Homeopathy in the Treatment of Gastrointestinal Conditions in Animals: Part 1 — What Is Homeopathy?

Introduction The management of gastrointestinal (GI) problems in livestock and companion animals presents medical and economic challenges. In cattle, neonatal calf diarrhea is recognized worldwide as one of the greatest challenges for both the beef and dairy industries (1, 2). Approximately one-third of U.S. beef cow-calf owners agree that it has an economic impact on their operations (3). According to a 2008 USDA report, GI problems account for more than 50% of unweaned dairy heifer deaths since 1991 (2). In spite of receiving antimicrobials in the milk during an average of 25.2% of the production time, 5.3% of special-fed veal calves were diagnosed and treated for diarrhea with an increased mortality risk (hazard ratio=11.0) and a reduced hot carcass weight average of 9.2 kg with reduced carcass quality (4).