Blackleg in inadequately immunized calves and their recovery following antibiotic therapy

Introduction: There is consensus regarding the importance of blackleg vaccination as a preventive measure, and proper immunization protocols are available. However, few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of vaccine protection against Clostridium chauvoei and the treatment of the disease in ca...

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Main Authors: Carolina C Guizelini, Otávio AC Silvestre, Carlos AN Ramos, Danilo C Gomes, Ricardo Antonio A Lemos
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries 2020-07-01
Series:Journal of Infection in Developing Countries
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Online Access:https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/12613
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author Carolina C Guizelini
Otávio AC Silvestre
Carlos AN Ramos
Danilo C Gomes
Ricardo Antonio A Lemos
author_facet Carolina C Guizelini
Otávio AC Silvestre
Carlos AN Ramos
Danilo C Gomes
Ricardo Antonio A Lemos
author_sort Carolina C Guizelini
collection DOAJ
description Introduction: There is consensus regarding the importance of blackleg vaccination as a preventive measure, and proper immunization protocols are available. However, few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of vaccine protection against Clostridium chauvoei and the treatment of the disease in calves exhibiting early or advanced clinical courses. This study describes twelve blackleg cases in unvaccinated calves and in calves that received a single dose of the vaccine. It also reports the recovery of some calves after antibiotic therapy. Methodology: Two necropsies of cattle dead from blackleg were performed. Fragments of skeletal muscle from these two cattle were immersed in paraffin for multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis. Results: Twelve calves up to nine months of age developed signs of blackleg and eight died. Ten of those 9-month-old calves had received only the first dose of a blackleg vaccine at 4 months of age, but no booster. The last two affected calves belonged to a herd that had never been vaccinated. Four out of five calves treated with penicillin for 6-7 days recovered from the disease. The diagnosis of blackleg was based on necropsy, histopathological findings and detection of C. chauvoei in skeletal muscle samples of two necropsied calves using PCR. Conclusions: The occurrence of cases only in calves that did not receive a booster dose or were not vaccinated indicated that the vaccine used was effective when performed as recommended by the manufacturer. However, neglecting the booster resulted in casualties due to blackleg.
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publisher The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries
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spelling doaj-art-2a30149a795f4787ad6bd6db871ba9d32025-08-20T03:52:42ZengThe Journal of Infection in Developing CountriesJournal of Infection in Developing Countries1972-26802020-07-01140710.3855/jidc.12613Blackleg in inadequately immunized calves and their recovery following antibiotic therapyCarolina C Guizelini0Otávio AC Silvestre1Carlos AN Ramos2Danilo C Gomes3Ricardo Antonio A Lemos4Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FAMEZ), Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS), MS, Campo Grande, BrazilLaboratório de Anatomia Patológica, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FAMEZ), Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS), MS, Campo Grande, BrazilLaboratório de Biologia Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FAMEZ), Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS), MS, Campo Grande, BrazilLaboratório de Anatomia Patológica, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FAMEZ), Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS), MS, Campo Grande, BrazilLaboratório de Anatomia Patológica, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FAMEZ), Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS), MS, Campo Grande, Brazil Introduction: There is consensus regarding the importance of blackleg vaccination as a preventive measure, and proper immunization protocols are available. However, few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of vaccine protection against Clostridium chauvoei and the treatment of the disease in calves exhibiting early or advanced clinical courses. This study describes twelve blackleg cases in unvaccinated calves and in calves that received a single dose of the vaccine. It also reports the recovery of some calves after antibiotic therapy. Methodology: Two necropsies of cattle dead from blackleg were performed. Fragments of skeletal muscle from these two cattle were immersed in paraffin for multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis. Results: Twelve calves up to nine months of age developed signs of blackleg and eight died. Ten of those 9-month-old calves had received only the first dose of a blackleg vaccine at 4 months of age, but no booster. The last two affected calves belonged to a herd that had never been vaccinated. Four out of five calves treated with penicillin for 6-7 days recovered from the disease. The diagnosis of blackleg was based on necropsy, histopathological findings and detection of C. chauvoei in skeletal muscle samples of two necropsied calves using PCR. Conclusions: The occurrence of cases only in calves that did not receive a booster dose or were not vaccinated indicated that the vaccine used was effective when performed as recommended by the manufacturer. However, neglecting the booster resulted in casualties due to blackleg. https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/12613Clostridium chauvoeicattle diseaseclostridial diseaseblacklegimmunization
spellingShingle Carolina C Guizelini
Otávio AC Silvestre
Carlos AN Ramos
Danilo C Gomes
Ricardo Antonio A Lemos
Blackleg in inadequately immunized calves and their recovery following antibiotic therapy
Journal of Infection in Developing Countries
Clostridium chauvoei
cattle disease
clostridial disease
blackleg
immunization
title Blackleg in inadequately immunized calves and their recovery following antibiotic therapy
title_full Blackleg in inadequately immunized calves and their recovery following antibiotic therapy
title_fullStr Blackleg in inadequately immunized calves and their recovery following antibiotic therapy
title_full_unstemmed Blackleg in inadequately immunized calves and their recovery following antibiotic therapy
title_short Blackleg in inadequately immunized calves and their recovery following antibiotic therapy
title_sort blackleg in inadequately immunized calves and their recovery following antibiotic therapy
topic Clostridium chauvoei
cattle disease
clostridial disease
blackleg
immunization
url https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/12613
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AT carlosanramos blacklegininadequatelyimmunizedcalvesandtheirrecoveryfollowingantibiotictherapy
AT danilocgomes blacklegininadequatelyimmunizedcalvesandtheirrecoveryfollowingantibiotictherapy
AT ricardoantonioalemos blacklegininadequatelyimmunizedcalvesandtheirrecoveryfollowingantibiotictherapy