Cattle Urinary Disease

Question 1

What is the taxonomy of lepto in cattle and what is it commonly referred to as?

Answer 1

•Complicated taxonomy

–Leptospira borgpetersenii serovar hardjo-bovis

–Leptospira interrogans servovar hardjo-prajitno

•Commonly referred to as

Leptospira Hardjo

Question 2

What is the prevalence of lepto in uk cattle?

Answer 2

Very common

Question 3

–Compare and contrast with leptospirosis in dogs

Answer 3

–Lepto in cattle is completely different! Do not confused with ARF and liver disease in dogs and cats

Question 4

What are the key infectious cattle diseases? (6)

Answer 4

–Lepto, BVD, IBR, Johnes, bTB, Neospora

Question 5

What are the clinical signs of chornic/endemic lepto?

Answer 5

•Reproductive

–Late stage abortion

–Abort 12 weeks after infection

–Reduced “fertility”

•Lepto cow – less progesterone produced and less obvious oestrus

Question 6

What are the clinical signs of acute lepto?

Answer 6

• Often sub-clinical- rare to see
• “Flabby bag”

–Sudden milk drop – udder which should be full of milk suddenly has none so is flabby!

–Pyrexia

• Abort after infection
• Acute cases are dropping off – rare to see in practice

Question 7

What are the risk factors for lepto? (4)

Answer 7

• Open herds
• Shared bulls - venereal
• Sheep
• •Shared watercourses (less important; some people think you can find in river and streams) possible if they drink here when cow further up

Question 8

Where is lepto found in the cow?

Where is it shed?

Where is it absorbed?

Answer 8

• Found in kidneys
• Shed in urine
• Absorbed across mucous membranes

Question 9

When does lepto increase?

Answer 9

•Increases at grazing

–See AB go up

–During the spring/summer

Due to the change in the urine

Question 10

How do we diagnose lepto? (2)

Answer 10

–ELISA

• Use for monitoring – greater persistence
• Bulk milk ELISA available

–Give you an idea if the herd has been exposed!

–Can sense increase

•Wide inconclusive value – often end up testing twice

–Microscopic agglutination test (MAT)

•Use for suspected acute cases

Question 11

Can we vaccinate against lepto?

Answer 11

–Limit shedding *VPH consideration*. ZOONOTIC! People at the parlour are most at risk

–Improve fertility at herd level and minimise the amount of disease we see

–If they aren’t vaccinating – advise this!

Question 12

How can we treat lepto?

Answer 12

–Supportive and antibiotics (P&S, oxytet) in acute case

•Unlikely to see acute cases

–Traditionally high doses of streptomycin to eliminate from urinary tract

• E.g. Ab positive bull
• Too higher value to cull them you could do this

Question 13

How can you revent againt lepto?

Answer 13

–Biosecurity – don’t buy it in if you haven’t got it, don’t but in bulls without testing

–Reduce risk factors – e.g. showing, open herd

–Vaccinate

Question 14

What are these urine samples showing?

Answer 14

Question 15

• A 2nd parity beef suckler cow, 6 months in calf, from an extensive grazing herd on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall
• Farmer calls to say urine looks like red wine
• Differential diagnoses?

Split into haemoglobinuria (5) an haematuria (5)

Answer 15

•Haemoglobinuria

–Babesiosis

–Bacilliary haemoglobinuria (Clostridia)

–Periparturient haemoglobinuria

–Copper toxicity

–Kale poisoning

•Haematuria

–Acute bracken poisoning

–Enzootic haematuria/Bladder tumour (Bracken poisoning)

–Pyelonephritis

–Urinary calculi

–Other tumours

Question 16

What diagnostics do we start with when a cow presents with urinary complaints?

Answer 16

History

Clinical exam

Uine analysis

Question 17

• A 2nd parity beef suckler cow, 6 months in calf, from an extensive grazing herd on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall
• Farmer calls to say urine looks like red wine

What is most likely and what do we do next?

Answer 17

• Likely Babesiosis (take blood sample)
• Assess anaemia (Clinical signs/PCV)

–Imidocarb (care re: withdrawl)

–Blood transfusion if necessary

Question 18

• A 5th lactation dairy cow, calved 42 days presented at the end of a routine fertility visit because she is “unwell”
• The cow urinates before your examination and there is pus present in the urine
• Differential diagnoses? (4)

Answer 18

• Endometritis
• Vaginitis
• Cystitis
• Pyelonephritis

Question 19

How do we differentiate between pus from urinary vs repro tract?

Answer 19

–Vaginal examination

–Catheterisation

–Ultrasonography

Question 20

How do we differentiate between a problem renally vs bladder? (4)

Answer 20

–Clinical exam

–Rectal examination

–Ultrasonography

–Biochemistry

•Creatinine NOT urea in ruminants

Question 21

• Pyrexia, painful, swollen left kidney on rectal examination
• Vaginal examination normal
• Pus on catheterised urine sample

What is most likely and what do we do next?

Answer 21

• Likely pyelonephritis
• Treatment with antibiotics

–Penicillin (long duration – 10 days?)

Question 22

• 6th lactation dairy cow, chronic lameness and two cases of mastitis this lactation. Losing weight, no diarrhoea, clinical exam NAD
• +++ protein in urine

What Urinary disease is most likely? What would your thoughts be if this cow also had D++?

Answer 22

• Diarrhoea – think Johnes!. Johnes loose weight as it a PLE. Loos protein and lean BW.
• So similar to PLE but in urinary – PLN. Kidney disease can cause protein loss. Rare in cattle but would completely miss this.
• Chronic sick cows – protein in urine would mean you wouldn’t miss this!!

•Glomerulonephritis

–Protein losing nephropathy

– more likely from history as lots of chronic infections. Lots of AB-AG complexes that can precipitate out of the kidney! Not v common, But you would find on dipstick.

Question 23

Complete this table

Answer 23