Jejunal Hemorrhage Syndrome in Adult Dairy Cows

Introduction Jejunal hemorrhage syndrome (JHS), also referred to as “hemorrhagic bowel syndrome” or “acute hemorrhagic enteritis of the small intestine”, has been reported with increasing frequency in adult dairy cows over the past three years by veterinary diagnostic laboratories in many dairy states including Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, Wisconsin, Colorado, Illinois, and Iowa. While the occurrence of JHS is often sporadic many cases have presented as part of a syndrome causing the death of significant numbers, or clusters, of adult dairy cows in affected herds. 5 Hemorrhagic enteritis has been reported in other species and in calves, but published information describing JHS in adult dairy cows is limited. 2,5,6,7,13,18 The purpose of this paper is to present a short review and a description of JHS cases presented to the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, and to discuss theories for causes, risk factors, and some suggested methods for control and prevention of the disease.