Animal Health & Disease Management
Definition of Health
- Health: A state in which all organs and tissues function normally and harmoniously.
- Disease: Any deviation from this normal state.
- Importance: Good health ensures optimal production and reduces financial loss.
Classification of Diseases
Type | Examples |
Bacterial | Anthrax, Black Quarter (BQ), Haemorrhagic Septicaemia (HS), Tuberculosis |
Viral | Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), Rinderpest |
Mycotic | Aflatoxicosis |
Parasitic | Ecto: Tick, lice, mite |
Metabolic | Milk Fever (Hypocalcemia), Ketosis (Hypoglycemia) |
Dietary | Bloat (Tympany), Impaction, Non-specific enteritis |
Major Infectious Diseases
- Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD)
- Cause: Apthovirus, Family: Picornaviridae (7 serotypes: O, A, C, Asia I, SAT 1-3)
- Transmission: Direct contact, water, manure, pasture, attendants
- Symptoms:
- Incubation: 2–5 days
- Fever (40°C), drooling, vesicles on tongue, gums, interdigital spaces, udder
- Lameness, reduced appetite & milk yield
- Rinderpest (Declared eradicated in TN as of 1.3.1998)
- Cause: Morbillivirus, Family: Paramyxoviridae
- Symptoms: Fever, eye/nose discharge, mouth ulcers, diarrhoea, dehydration, death in 10 days
- Prevention: Vaccination (TCRV/GTV), disinfection, isolation.
- Anthrax
- Cause: Bacillus anthracis (spore-forming, gram-positive)
- Symptoms: Sudden death, high fever, convulsions, tarry blood from orifices.
- Transmission: Ingestion, inhalation, skin wounds
- Treatment: Penicillin, Streptomycin, Anti-anthrax serum
- Black Quarter (BQ)
- Cause: Clostridium chauvoei (Anaerobic, gram-positive)
- Prevention: Vaccination before rainy season (5ml polyvalent s/c)
- Treatment: Penicillin, Tetracycline
- Haemorrhagic Septicaemia (HS)
- Cause: Pasteurella multocida
- Forms: Acute (septicemia), Subacute (swelling), Chronic (lung issues)
- Symptoms: Fever (106°F), nasal discharge, throat swelling, laboured breathing
- Prevention: Annual vaccination before rainy season
- Treatment: Sulphadimidine
Common Non-Infectious Diseases
- Mastitis
- Cause: Streptococcus agalactiae, Staphylococcus, E. coli
- Symptoms: Hot, painful udder, pus in milk, drop in yield
- Milk Fever (Parturient Paresis)
- Cause: Hypocalcemia post-calving
- Symptoms: Recumbency, head turned to flank, low temp, coma, death
- Prevention: Lime water and calcium-rich diet pre-parturition
- Ketosis (Acetonemia)
- Cause: Hypoglycemia and excess ketones (7 days to 6 weeks post-calving)
- Prevention: Good dry period nutrition
- Bloat (Tympany)
- Cause: Frothy: Legume overfeeding. Free gas: Obstruction (e.g., corn cob, beet)
- Symptoms: Left side distension, discomfort, salivation, collapse.
Zoonotic Diseases (Zoonoses)
Definition: Diseases and infections that are naturally transmitted between vertebrate animals and humans.
Types of Zoonoses (Classification):
Type | Description | Example |
Direct Zoonoses | Direct transmission from animals to humans | Rabies, Anthrax |
Cyclo-zoonoses | Require more than one vertebrate host but no invertebrate host | Taeniasis |
Meta-zoonoses | Transmission via invertebrate vector | Japanese Encephalitis |
Sapro-zoonoses | Spread through environment (soil, water) | Histoplasmosis |
Anthropo-zoonoses | Shared but primarily animal-to-human transmission | Brucellosis |
Key Zoonotic Diseases: Causes, Transmission, Symptoms, Control
Disease | Causative Agent | Animal Hosts | Mode of Transmission | Human Symptoms | Zoonosis Type |
Brucellosis | Brucella spp. (abortus, melitensis, suis, canis) | Cattle, sheep, goat, pig, dog | Inhalation, ingestion (raw milk), contact | Irregular fever, sweating, fatigue, joint pain, insomnia | Anthropo-zoonosis |
Anthrax | Bacillus anthracis | Cattle, sheep, goats, wild herbivores | Contact, inhalation (wool), ingestion (meat) | Cutaneous: black eschar | Direct zoonosis |
Tuberculosis | Mycobacterium bovis | Cattle | Contact, inhalation, raw milk | Pulmonary or extrapulmonary TB (lymph nodes, bones, meninges) | Direct zoonosis |
Rabies | Rabies virus | Dogs, bats, foxes, etc. | Bite or scratch from infected animal | Fever, headache, hydrophobia, paralysis, death | Direct zoonosis |
Leptospirosis | Leptospira interrogans | Rodents, cattle, wild animals | Contact with contaminated water/soil | Fever, jaundice (Weil’s disease), vomiting, conjunctivitis | Direct zoonosis |
Prevention and Control of Zoonotic Diseases
Strategy | Description |
Vaccination | Regular vaccination of animals (e.g., rabies, anthrax, HS vaccines) |
Pasteurization | Boiling/pasteurizing milk to avoid brucellosis, TB |
Avoid Raw Animal Products | No raw meat or unboiled milk |
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) | Gloves, masks for farmers, vets, butchers |
Hygienic Practices | Disinfection of animal sheds, safe disposal of carcasses |
Quarantine & Monitoring | Isolating infected/suspected animals |
Rodent Control | To prevent leptospirosis and other rodent-borne infections |
Public Awareness | Education campaigns about risk and prevention |
Proper Waste Management | Avoid exposure to infected waste, manure, fluids |
