2.1.1 Ruminant (actually) head diseases

Malignant oedema (big head) pathogen and infection mechanism

• Clostridium septicum

  • soil or gut

• Fighting, dog bites

Malignant oedema (big head) signs (3)

• Oedema (no shit)

• Rapid onset non uniform severe swelling around wound

• Crepitus

Malignant oedema prognosis, treatment and prevention

• Poor prognosis - death within 1-2 days

• Treatment rarely effective, usually penicillin

• Vaccination

On which body part and on what animals are adder bites usually found (2)?

• Young calves - curious - head

• Beef cattle (conservation grazing) - feet

How does one treat an adder bite?

Symptomatically - NSAIDs and antibiotics

Name 2 risk factors for head injury in animals.

• Mostly bulls or rams - adding unknown males

• Environmental stress (eg high stocking density)

Pathogen, area affected and age demographic for bovine papular stomatitis

• Parapox virus

• Oral mucous membranes (muzzle, hard palate, gums)

• Calves <12 months

What are the signs of bovine papular stomatitis (2) and why is this important?

• Shallow papules and vesicles

• Animal otherwise fit and healthy, recovers in 4-7 days

• Differentiate from FMDV - also papules and vesicles

Pathogen for mucosal disease and age for clinical signs

• BVDV (pestivirus)

• 6-8 months old

3 signs of mucosal disease

• GIT and feet melting ulceration - lameness

• Oral ulceration

• Severe diarrhoea

Test for mucosal disease

Antigen (NOT ANTIBODY) test —> BVDV recognised as self

Bluetongue pathogen, vector and animals (3) affected

• Orbivirus - notifiable!

• Culicoides

• Cattle, sheep/goats, camelids

Signs of bluetongue (5)

• Oral/nasal mucous membrane ulceration and crusting

• Swelling of face, lips, nose, tongue

• Coronary band ulceration and interdigital reddening

• Pyrexia

• Abortion, deformities, stillbirths

FMDV type of virus

Aphthovirus - notifiable

• eradicated in UK, last outbreak 2007

Arrange cows, pigs and sheep in the order of most to least affected by FMDV.

Pigs —> cows —> sheep

How is FMDV spread in Europe? (2)

• Feeding meat and dairy to pigs

  • Therefore meat and dairy products controlled in UK

• Sylvatic in wild boars

Signs of FMDV (4)

• Blisters in oral/nasal mucosa

  • Ragged ulcers when burst - can be aged to determine duration of infection

• Salivation

• Coronary band ulcers - lameness

• Pyrexia

Wooden tongue pathogen, gram, aerobic degree, shape

• Actinobacillus lignieresi

• Gram -ve

• Aerobic

• Coccobacillus

Pathogenesis of wooden tongue or actinobacillosis

• A. lignieresi normal commensal of mouth

• Enters mucosa following trauma (thistles or abrasive feed)

  • mouth - wooden tongue

  • also oesophagus and rumen 

Signs of wooden tongue (3)

• Swollen tongue and intermandibular region

• Tongue may stick out

• Anorexia and salivation

Wooden tongue diagnosis

Palpation of ‘wooden’ rigid tongue

Treatment of wooden tongue (3)

• Antibiotics (amoxicillin or oxytetracycline)

• Sodium iodide —> better antibiotic penetration

• NSAIDs

Pathogen, gram, aerobic degree and shape of calf diphteria (oral necrobacillosis) pathogen

• Fusobacterium necrophorum

  • oral commensal

  • Also laryngeal necrobacillosis and liver abscesses

• Gram -ve

• Anaerobe

• Bacilli

Pathogenesis of oral necrobacillosis (calf diphtheria)

F. necrophorum is oral commensal —> enters mucosa following trauma

• fibrous straw

• tooth abrasions

Oral necrobacillosis clinical signs (4)

• Solid lump in cheek

• Halitosis

• Salivation

• Cheek swelling

Oral necrobacillosis treatment (2)

• Not always necessary - small lumps often resolve

• Large - antibiotics (amoxicillin), monitoring

Which species are more prone to molar teeth trauma?

Sheep and goats

Lumpy jaw pathogen, gram, aerobicity, shape

• Actinomyces bovis

  • oral commensal

• Gram +ve

• Anaerobic

• Cocci

Name 4 ways that lumpy jaw can infect the mouth.

Trauma - A. bovis is commensal:

• Coarse feed (e.g. stones)

• Erupting teeth

• Tooth fractures

• Tooth root abscesses

List 4 clinical signs of lumpy jaw.

• Osteomyelitis and bony change

• UNILATERAL warm painful mandibular swelling → characteristic clinical sign

  • if increases - gets harder

  • if bursts - granulomatous draining tract

• Occasional soft tissue oedema

• Inappetence

Prognosis of lumpy jaw (2)

• Good if caught early

• Poor if extensive bony change

Treatment of lumpy jaw (2)

• Antibiotics (potentially 7-14 days)

  • Amoxicillin

  • Oxytetracycline

  • Penicillin

• Sodium iodide for better antibiotic penetration into granulomatous tissue and bone

3 types of jaw fractures and prognoses

• Symphysial - decent

• Mandibular - poor - cull

• Maxillary - poor - cull

Submandibular abscess pathogen, gram, aerobicity, shape

• Trueperella pyogenes

  • oral commensal

• Gram +ve

• Anaerobic

• Cocci

In submandibular abscesses, what should be done to diagnose and drain the abscess if it is visible?

• Diagnosis - FNA

• Drain - flush with dilute hibiscrub

List 4 causes of bottle jaw.

• Johne’s (PLE)

• Haemonchus (PLE)

• Liver fluke (PLE)

• Endocarditis (heart failure)

How does bottle jaw feel like?

Soft, flocculant swelling

• press pits in which then swell back up

Where do bolus gun injuries usually occur? (3)

• Pharynx

• Hard and soft palates

• Larynx

List 4 different inadequacies of bolus gun dosing which might lead to trauma.

• Incorrect restraint

• Incorrect/rough drenching

• Incorrect dosing gun size

• Incorrect bolus size

List 4 signs of a bolus gun injury.

• Septic cellulitis in region

• Salivation

• Inappetence

• Often sudden death

Pathogen for laryngeal necrobacillosis (necrotising laryngitis)

Fusobacterium necrophorum (oral commensal)

• also calf diphtheria and liver abscesses

Cause of laryngeal necrobacillosis

Trauma to larynx during stomach tubing → F. necrophorum enters mucosa

5 signs of laryngeal necrobacillosis

• Stertor (noisy breathing)

• Increased resp effort

• Laryngeal swelling

• Inappetence

• Halitosis

How can laryngeal necrobacillosis be treated? (2)

• Prolonged antibiotic therapy + NSAIDs

  • 2-3 weeks amoxicillin

• Tracheostomy as last resort

What is laryngeal chondritis also known as and why?

• Texel throat

• Affects adult brachycephalic sheep due to relatively narrow laryngeal anatomy (eg texels)

Caseous lymphadenitis pathogen, gram, aerobicity, shape, animals affected

• Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis

• Gram +ve

• Anaerobe

• Cocci

• Sheep and goats

Enzootic bovine leukosis type of virus

Bovine leukosis virus

• Notifiable

• Retrovirus

• Eradicated from UK

What should be suspected if there are a lot of cows in poor condition with swollen lymph nodes?

Enzootic bovine leukosis - notifiable disease which has been eradicated from UK

Malignant catarrhal fever virus, affected animals and clinical sign

• Ovine herpes virus 2

• Cows - sheep are only carriers

• Enlarged lymph nodes (local infection)

How are sialocoeles (mucocoeles) formed and how are they diagnosed (3)?

• Blockage of salivary duct

• Soft swelling in submandibular cheek palpated

• FNA

Which 3 zones in the oesophagus are most prone to choke?

• Pharyngeal oesophageal junction

• Thoracic inlet

• Base of heart

List 2 risk factors in ruminants contributing to potential choke.

• Oversized bolus

• Whole feed (apples, potatoes, turnips etc)

List 3 clinical signs in ruminant bloat.

• Salivation

• Bloat (no eructation)

• Extended neck (attempt to swallow)

How should bloat be treated in ruminants if the obstruction can be moved? (2)

• Spasmolytic to relax oesophagus → Buscopan or spasmium

• Manipulate obstruction up into mouth or down into stomach after 5-10 minutes

If an oesophageal obstruction cannot be moved in ruminants, how should it be treated? (3)

• Relieve rumen pressure with trocar

• If food stuff - allow saliva to break it down over 2-4 days

• If bolus in cranial oesophagus - may need surgery

What potential complication can come from treating bloat in ruminants?

Trauma or stricture → no treatment → slaughter

List 2 consequences of actinobacillosis and papilloma in the oesophagus or rumen.

Partial obstructions formed:

• Recurrent bloat

• Vagal indigestion (anterior functional stenosis) - entrance/exit of rumen/reticulum is blocked