Recent diagnosis and treatment of milk fever in

Recent Diagnosis and Treatment of Milk Fever in Animals

Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science Department of Veterinary Medicine and Public

Health

Tara Nath GaireMVSc( vet. medicine and public health)

[email protected]

IAAS

tara nath gaire,iaas,Nepal

Introduction Introduction

• Milk fever or parturient paresis is a metabolic disease of cattle, sheep and goat .

• occurring around the time of parturition and caused by hypocalcaemia .

• characterized by weakness, recumbency and ultimately shock and death. (Radostits et al., 2000)

• estimated to occur at the rate of 5-10% nationwide (Horst, 1986).


Etio-PathogenesisEtio-Pathogenesis

Calcium level:Normal level: 9-10 mg % Milk fever: 2-6 mg %

Alteration in calcium homeostasis by :• Excessive loss of calcium in the colostrums• impairment of absorption of calcium :– deficiency of Vitamin D.1,25 dihydroxycholecaciferol is

the activated from of Vitamin D3. – acts on the gut cells and helps in the absorption of ca++

from the intestine and resorption of ca++ from bone– less acidic pH in gut.


Etio-PathogenesisEtio-Pathogenesis

• Failure to mobilize skeletal calcium – Parathormone (P.T.H) insufficiency. – Excessive calcitonin level– Effect of estrogen

• “Milk fever syndrome”: milk fever is associated with – hypocalcaemia– hypophosphtaemia – and hypomagnesaemia


EpidemiologyEpidemiology

• Cattle– In high producing adult lactating dairy cattle– 5-10 year age group.– Jerseys are most susceptible – Stress :distant transport , forced exercised, etc

predisposes the condition– Drugs – estrus

• Sheep and goats– 6 weeks before to 10 weeks after lambing.


Clinical signs and symptomsClinical signs and symptoms

• Cattle– Stage I – Stage II/ sternal recumbency– Stage III/ lateral recumbency

• Sheep and goats– loss of anal reflex, constipation, tachycardia– hyposensitivity, ruminal stasis and tympany,– salivation and tachypnea.


Forms of milk fever Forms of milk fever


DiagnosisDiagnosis


Differential diagnosis Differential diagnosis


Line of Treatment:General management and clinical procedure

Line of Treatment:General management and clinical procedure

• Treatment – first stage of the disease, before the cow is

recumbent, is the ideal situation. – Cows found in lateral recumbency (third stage)

should be placed in sternal recumbency which reduce the chances of aspiration if the cow regurgitate.

– Avoidance of this complication necessitates the placement of rubber or other mats under the cow


Treatment Replacement Therapy

Treatment Replacement Therapy

• Calcium borogluconate: – milk fever can be treated successfully with 8-10 g of

calcium (calcium borogluconate is 8.3% calcium) in cow.– solutions available vary from 18 to 40% calcium

borogluconate. – 800-1000 mL of a 25% solution: an initial dose a large cow (540-

590 kg)– 400-500 mL: small cow (320-360 kg)

• standard rate of administration :– rapid intravenous administration of the calculated dose

of calcium borogluconate (often supplemented with phosphorus,magnesium, and glucose) over a period of 15 min. tara nath gaire,iaas,Nepal

TreatmentDietary anion –cation balance diet


• Recent concept of treatment and prevention of disease.• Results are more reassuring and currently appears to be the best way

to prevent.• increased incidence of milk fever with

– Prepartum diets high in cations such as sodium and potassium– Most forage such as legumes and grasses are high in potassium and are

alkaline. Metabolic alkalosis predisposes cows to milk fever.• incidence of the disease decrease with

– diets high in anions, especially chloride and sulfur.– The addition of anions to the diet of dairy cows prior to parturition

effectively reduced the incidence of milk fever by inducing a metabolic acidosis which facilitates bone resorption of calcium.(Radostits et al.,2000)

• The DCAD is expressed using the equation. (Radostits et al., 2000)

DCAD in mEq/kg DM = (Na +K) - (CI + S)


Preventive measuresPreventive measures

• Limiting Ca intake – less than 80-100g/day;

• Limiting P consumption – less than 45g/day;

• Holding Ca:P ratio – less than 2:1 without exceeding P limits.

• These methods directly sitmulate the intestinal Ca absorption or mobilize bone Ca prior to parturition or do both to avoid hypocalcemia when intestinal Ca demand is suddenly increased after the calving.

• More recently Goff et al., (1992), have studied the effects of recombinant bovine interleukin- 1(IL-1) has been shown to be homologus to osteoclast-activating factor and is capable of stimulating increased osteoclastic bone resorption.

• Administration of Vit D3 • Besides dietary and hormonal treatments, good housing is also very

important for the prevention. tara nath gaire,iaas,Nepal

Summary Summary

• The basis principal to prevent milk fever is to maintain a high plasma Ca level at the time of parturition to overcome the sudden high demand for Ca.

• hormonal therapy and dietary manipulations are successful in this regard.

• The dietary manipulation may be the best and easiest way to prevent milk fever in field condition.

• The supplementation of anionic diet salts brings about a mild acidosis thus increasing the rapid absorption of Ca through intestine and bone resorption.

• Thus the extracellular level of Ca increases which helps in coping with the demand of Ca particularly in the early lactation.

• Among the anionic salts, MgSo4 may be used commonly used.• A useful tool is to measure the urine pH i.e. pH 5.5-6.5 to monitor

anion cation balance in diet.


Thank you.Thank you.IAAS


Recent diagnosis and treatment of milk fever in

Education

Transcript of Recent diagnosis and treatment of milk fever in