Actinomycosis most often affects cattle. This is a fungal disease that affects animals more often in the fall and winter when they are kept in stalls. Characterized by the formation of tumors in the affected areas. Let's consider the forms and symptoms of bovine actinomycosis, treatment with inexpensive but effective drugs, diagnosis and preventive measures.
Where does the disease come from?
In cows, actinomycosis affects the lower jaw, head, neck, bones, lymph nodes, tongue and oral cavity, and udder. The causative agents are fungi Actinomyces bovis. They are common in nature; livestock can become infected when grazing or eating hay or straw from cereal crops.
Fungi enter the body of cows through diseased teeth, microtraumas on the mucous membranes of the mouth and digestive tract, skin, and nipples. In practice, it has been established that at home an animal can become infected by eating rough food (sharp stems injure the tongue or oral cavity, fungus penetrates through the wounds). The fungus poses a particular danger to the calf during the period when its teeth begin to grow.
At the site where the fungus invades, an inflammatory process begins and a granuloma grows. In the center of formation, the tissue becomes necrotic, then fibrous tissue appears. The disease progresses, the abscesses open and form fistulas that do not heal for a long time. The fungus also affects nearby tissues, causing a scar to form. The pathogen can penetrate blood vessels, spread through the blood throughout the body, including bone tissue, and form new lesions.
Symptoms
What symptoms actinomycosis will manifest depends on the location of introduction of the fungus and the ability of the cow’s body to resist infection. A common symptom can be considered the formation of actinomics in the form of dense, painless, but spreading tumors.
Head and neck lesions
Actinonomicomas can be located on the lower jaw, on the cheek, on the cheekbone, on the neck near the larynx. The bumps eventually break out (outward or inward), pus flows from them, and blood may be mixed with it.If actinomyomas are located on the lower jaw, the animal's muzzle may swell, teeth may fall out, and saliva may flow from the mouth.
If tumors have formed on the tongue, it swells, becomes “woody” and falls out of the mouth. When the mouth and gums of the tongue are affected, the cow cannot eat and loses weight, although she does not lose her appetite. This leads to decreased productivity.
Lymph node involvement
An encapsulated abscess forms in the cow's lymph nodes affected by the fungus. Actinomycomas affect the submandibular, buccal and cervical lymph nodes. The tumors are dense, over time they form fistulas with the release of pus when an infection occurs.
In some animals, formations on the lymph nodes may resolve, and a temporary improvement occurs, but then actinomycosis returns again. After the abscess is opened, the animal’s temperature may increase for a while and the affected area may swell.
Actinomycosis of the udder
Tumors ranging in size from a bean to an egg are localized under the skin of the organ or in the depths of the lobes, most often the posterior ones. They open either outward or into the milk passages. In this case, their contents end up in the milk. You can't drink it. The tumor is dense, painless, grows quickly and can reach large sizes.
Generalized form
Rarely observed in cows. In this case, various internal organs are affected - liver, kidneys, lungs, gastrointestinal tract, ureter.
How to diagnose actinomycosis?
It is impossible not to notice tumors, at least those located under the skin, since they are not small. But in order to accurately determine actinomycosis, diagnosis is necessary. For analysis, pus from the fistulas, granuloma tissue, sputum, urine are taken, and a biopsy is taken for histological examination.Actinomycosis is differentiated from actinobacillosis, since the diseases are similar in symptoms and course. The difference between them is that in the first case, the damage often occurs on the bones, in the second - on soft tissues. Actinomycosis caused by a fungus should be distinguished from tuberculosis, osteomyelitis and simple abscesses.
Treatment methods and prevention
Actinocomomas are painless and therefore do not cause discomfort in cows, except for those located in the oral cavity. But this does not mean that nothing needs to be done. Most animals will not recover on their own and therefore require treatment. The therapy must be carried out by a veterinarian; it will be difficult to do this on your own. The prognosis for treatment in most cases is favorable if only soft tissues are affected; if bones and internal organs are affected, treatment may be ineffective.
Providing first aid
Before starting treatment, remove the cow from the general herd and place it in a separate stall. It should be dry and clean. Treat swelling with iodine solution or antiseptics. You don't need to do anything else.
Health care
At the onset of the disease, iodine preparations are used (Iodinol, iodine solution, potassium iodide), they are given orally and injected into the seals. If the tumor is severe and has been developing for a long time, intravenous infusions will be required. Antibiotic therapy has a good effect: Oxytetracycline is injected into the formations of a bull or cow every day, the course of treatment is 4-6 days, or Polymyxin is injected once every 1.5 weeks. Usually, during this time, the neoplasms have time to resolve.In severe cases, Benzylpenicillin is used (for animals that are not allergic to the drug). It is important to complete the course of therapy, even if it seems that the tumors have disappeared.
If a band of tumors is inflamed, after antibiotic therapy with the use of Erythromycin, Levomycetin, and Tetracycline, their excision together with capsules is used. In case of relapse, repeated intervention will be required.
After therapy, you need to wait 3-5 weeks; if actinomycosis does not return, we can assume that it is defeated.
Preventive actions
Stalls of sick animals are disinfected with a 2-3% solution of caustic alkali or slaked lime. Preventive measures: cows should not be grazed in areas where outbreaks of actinomycosis have occurred on wet pastures. If possible, steam the roughage to make the stems softer. This way there is a chance that the animal will not prick the tongue, gums or mucous membranes and become infected. Plus, exposure to temperature will reduce the number of pathogens, and not only actinomycetes, but also many others.
Bovine actinomycosis is a dangerous infectious disease that affects cattle during the stall period. Animals become infected by eating hay and straw that contains the pathogen, a fungus. Treatment with antibiotics and surgery are usually effective, but not in advanced stages. Therefore, you need to monitor your animals and contact a veterinarian at the first suspicious signs. The drugs used for treatment are available and cheap, they can be purchased at any pharmacy.
