Common Farm Animal Diseases: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment are discussed in this article. We hope you find it helpful and informative.
Common Farm Animal Diseases: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment
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The disease is a state of ill-health and it can either be contagious or infectious depending on how an animal contacts the disease.
Farm animal diseases are caused by pests, parasites, pathogens, malnutrition, and vector. The effects of diseases on farm animals are reduction in productivity, loss of appetite, loss of weight, death, etc. The article focuses on some common diseases of farm animals.
a. Bacterial Diseases
(1) Mastitis is the inflammation of the udder.
Animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs. Symptoms and signs include swollen udder with pus coming out of it, udder becoming reddened, tender and painful, high temperature, and traces of blood in milk.
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Mode of transmission includes injury on the udder, poor hygiene conditions during milking, and excessive consumption of high proteinous forage.
Prevention, control, and treatment include high hygienic standards that should be maintained in the animal house and especially during the milking process, getting rid of flies in animal houses through efficient pest control, avoiding overcrowding and use of antibiotics.
Causative organisms include staphylococcus and streptococcus species.
Vector includes house fly (Musca Domestica).
(2) Anthrax which has to do with splenic fever.
Animals include cattle, sheep, and goats.
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Symptoms and signs include high temperature and muscular spasms. Difficulty in breathing, dark blood coming out from body openings such as the nostrils, mouths, and anus. Swelling of body parts, blood in milk.
Mode of transmission includes inhalation of anthrax spores. Physical contact with infected animals. It can also be transmitted by blood-sucking insects such as ticks, lice, mites, and fleas.
Prevention, control, and treatment include infected areas that should be disinfected properly as it affects human beings which is a zoonotic disease. Infected animals should be isolated and killed, and the carcasses of the infected animals should be burnt.
(3) Tuberculosis affects cattle and birds.
Symptoms and signs include severe emaciation, swelling of body organs, cough, and respiratory distress. Reduces milk production.
The mode of transmission includes the ingestion of contaminated materials. Inhalation of infected droplets.
Prevention, control, and treatment include vaccination using oral administration of Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG).
Causative organisms include mycobacterium Boris in cattle. Mycobacterium avium in birds.
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b. Viral Diseases
(4) Rinderpest affects cattle plague.
Animals affected include cattle, sheep, and goats.
Symptoms and signs include discharge from the nostrils, eyes, mouth as well as vulva of the infected animal. Diarrhea and fever. Lesions in the mouth and tongue.
The mode of transmission includes direct contact with an infected animal.
Prevention, control, and treatment include immunization, and isolation of infected animals. The use of tissue culture rinderpest vaccine on a calf below one year and a yearly booster.
Causative organisms are simply a Rinderpest virus.
Fungal Diseases: through Aspergillosis
Animals affected are poultry birds.
Symptoms and signs are difficulties in breathing, fever, and loss of feathers.
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The mode of transmission includes inhalation of contaminated air.
Prevention, control, and treatment include wash feed and water troughs daily. Feed stores should be well ventilated and do not offer feeds with molds to birds.
Causative organisms include Aspergillusfumigatu.
In conclusion, diseases are grouped into bacterial, viral, fungal, and protozoa diseases based on the type of microorganism causing the diseases.
