Impact of bovine respiratory disease on lung lesions, slaughter performance and antimicrobial usage in French beef cattle finished in North-Eastern Italy

Evaluation of antimicrobial and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory treatments for BRD on health and welfare in fattening bulls: a cross-sectional study

Our study aimed to evaluate the effect of different treatments for BRD on health and welfare in fattening bulls. A total of 264 bulls were enrolled. Welfare was assessed on day 2 (T0) and day 15 (T1) after arrival. A decrease in the welfare level was observed from T0 to T1. All bulls were inspected clinically at T0 and T1 revealing an increase of skin lesions and lameness in T1. In both periods, a high incidence of respiratory disease was observed. A prevalence of 79.55% and 95.45% of Mycoplasma bovis using RT-PCR and culture at T0 and T1 respectively was observed. Blood samples were collected for haematology at T0 and T1. At T0, 36 animals were individually treated for BRD with an antimicrobial (IT), 54 received a metaphylactic treatment with tulathromycin (M), 150 received a metaphylactic treatment with tulathromycin plus a second antimicrobial (M + IT) whereas 24 were considered healthy and therefore not treated (NT). Additionally, 128 were treated with a non-steroid anti-inflammatory (NSAID). Neutrophils of M + IT were significantly higher than groups NT and M and the lymphocytes of M + IT were significantly lower than that of IT. White blood cells, neutrophils and N/L ratio of animals treated with an NSAID was significantly higher than that not treated. Lung inspection of 172 bulls at the abattoir indicated that 92.43% presented at least one lung lesion. A statistically significant effect of the NSAID treatment on the lung lesions was observed. Our findings indicate that BRD was a major welfare and health concern and evidence the difficulties of antimicrobial treatment of M. bovis.

Treatment of bovine respiratory disease with a single administration of tulathromycin and ketoprofen

BACKGROUND

The therapeutic strategy of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) often involves a combination of an antibiotic with an anti-inflammatory agent. Aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical effect of a new combination product containing tulathromycin and ketoprofen for the treatment of naturally occurring BRD.

METHODS

Two hundred and eighty animals were randomized upon diagnosis of BRD. One hundred forty animals each were treated once subcutaneously with tulathromycin-ketoprofen or tulathromycin. Rectal temperature of each animal was measured at 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 24 h post-treatment. Individual respiration and depression scores were determined at 6 h post-treatment. Daily rectal temperature, respiration and depression scores were recorded from day 2 to 14 and on day 21.

RESULTS

The tulathromycin-ketoprofen and tulathromycin treatment group demonstrated a treatment success rate of 94.2% and 95.0%, respectively and a relapse rate of 3.8% and 4.0%, respectively. Tulathromycin-ketoprofen demonstrated superior pyrexia control compared to tulathromycin within the first 24 h following treatment. Tulathromycin-ketoprofen-treated animals demonstrated faster improvement of their clinical symptoms (respiration and depression score).

CONCLUSION

Efficacy of tulathromycin-ketoprofen for the treatment of BRD was non-inferior to tulathromycin. The combination product clearly exhibited more pronounced fever control than tulathromycin which is considered beneficial for animal welfare.

A Retrospective, Observational Study on Antimicrobial Drug Use in Beef Fattening Operations in Northwestern Italy and Evaluation of Risk Factors Associated with Increased Antimicrobial Usage

Simple Summary

Antimicrobial usage in veterinary medicine is thought to be a source of antimicrobial resistance, with possible implications for human health. Certain antibiotics are considered critical for human health, and their use is being judiciously reduced in animal productions. The monitoring of antimicrobial consumption in animal production is key to lowering the risk of the development of antimicrobial resistance. With this study, we quantified antimicrobial usage in beef fattening operations in northwestern Italy before the implementation of a program intended to control antimicrobial usage in veterinary medicine. We found that antimicrobials defined as critical for human health (e.g., fluroquinolones) were often used also for metaphylactic treatment.

Abstract

The abuse or misuse of antimicrobials in animal production is thought to be a potential factor in the development of antimicrobial resistance in veterinary and human medicine. With this study, we wanted to quantify antimicrobial usage in beef fattening operations in northwestern Italy and to identify factors potentially influencing antimicrobial usage. The sample was composed of 26 beef fattening operations that import heifers and bulls from France. Data were extracted from the 2014 and 2015 treatment registers kept by the farmers. The mean (±SD) number of animal daily doses per animal (nADDa) per year for each farm was 3 (±2.1) during the study period (2014–2015). Group antimicrobial treatments (57.5% of all treatments) were often administered orally (70.5%) and consisted overwhelmingly of doxycycline (97%). Individual treatments (42.5% of all treatments) were administered parenterally (98.1%) and the most often used active substances were florfenicol (19.9%), marbofloxacin (19.5%), and tylosin (12.4%). There was a negative correlation between the nADDa for total and group treatments and average batch weight at arrival and between the amount of straw added per animal per day and the nADDa (p ≤ 0.05). Our data show that antimicrobials critical for human medicine were often used in beef fattening operations in northwestern Italy before the European guidelines for the prudent use of antimicrobials in veterinary medicine were issued. Additionally, the use of antimicrobials as a preventive group treatment was still widespread, mostly in lighter weight animals.

Assessment of Rumen Mucosa, Lung, and Liver Lesions at Slaughter as Benchmarking Tool for the Improvement of Finishing Beef Cattle Health and Welfare

Abattoir post-mortem inspections offer a useful tool for animal disease surveillance. The present cross-sectional study aimed at assessing the prevalence of rumen mucosa, lung, and liver lesions in 153 randomly selected batches of finishing beef cattle through a post-mortem inspection at the abattoir. At least 15 animals per batch were inspected at slaughter by two veterinarians for a total of 2,161 animals (1,376 bulls; 785 heifers) coming from 80 Italian commercial farms. Rumens were inspected by recording as binary variables (presence/absence) signs of hyperkeratosis, ruminitis, ulcer, and star scars. Similarly, lungs were inspected for signs of pneumonia and livers for signs of lipidosis, abscesses, and/or adherence. Hyperkeratosis of the mucosa and signs of ruminitis were detected in 58 and 30% of the inspected rumens, respectively. Ruminal star scars were more prevalent in bulls than in heifers (18 vs. 11%; P < 0.05). Signs of severe pneumonia were observed in 10% of the lungs; abscess and/or adherence in 4% of the livers. Hyperkeratosis of rumen mucosa was correlated to signs of ruminitis, and signs of ruminitis were correlated to star scars. No correlations were found between hepatic lesions and any other rumen or lung disorders. The wide variability observed among batches for the prevalence of specific lesions suggested the development of a benchmarking system to provide feedback to the farm veterinarians, as these lesions can be reflective of a subclinical disease status not easy to be detected in the live animal. Quartiles of the batch prevalence of rumen, lung, and liver alterations (if ≥1%) were calculated as a benchmarking tool, and third quartile value was proposed as an alarm threshold for each lesion. The use of the benchmarking system could allow to allocate each inspected batch to a specific "health class." Critical batches with a prevalence above the alarm threshold for a given lesion should be reported to veterinarians of the origin farms where actions should be taken in order to identify and lower the risk factors for that specific health issue. Knowledge of post-mortem inspection data along with the implementation of the proposed benchmarking system should help farm veterinarians to improve herd management from a health and welfare perspective.