UNLABELLED Quinolone-resistant Escherichia coli (QREC) is common in feces from young calves, but the prevalence and genetic diversity of QREC in groups of cattle of other ages and the farm environment are unknown. The aims of the study were to obtain knowledge about the occurrence of QREC on dairy farms, the genetic diversity of QREC within and between farms, and how these relate to the number ...

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of oral doses of ruminal fluid (RF) on the growth and health of newborn, milk-fed heifer dairy calves (0 to 6 wk of age). Calves given 8 ml of RF each day until weaning gained more weight and had fewer scours than controls that did not receive RF. Because RF that was exposed to oxygen or was autoclaved also gave a response, it is unlikely ...

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different breeds and breed crosses on age (AC, d), BW (kg), price (PR, $/kg), and market value (MV, $/calf) of purebred and crossbred calves sold for veal and beef production. The Kovieh wholesale cattle organization (Bolzano, Italy) grouped calves from several dairy herds located in the Trentino-Südtirol region in Italy and sold them by pu...

Dairy calves are extremely susceptible to gastro-intestinal disease during the pre-weaned period. The risk for enteric disease decreases as the calf ages; therefore, it is important to break the pre-weaned period up into at least two distinct phases that likely need to be managed differently, early life (first couple weeks of life) and the remaining time the calf is fed milk or milk replacer. W...

Respiratory disease and diarrhea are the 2 most common diseases that result in the use of antimicrobial drugs in preweaned calves. Because the use of drugs in food animals, including dairy calves, has the potential for generating cross-resistance to drugs used in human medicine, it is vital to propose farm practices that foster the judicious use of antimicrobials while assuring animal health an...

Feeding newborn calves high-quality colostrum is of well-recognised importance as calves that do not receive an adequate concentration of immunoglobulin-G (IgG) have an increased risk of morbidity and mortality. This experiment aimed to characterise IgG concentrations in colostrum from the first milking in New Zealand dairy cows, examine IgG status of calves, and to evaluate the use of a refrac...

In mammals, thyrotropin, or thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), assay is used for the diagnosis of primary hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism is the most common type of thyroid disorder in cattle. The aim of this study was to develop and validate, under physiologic and pathologic conditions, a radioimmunoassay (RIA) for bovine TSH (bTSH). Double RIA was performed with purified bTSH and specific bovi...

Farm animals have been suggested to play an important role in the epidemiology of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in the community. The purpose of this study was to evaluate risk factors associated with C. difficile dissemination in family dairy farms, which are the most common farming model in the European Union. Environmental samples and fecal samples from cows and calves were collected...

Faecal samples were collected from seventy-eight diarrhoeic cow and buffalo calves between November 1998 and February 1999 to study the genomic diversity and prevalence of Rotavirus infection by ribonucleic acid polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (RNA-PAGE) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In the organised dairy farm (where daily production and health records were maintained), the...

In order to obtain basic information about bovine interleukin-1 (IL-1 beta), levels of IL-1 beta in sera and milk of clinically normal mature Holstein cattle before and after parturition and in sera of newborn calves were examined by ELISA. The level of IL-1 beta was undetectable in sera of mature cattle around the time of artificial insemination, but the concentration gradually increased and r...