle is an insidious and dangerous disease. Because of the “disguise” as other infections, the farmer can start treating cattle on his own, sincerely believing that his cows do not get sick with anything terrible. In this case, the owner of the herd will lose time and incur losses also due to abortions. In addition, when drinking milk with chlamydia, a person can get sick.