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38 THE RURAL VOICE
separate," he says, adding that this is
difficult to do on a small feedlot.
"But you don't want diseases
transferred. It's wise to invest in a
separate facility."
While vaccination is "attractive",
Bateman says that studies have raised
big questions on whether the current
vaccines are a solution.
Working on an Ontario
Feedlot Mortality Study
since 2001, which has been
sponsored by the Ontario
Cattlemen's Association, Bateman
says they have attempted to
document causes of mprtality; define
the relationship of BVD,
mycoplasma and chronic pneumonia;
determine antibiotic potential and
other characteristics of isolates.
The study was done on calves
under 750 pounds where death was
unknown or "garden" variety. What
was noted was that the number of
cases where BVD had been suspected
inflated after post-mortem. Early
reports suggest that one-quarter of
the dead animals had been infected in
utero, Bateman said. "As a feedlot
owner you can do nothing about that.
This is crucial when discussing
Ridding the cattle
population of BVD
requires work on the
cow -calf herd
vaccines. Ridding the cattle
population of BVD requires work on
the cow -calf herd."
Persistent infection with BVD is
just as prominent as mycoplasma,
says Bateman, but early results
suggest it may be less prevalent in
Western calves. The reason, he says,
may be herd vaccinations. "You have
to pay attention to cow vaccinations.
It's just as important as calf."
Also, it was discovered that many
cases looked as if they had started as
shipping fever and ended up as
mycoplasma. "This leads us to
hypothesize that you don't get
mycoplasma as a primary."
Finally, if an antibiotic is going to
be used on a lame cow, Bateman
recommends treatment not be long.
"Either the response will be quick or
Mother Nature will take over."0