Animal, Plant & Soil Science

1. Animal, Plant & Soil Science Lesson C5-7 Disease Control and Management Practices

2. Objectives • Explain how cleanliness affects disease control, and compare antiseptics and disinfectants. • Evaluate vaccination and prevention methods, and describe the types of vaccines available. • Identify common diseases found in agricultural animals, and determine the appropriate treatment methods.

3. How does cleaning affect disease control? How are antisepticsand disinfectants used? • Animal husbandry is the practice of raising animals and tending to their health and well being. • With all animals, there is a chance that a disease, parasite, or health problem will occur. • Knowing how to recognize, treat, and prevent animal diseases is part of good animal husbandry.

4. How does cleaning affect disease control? How are antisepticsand disinfectants used? • Many bacteria and other disease causing organisms can live and multiply outside of hosts. • When this happens, animal facilities and equipment can become infected and diseases can spread.

5. How does cleaning affect disease control? How are antisepticsand disinfectants used? • Sanitation and cleanliness impact the number of bacteria and germs that survive. • Bacteria and germs cannot survive in areas that are not moist. • Therefore, if animals and facilities are kept dry, it reduces the possibility of problems.

6. How does cleaning affect disease control? How are antisepticsand disinfectants used? • A. Sanitation is the application of measures to clean tools, facilities, people, and equipment to protect health. • The primary objective of sanitation is to prevent fecal contaminants from entering the oral cavities of animals. • With animals, keeping feces away from feed and water is a major concern. • Used equipment that may contact the animal’s oral cavity or the animal’s feed should be a special target of sanitation procedures.

7. How does cleaning affect disease control? How are antisepticsand disinfectants used? • B. Regular equipment and facilities sterilization will destroy many forms of microorganisms to reduce disease-causing pathogens. • Sterilization is the process of destroying microorganisms by chemical or physical means. • It is not always practical to sterilize most livestock and animal facilities, tools, etc. • However, regular cleaning with antiseptics and disinfectants eliminates the vast amount of disease-causing organisms.

8. How does cleaning affect disease control? How are antisepticsand disinfectants used? • 1. Antiseptics are chemical agents used on living tissue to control the growth and development of microorganisms. • An antiseptic is often used around open wounds or burns to help prevent disease entry.

9. How does cleaning affect disease control? How are antisepticsand disinfectants used? • 2. Disinfectants are chemicals used to kill microorganisms on nonliving surfaces (e.g., like tables). • Disinfectants prevent infection from facility surfaces and equipment.

10. What are the methods and types of vaccinations available? • Used to prevent many diseases, vaccines are formulas created of weakened or dead disease organisms that cause the body to develop immunity. • Good animal husbandry, maintaining vaccination records, and tracking where animals come from allow producers to anticipate and prevent problems.

11. What are the methods and types of vaccinations available? • When animals are showing signs of sickness, producers should take preventive measures for the remaining healthy animals to ensure herd stability. • Prevention often includes vaccination. • Some diseases, such as rabies and blackleg, require regular vaccines.

12. What are the methods and types of vaccinations available? • A. There are multiple ways to administer vaccines to animals. • Most vaccines are administered through one of three types of injections. • All injections should be given in the neck to help prevent muscle soreness and carcass degradation. • The type of injection is based on the recommendation for the medicine being used.

13. What are the methods and types of vaccinations available? • 1. Subcutaneous injections are given just under the skin’s surface. • Livestock used for food purposes are primarily given subcutaneous injections to preserve the quality of the meat. • 2. Intramuscular injections are given directly into muscle tissue.

14. What are the methods and types of vaccinations available? • 3. Intravenous, or IV, injections are given directly into a vein and should be administered slowly. • IV injection is the most complex and usually requires animal handling over a longer period. • Even though it is more difficult to administer, IV injections are often the best solution for medical emergencies.

15. What are the methods and types of vaccinations available? • B. Two types of external vaccines are available: transdermal and intranasal. • These are not as invasive as injections. • 1. Transdermal vaccines involve medication being put on the skin and absorbed. • This method is effective for skin disease or infected wounds.

16. What are the methods and types of vaccinations available? • 2. Intranasal vaccines involve the medicine being aerosolized and sprayed into the nasal cavity, which is becoming more widely used to combat respiratory diseases. (An intranasal vaccine is currently an option for vaccination against the human flu virus.)

17. What are common diseases of agricultural animals? What are the appropriate prevention and treatment options? • Animals are more resistant to diseases when sanitation, prevention practices, and nutrition has been monitored. • Healthy animals remain resistant to most diseases caused by organisms such as bacteria, viruses, and protozoa.

18. What are common diseases of agricultural animals? What are the appropriate prevention and treatment options? • A. Bacteria live in a wide array of conditions, inside and outside of animals. • Bacteria are found everywhere, and many are beneficial. • Bacteria are found naturally in the stomach of ruminants and help in digestive processes. • However, some bacteria can grow on body cells where they feed and secrete toxins, which are poisonous agents that invade the body.

19. What are common diseases of agricultural animals? What are the appropriate prevention and treatment options? • 1. Blackleg is an example of a bacterial disease. • A major disease in many North American animals, it occurs mostly in cattle and sheep when bacteria build up in the muscle, producing toxins. • It is often sudden in occurrence and can cause lameness, swollen muscles, severe depression, high fever, or death. • It affects the legs, making them look bruised (dark purple or black). • Produced in recent years, vaccines for blackleg are proving effective in eliminating occurrences.

20. What are common diseases of agricultural animals? What are the appropriate prevention and treatment options? • 2. Brucellosis can cause heavy losses in the animal production industry. • This disease occurs in cattle, swine, and sheep. • The microorganism that causes this disease can lead to abortion in pregnant animals. • There is no cure, but good management practices can prevent it.

21. What are common diseases of agricultural animals? What are the appropriate prevention and treatment options? • Livestock producers should have newly purchased animals tested for brucellosis to prevent contamination of a healthy herd. • Brucellosis vaccinations are now required for female animals, especially in the cattle industry. • Only state-recognized veterinarians can administer this vaccine, and they must report all vaccinated animals to the USDA for record-keeping purposes.

22. What are common diseases of agricultural animals? What are the appropriate prevention and treatment options? • B. Although viruses are not actually living organisms, they commonly cause diseases. • Viruses are infectious agents that replicate inside the host’s body cells. • Because these viruses use parts of the cell to reproduce, creating vaccines can be difficult. • Sometimes the vaccine is ineffective because it is difficult to target the virus without affecting the cell.

23. What are common diseases of agricultural animals? What are the appropriate prevention and treatment options? • 1. Rabies is a common disease of companion animals, but it can be prevented by regular vaccines in animals and post bite immunizations for humans. • All carnivorous mammals can be infected with rabies, including humans, wild animals, and bats. • By the time most symptoms appear, the condition of the animal is fatal.

24. What are common diseases of agricultural animals? What are the appropriate prevention and treatment options? • Rabies affects an animal’s nervous system, spinal cord, and brain— where it destroys tissues and causes inflammation. • The virus is present in saliva and is most commonly transferred by saliva in open wounds (e.g., biting). • Delirium and excessive saliva are common symptoms.

25. What are common diseases of agricultural animals? What are the appropriate prevention and treatment options? • 2. Equine rhinopneumonitis is a common disease in horses caused by a herpes virus that is similar to the one that causes colds in humans. • It can be transmitted by feed, water, and feed buckets. • Considered a respiratory disorder in mature horses, it can cause abortion in pregnant mares and lead to fatal conditions in newborn foals. • Common signs are nasal discharge and wheezing.

26. What are common diseases of agricultural animals? What are the appropriate prevention and treatment options? • C. Nutritional and genetic diseases are common in animals. • Nutritional diseases involve nutrient consumption deficiencies or excesses. • Milk fever, a common nutritional disease in cattle, is caused by a calcium deficiency.

27. What are common diseases of agricultural animals? What are the appropriate prevention and treatment options? • After giving birth, a cow may become calcium deficient if the body needs to pull calcium from bones and tissues to make milk for the calf. • A cow with milk fever may be unable to stand because of insufficient amounts of calcium in the bloodstream.

28. Review • How does cleaning affect disease control? How are antiseptics and disinfectants used? • What are the methods and types of vaccinations available? • What are common diseases of agricultural animals? What are the appropriate prevention and treatment options?