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Use of tilmicosin in a severe outbreak of respiratory disease in weaned beef calves
Author(s) -
SCOTT PR,
McGOWAN M.,
SARGISON ND,
PENNY CD,
LOWMAN BG
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
australian veterinary journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.382
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1751-0813
pISSN - 0005-0423
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-0813.1996.tb09967.x
Subject(s) - tilmicosin , outbreak , medicine , beef cattle , bovine respiratory disease , veterinary medicine , biology , zoology , virology , antibiotics , immunology , microbiology and biotechnology
SUMMARY Severe respiratory disease, associated with seroconversion to bovine respiratory syncitial virus (BRSV), caused the death of two cattle and necessitated antibiotic treatment of 70 calves (rectal temperature of 39.6°C or greater) from a group of 96 (73%) during an 8‐day period. Tilmicosin injection resulted in a reduction in median rectal temperature from 40.3°C to 39.2°C and 39.0°C for the first and second days after treatment. The rectal temperature was 39.5°C or lower in 72% (48 of 67) and 96% (64 of 67) of cattle 1 and 2 days after tilmicosin treatment, respectively. Ten cattle were re‐treated with tilmicosin 6 to 16 days after the first treatment. Our study demonstrated that bovine respiratory syncytial virus infection could cause severe respiratory disease in a beef herd that had no previous history of BRSV‐related disease. Secondary bacterial invasion after BRSV infection was controlled effectively by tilmicosin treatment but repeat antibiotic treatments were occasionally necessary due to bacterial re‐infection of the respiratory tract.