The Balance of Disease
Do you struggle to get your head around disease and why it occurs?
There are several groups of animal disease causes;
Genetic e.g. Inherited Epilepsy, Tibial Hemimelia in Cattle, Sickle Cell Anaemia in humans
Toxic e.g. Copper Poisoning in sheep, Yew poisoning in Cattle, Thalidomide in humans
Physical e.g. burns, hypothermia, radiation, sunburn
Neoplastic or Cancer e.g. Eye cancer in cattle (mutation caused by UV radiation from the sun)
Infectious e.g. BVD, Staph mastitis, Viral pneumonia, Coccidiosis, Worms
Metabolic e.g. Ketosis, Milk Fever
Immune / Autoimmune e.g. Rheumatoid arthritis, Lupus
Concept of "The Balance of Disease" comes into play in diseases caused by Toxic, Physical, and Infectious causes or "agents".
"The Balance of Disease" is EXPOSURE TO THE DISEASE CAUSE versus RESISTANCE OF THE ANIMAL TO THE DISEASE.
Here at G Shepherd Animal Health, we try to prevent disease or reduce disease by tilting this balance. We aim to:
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REDUCE EXPOSURE TO THE DISEASE CAUSE (examples given) |
INCREASE RESISTANCE OF THE ANIMAL (examples given) |
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COPPER TOXICITY- Reduce copper levels in the diet |
Using copper antagonists |
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CALF COLD STRESS- Keep warm with a calf coat |
Correct feeding level in winter |
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CALF SCOUR- |
Colostrum levels & vaccination |
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Pasteurise colostrum & calf milk |
Avoid silage for first 6 months (acid) |
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MASTITIS- Pre & Post Teat Disinfection |
Correctly functioning milking machine |
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CALF PNEUMONIA- Draught free ventilation, separate age groups |
Vaccination, Calf Coats |
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LAMENESS- Regular footbathing, good muck removal |
Foot trim cattle, Nutrition vs acidosis, Zinc & Biotin. |
"So, basically when thinking about reducing disease we need to think about how we can reduce the exposure to the cause and increase the animal’s resistance."
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