134
Common Diseases of Young Calves
The disease may be controlled by examining all the cattle on a farm and
separating the affected animals from the non-affected ones. They should be
removed from the pasture where they developed the disease and kept on high
grounds or in clean dry sanitary byres until they are satisfactorily treated.
Young cattle should be separated both in the byres and at pasture from the
adult cattle which may be the carriers of the infection. The byres should be
kept clean and the litter should be removed frequently and burnt. The animals
should be prevented from drinking stagnant polluted water. Medicinal treat-
ment in some cases may prove useful. One to two table-spoonfuls of the
mixture containing two parts of ferrous sulphate, two parts of sulphur, and six
parts of common salt may be given in the grain feed. Enema with luke-warm
one per cent solution of alum and tannic acid is also recommended.
During the course of the treatment the animal should be kept comfortable
and well protected from the weather and be fed on dry nutritious diet.
(ii) Mange.—The term mange or scabies is applied to a class of contagious
skin diseases caused by mites, manifested by itching and eczema of the skin
and resulting in the loss of hair and. scab formation. There are three different
mites which produce mange in cattle, namely Sarcoptes scabiei (Plate XIII,
fig. 3) which causes the so-called sarcoptic mange and particularly attacks
areas around the eyes, cheeks and neck, Psoroptes communis which causes the
so-called psoroptic mange and attacks the sides of the neck, shoulders, base
of the horns, root of the tail and back, and Symbiotes (Chorioptes) bovis which
causes a type of mange noticeable at the base of the tail but which may extend
towards the anus and inside the thighs. The lesions produced in all the three
types and their treatment are very similar. Sarcoptic mange is the worst
type of mange as its parasite burrows under the surface of the skin and remains
embedded, especially during winter, and is therefore not easily affected by
medicinal dressings. The disease spreads by direct contact or through
contaminated yards and houses, grooming utensils, clothing, etc.
After
infection it may take about a month for noticeable symptoms to develop.
It develops more readily in unthrifty animals during the winter months.
The parasites are specific for cattle and do not thrive on other species of animals
and man.
The first noticeable symptom in mange is constant rubbing and scratching
of the skin. The skin is first covered with small pimples and scab, and after
the hairs are rubbed off, bare patches appear on the affected parts. Later the
skin becomes thickened, wrinkled into folds and cracked. There is marked
loss of condition and even emaciation. During the warm weather, when
pastures are also luxuriant, the condition may temporarily improve and
remain undetected. All the three types of mange may be readily diagnosed by
the detection of parasites in scrapings from the lesions, when these are exa-
mined on a dark background with a hand lens or under the low power of a
microscope.
All the affected animals should be strictly isolated till cured and the infect-
ed premises, utensils and clothing should be thoroughly disinfected. The
bedding and litter of the infected animals should be burnt. In the treatment
of individual cases the hair should be clipped, if the affected area is not too
large and the weather is warm. The clipped hair should be completely burnt.