CALF_News_February_March_2021

17 CALF News • February | March 2021 • www.calfnews.net Interestingly, lower limb joints tend to respond better to medication than higher ones. For example, a pastern will respond to treatment better than a knee joint. When the bacteria invade a stifle or hip joint, the outlook becomes dim. If this problem happens in confined dairy cattle, why not in dry-lotted beef calves? Mycoplasma bacteria are common in every environment, especially feedlot areas. Common Forms More frequently, septic arthritis is ca used by a great stewpot of bacteria. They invade the calves via the end of the umbilical cord (now called the umbilicus), making their way insidiously up into the naval area, where the first signs show up as a swollen naval. Bull calves are more likely to be affected than heifers, as the male urinary tract is constantly damp. Symptoms of infection occur at two to five days of age. Naval ill is still treat- able at this point, although if drainage or surgical intervention is needed, be sure to consult your veterinarian; attempting to drain purulent materials from a swollen navel may result in the accidental lacera- tion of a hernia. From the navel, bacteria can move up to the umbilical arteries – the umbilical vein and the urachus. A June 23, 2020, article by Oklahoma State University (OSU) goes on to describe the anatomy: “These structures supply the fetus with oxygen and nutrient-rich blood from the placenta, and they remove urine waste in the neonatal calf. These structures regress to become remnants after birth.” When bacteria track up the umbilical remnants, they cause infection in other parts of the body. An infection in the ura- chus may prohibit calves from emptying their bladder completely, increasing the risk of urinary tract infections. An infection of the umbilicus can lead to the development of abscesses along that vein, which spread to the liver. When bacteria enter the bloodstream, it is called sepsis and can travel to small blood vessels throughout the body. Eyes, lungs, bones, liver, joints and brain can become hopelessly damaged, as well as growth plates of the long bones. Joints are particularly at risk because they contain synovial fluid, a perfect medium in which contaminants flour- ish. Attaching to synovial membranes, bacteria are especially difficult to treat. Antibiotics do not penetrate these areas well, and joint membranes become thick and rough, creating an ever-increasingly attractive habitat for the microbes. Carti- lage is destroyed as well, prompting use of the name “arthritis.” One article on joint infections sug- gested euthanizing many of these victims. Prompt treatment of suspect calves is, however, often successful. Often, the navel remains enlarged and scar tissue may be present, but some calves do survive and grow normally. The best management system for navel Ill or septic arthritis is to keep your calving area and equipment as clean as possible. Wear gloves when pulling calves, bed with clean straw (not wood chips) when neces- sary, and treat suspect calves immediately, within 24 hours of birth. Those of us fortunate enough to calve on grass should be thankful as well as diligent. The world is full of bacteria.  ® Bieber Fever S pring B ull p roduction S ale M arch 4, 2021 o nline or in perSon at the r anch near l eola , Sd Visit our website www.BieberRedAngus.com to join our mailing list. 275 Y earling r ed a nguS B ullS Sired BY S tockMarket e119, S tockMan e116, t iBeriuS e254, M axiMuS e294, S partacuS a193, h ard d rive Y120, and p rofitMaker e7030