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Due to improper maintenance and inadequate diet, breeding farm animals often overtake various non-communicable diseases associated with impaired metabolism or general muscle weakness. One such disease is myopathy or white muscle disease of calves in cattle is very common. Calves are not the only ones affected by this disease. Myopathy was recorded not only in all types of livestock, but even in poultry.
What is white muscle disease
Myopathy is a non-contagious disease of young animals. Most common in countries with developed cattle breeding:
- Australia
- USA;
- New Zealand.
Beef from these countries is exported all over the world, but inferior feed is used to reduce the cost of production. Such nutrition contributes to the growth of muscle mass, but does not provide the animals with all the necessary elements.
White muscle disease is characterized by profound structural and functional disorders of the myocardium and skeletal muscles. With the development of the disease, the tissues become discolored.
Myopathy occurs in areas with sandy, peaty and podzolic soils, poor in trace elements.
Causes
The etiology of myopathy has not yet been studied, although it has been known about it for more than 100 years. The main version: lack of micro and macro elements, as well as vitamins in animal feed. But it has not yet been determined which element should be added to the feed in order to avoid myopathy.
The main version of the occurrence of white muscle disease in young animals is the lack of selenium, vitamin A and protein in the feed of the uterus. The baby did not receive these substances in the womb and does not receive them after birth. This situation can occur even on free grazing if there is a lot of sulfur in the soil. This element prevents the absorption of selenium. If, after the rains, sulfur has dissolved in the soil, and the plants have absorbed it, animals may experience a “natural” lack of selenium.
The second version: myopathy occurs when there is a lack of a whole complex of substances at once:
- selenium;
- iodine;
- cobalt;
- manganese;
- copper;
- vitamins A, B, E;
- amino acids methionine and cysteine.
The leading elements in this complex are selenium and vitamin E.
Course of the disease
The insidiousness of white muscle disease is that its initial stage is invisible. This is the moment when the calf can still be cured. Once symptoms become apparent, treatment is often useless. Depending on the form, the course of the disease may take more or less time, but development is always on the rise.
Symptoms of White Muscle Disease in Calves
In the initial period, there are almost no external signs of white muscle disease, except for a rapid pulse and arrhythmia. But few of the owners of cattle measure the pulse of the calf every day. Further, the animal begins to tire quickly and move little. This is sometimes also attributed to a calm character.
Myopathy is noticed when calves stop getting up and prefer to lie down all the time. By this time, their reflexes and pain sensitivity are noticeably reduced. The previously poor appetite disappears completely. At the same time, salivation and diarrhea begin. The body temperature is still normal in the absence of bronchopneumonia as a complication. In this case, the temperature rises to 40-41 °C.
At the last stage of white muscle disease, the calf’s pulse becomes weak to thready, while increasing to 180-200 beats per minute. Observe clearly expressed arrhythmia. Breathing shallow with a frequency of 40-60 breaths per minute. Exhaustion progresses. A blood test shows the presence of beriberi A, E, D and hypochromic anemia. The urine of a calf with myopathy is acidic with a large amount of protein and myochrome pigment.
Symptoms of various forms of myopathy do not fundamentally differ from each other. Only their expression differs.
acute form
The acute form is observed in newborn calves. It is distinguished by pronounced symptoms. The duration of white muscle disease in acute form is about a week. If immediate action is not taken, the calf dies.
In the acute form, signs of white muscle disease occur very quickly:
- the calf tries to lie down;
- muscle tremor occurs;
- gait is disturbed;
- paralysis of the limbs develops;
- breathing difficult, frequent;
- serous discharge from the nose and eyes.
The work of the digestive tract also begins to stop. Due to the stop, food decomposes in the intestines with the release of gases. External signs of a stop are swollen intestines and fetid feces.
Adjust the shape
The subacute form differs only in more “smoothed” symptoms and a longer course of the disease: 2-4 weeks. The owner is more likely to notice something is wrong and have time to take action. Due to this, lethal outcomes in subacute form of myopathy account for 60-70% of the total number of sick calves.
chronic form
The chronic form of myopathy occurs in calves older than 3 months. This form develops gradually due to an unbalanced diet in which the necessary elements are present, but in small quantities. Due to mild symptoms, the disease can be started before irreversible changes in the muscle structure. In the chronic form, the animals are exhausted, inactive and lag behind in development. Sometimes the hind legs fail in calves.
Diagnostics
The initial intravital diagnosis is always presumptive. They put it on the basis of the enzootic development of the disease and its stationarity. If white muscle disease has always occurred in a given area, then in this case it is also with a high degree of probability. Also auxiliary signs are the clinical picture and myochrome in the urine.
Modern diagnostic methods also allow intravital fluoroscopy and electrocardiography. But such studies are too expensive for most farmers, and not all veterinarians can read the results correctly. It’s easier to kill one or two calves and do an autopsy.
An accurate diagnosis is made after the autopsy of the corpse on the basis of characteristic pathoanatomical changes:
- softening of the brain;
- edema of fiber;
- dystrophy of skeletal muscles;
- the presence of discolored spots on the myocardium;
- enlarged lungs and heart.
Myopathy in calves is differentiated from other non-communicable diseases:
- rickets;
- malnutrition;
- dyspepsia.
Case histories here are similar to white muscle disease of calves and originate in an unbalanced diet and improper feeding. But there are also differences.
Rickets has other characteristic manifestations that affect the musculoskeletal system:
- curvature of the bones;
- joint deformity;
- spinal deformity;
- osteomalacia of the chest.
Similarity with myopathy to rickets is given by the exhaustion of the calf and disturbances in gait.
Signs of malnutrition are similar to white muscle disease in the area of general underdevelopment and weakness of skeletal muscles. But it does not cause irreversible changes in the heart muscle.
With dyspepsia, the calf’s stomach swells, diarrhea, dehydration, and general intoxication may occur. Muscle dystrophy is not observed.
Treatment of white muscle disease of calves
If the symptoms are recognized in time and the treatment of white muscle disease in calves has been started at an early stage of development, the animal will recover. But if the signs of heart block and myocardial dystrophy are already obvious, it is useless to treat the calf.
Sick calves are placed in a dry room on a soft bed and transferred to a diet of milk. Also in the diet include:
- quality hay;
- grass;
- bran;
- carrot;
- oatmeal;
- coniferous infusion;
- vitamins A, C and D.
But such a diet, in addition to coniferous infusion, should be common when feeding a calf. Therefore, in the treatment of white muscle disease, this is an important, but not the only complex.
In addition to the diet, additional trace elements are used to treat myopathy:
- subcutaneously 0,1% solution of selenite at a dose of 0,1-0,2 ml / kg of body weight;
- cobalt chloride 15-20 mg;
- copper sulfate 30-50 mg;
- manganese chloride 8-10 mg;
- vitamin E 400-500 mg daily for 5-7 days;
- methionine and cysteine 0,1-0,2 g each 3-4 days in a row.
Instead of giving with food, vitamin E is sometimes administered as injections of 200-400 mg for 3 consecutive days and another 4 days for 100-200 mg.
In addition to microelements, cardiac preparations are also given for myopathy:
- cordiamine;
- camphor oil;
- subcutaneously tincture of lily of the valley.
If complications arise, sulfonamides and antibiotics are prescribed.
Forecast
In the early stages of the disease, the prognosis is favorable, although the calf will lag behind in development and weight gain. It is not advisable to leave such animals. They are raised and slaughtered for meat. With a neglected disease, it is easier and cheaper to score immediately. Such a calf will not grow, and in especially severe cases will die due to irreversible changes in myocardial tissues.
Preventive measures
The basis for the prevention of white muscle disease in calves is the proper maintenance and feeding of animals. The diet of pregnant cows is made taking into account local conditions and soil composition. Feed must be balanced. Their composition should contain in sufficient quantities:
- proteins;
- sugar;
- vitamins;
- micro and macro elements.
To ensure the desired composition, the necessary additives are added to the feed mixtures. For this reason, feed must be periodically sent for analysis of the chemical composition. With systematic analyses, feed composition can be quickly adjusted.
In disadvantaged areas, the uterus and offspring are treated with selenite preparations. Cattle are injected subcutaneously with 30-40 mg of a 0,1% sodium selenite solution. Start injections from the second half of pregnancy and repeat every 30-40 days. Stop injecting selenite 2-3 weeks before calving. Calves are injected with 8-15 ml every 20-30 days.
Sometimes it is recommended to use tocopherol together with selenite. In addition, other missing elements are given once a day (adults and calves, respectively):
- copper sulfate 250 mg and 30 mg;
- cobalt chloride 30-40 mg and 10 mg;
- manganese chloride 50 and 5 mg;
- zinc 240-340 mg and 40-100 mg for calves up to 6 months;
- iodine 4-7 mg and 0,5-4 mg for calves up to 3 months.
The addition of elements is carried out only after the chemical analysis of feed, since an excess is no less harmful than a deficiency.
Conclusion
White muscle disease of calves in the final stages is incurable. The easiest way to save livestock is to monitor the content and balance of the diet.
