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Floods Could Deliver Disease, Parasites To Beef Cattle
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -– Floodwaters may be making potentially deadly deliveries to Arkansas cattle: disease-causing spores and parasites.
"When the soil is disturbed, such as in a flood, cattle can ingest the spores and possibly contract one of the diseases," said Dr. Tom Troxel, extension animal science professor/associate department head-animal science with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture.
Flooding can uncover and move blackleg and anthrax spores. Blackleg hits cattle between the ages of six months and two years. If the cattle aren’t vaccinated, the disease is nearly 100 percent fatal.
"Anthrax, another soil-borne disease, is a disease that nobody likes to take about," Troxel said. "Typically, anthrax isn’t a disease of real concern in Arkansas, but occurrences of anthrax can be increased by warm weather with heavy rainfall where animals are confined to small area."
Anthrax is more typically seen in areas with rich soil and in tropical and subtropical areas with heavy rainfall. Sudden simultaneous occurrence of outbreaks in separate locations can occur. The death rate is almost 100 percent.
The flooding may also increase populations of nematodes and other parasites, providing nice muddy pools for snails hosting liver flukes or the organisms that cause leptospirosis.
"Treating for internal parasites is critical at this time of year because so many of the cows are nursing calves and rebreeding," he said. "Beef cattle producers may have to deworm cattle more frequently than normal because of flooding."
Troxel advised beef cattle producers to consult with their veterinarian to determine practices, such as vaccination, are needed to protect the herd.
Getting hay to cows stranded on high ground as the flood waters recede is critical to keep their digestive systems functioning normally, he said.
"When cattle are in flood situations, getting hay to them is about all a beef cattle producer can do until water recedes," Troxel said. "Just getting hay to these cattle can be difficult, especially if the situation exists for a long period of time.
"The flooding of 2008 will go down in Arkansas history as one of the most severe floods in history," he said. "The full impact of the 2008 flood won’t be fully assessed until the waters recede."
Source: University Of Arkansas Ag Extension
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