Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Calves protected from E. coli diarrhea after vaccinating pregnant
By Jayappa, Huchappa et al.·Published in Veterinary therapeutics : research in applied veterinary medicine·2008·Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Demonstration of passive protection in neonatal calves against colibacillosis following immunization of pregnant heifers at 3 months of gestation.
- Species:
- cattle
Plain-English summary
A study found that calves born to vaccinated pregnant heifers had a much lower chance of developing severe diarrhea caused by E. coli. The heifers were given a vaccine during pregnancy, and when their calves were born, they were allowed to nurse right away. The results showed that only about 29% of the vaccinated calves developed severe diarrhea, compared to 75% of the calves from unvaccinated heifers. Additionally, the death rate was significantly lower in the vaccinated group, with only 14% of those calves dying compared to 80% in the control group. This suggests that vaccinating pregnant heifers can help protect their newborn calves from serious illness.
People also search for: calf diarrhea prevention · E. coli in calves · pregnant heifer vaccination benefits
Abstract
Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli is one of the primary etiologic agents for diarrhea in neonatal calves. Immunization of dams can provide passive protection in neonatal calves; antibodies transferred through colostrum block colonization of bacteria, thereby preventing disease. In this study, healthy pregnant heifers were vaccinated at approximately 3 months of gestation with either a polyvalent oil-adjuvanted vaccine containing inactivated coronavirus, rotavirus, E. coli K99 subunit antigen, and Clostridium perfringens b and e toxoid or normal saline as a placebo. Calves were allowed to nurse immediately after birth, were orally challenged with virulent heterologous enterotoxigenic E. coli at 1 day of age, and were observed for clinical signs of scours for 10 days. Signs of severe scours were noted in 75% of control calves and 28.6% of vaccinates, and the severity of scours was significantly higher (P = .0382) in the control group. The mortality rate was significantly higher (P = .0007) in the control group (80%) than in the vaccinate group (14%). These findings indicate that the vaccination of pregnant heifers at as early as 3 months of gestation (6 months before calving) provides passive protection in neonatal calves against colibacillosis.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19177333/