Explore the vast range of titles available.

Low colostrum intake at birth results in the failure of passive transfer (FPT) due to the inadequate ingestion of colostral immunoglobulins (Ig). FPT is associated with an increased risk of mortality and decreased health and longevity. Despite the known management practices associated with low FPT, it remains an important issue in the field. Neither a quantitative analysis of FPT consequences nor an assessment of its total cost are available. To address this point, a meta-analysis on the adjusted associations between FPT and its outcomes was first performed. Then, the total costs of FPT in European systems were calculated using a stochastic method with adjusted values as the input parameters. The adjusted risks (and 95% confidence intervals) for mortality, bovine respiratory disease, diarrhoea and overall morbidity in the case of FPT were 2.12 (1.43-3.13), 1.75 (1.50-2.03), 1.51 (1.05-2.17) and 1.91 (1.63-2.24), respectively. The mean (and 95% prediction interval) total costs per calf with FPT were estimated to be (sic)60 ((sic)10-109) and (sic)80 ((sic)20-139) for dairy and beef, respectively. As a result of the double-step stochastic method, the proposed economic estimation constitutes the first estimate available for FPT. The results are presented in a way that facilitates their use in the field and, with limited effort, combines the cost of each contributor to increase the applicability of the economic assessment to the situations farm-advisors may face. The present economic estimates are also an important tool to evaluate the profitability of measures that aim to improve colostrum intake and FPT prevention.

Parasites reside inside or outside their hosts and get host nutrition and blood. Here, we have emphasized economic losses in cattle caused by parasitic diseases due to ecto- and endo- parasites (flies, ticks, mites and helminths). We have outlined different methods/models including economic evaluation techniques and dynamic analysis as a major class, used for the calculation of economic losses caused by parasites in cattle. According to already conducted studies, a decrease in production is mentioned in quantity and percentage while financial losses are expressed in the form of account with respect to per head, herd or for the specific study area. The parasites cause the reduced production and financial losses due to control, treatment and mortality costs. We calculated the average decrease in milk production and organ condemnation as 1.16 L animal−1 day−1 and 12.95%, respectively, from overall cattle parasitic infections. Moreover, the average calculated financial and percentage losses were US$ 50.67 animal−1 year−1 and 17.94%, respectively. Economically important parasitic diseases mentioned here are caused by specific spp. of protozoans and helminths according to data collected from the literature. Protozoan diseases include tick-borne diseases, coccidiosis, neosporosis, trypanosomiasis and cryptosporidiosis. Losses due to tick-borne infections were encountered for decreased milk production, mortality, treatment and control. Losses from coccidiosis were due to decreased weight gain, treatment costs and mortality. While abortion losses were encountered in neosporosis. Trypanosomiasis caused losses due to a decrease in milk yield. Moreover, only diagnostic (conventional or molecular techniques) cost was taken into account for cryptosporidiosis. Economically important nematode parasites are Oesophagostomum spp., Cooperia spp., Trichostrongylus spp., Strongyloides spp., Ostertagia spp. and Haemonchus placei. Due to the zoonotic importance of echinococcosis, Echinococcus granulosus is the most economically important cestode parasite. Losses caused by echinococcosis were due to organ condemnation, carcass weight loss and decreases hide value, milk production and fecundity. While, fascioliasis is one of the most economically important trematodal disease, which causes cirrhosis of the liver due to parasite migration, and thus, the organ becomes inedible. So, it would be helpful for farmers and researchers to approach these methods/models for calculation of parasitic losses and should adopt suitable measures to avoid long-term economic losses.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus has been associated with severe mastitis in dairy cows, leading to decreased milk production. Here we investigated the impact of H5N1 virus infection in health and production parameters in an affected dairy herd in Ohio. Clinical disease, which lasted for about three weeks, was recorded in 20.0% (777/3876) of the adult cows. Milk losses of ~900 kg per cow were recorded in affected cows during a 60 day-post-outbreak period. Seroprevalence was 89.4% (570/637) in the herd, with 76.1% (485/637) of seropositive animals being subclinically infected. Clinically affected cows presented an increased risk of death (6 times) and of premature herd removal (3.6 times) when compared to non-clinical cows. Economic losses due to decreased milk production, mortality, and early herd removal were estimated at $950 per clinically affected cow for a total cost of ~$737,500 for the herd during the observation period. Our results demonstrate a production impact lasting at least 60 days post-clinical diagnosis and major financial consequences of HPAI H5N1 virus infection to dairy farms. Highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus has recently caused outbreaks in dairy cattle herds in the United States. Here, the authors describe the clinical features and associated economic impacts of an outbreak at a farm in Ohio between March and April 2024.

To assess the economic benefits of vaccination against diarrhoea and respiratory diseases in cow-calf systems, a stochastic mechanistic mathematical programming bio-economic model was developed for a beef Charolais breed farm. The model reproduced herd dynamics on a weekly basis over a 10-year period, including animal growth, reproduction and diseases risks and control (treatments and vaccination). Three baseline risk levels of diarrhoea and respiratory disease were considered to simulate low, average, and high infection risks on the farm. The results demonstrated the model’s ability to reproduce average farm dynamics, with diarrhoea prevalence ranging from 8% to 33% and respiratory diseases from 13% to 79%. On average, prevalences were decreased by 24% and 50%, respectively, due to vaccination, which also reduced the 2-day to 1-month mortality rates by 2–3% and 15–17%, respectively. The net value of vaccination was positive except in cases of low infection risk of diarrhoea and respiratory diseases: the return on investment (ROI) of vaccination was 0.4–0.5 (€1 invested yields €0.4–0.5) in the baseline scenario (middle infection risks), negative under low infection risks, and reached 1 (€1 invested yields €1) for high infection risks. The results also showed that farmers may earn €58–75 in additional revenue per extra hour of labour dedicated to vaccination in the medium-risk scenario. Despite the limited availability of data for cow-calf systems, this study demonstrated the economic benefit of vaccination in most combinations of scenarios and risks. The profitability of vaccination was challenged when low disease risks were considered, but in such cases, vaccination may serve as insurance against financial losses in case of health status deterioration.

Salmonella Dublin infections in heifer-raising operations (HROs) cause animal health and economic losses for these operations and represent a pathogen source for dairy farms obtaining replacement heifers from HROs. To improve control of S . Dublin, we (i) developed a mathematical model of S. Dublin transmission on a HRO, (ii) evaluated the vaccine effectiveness and cleaning improvements for controlling the infection, and (iii) evaluated the influence of infection and control strategies on the HRO’s operating income. We developed a modified Susceptible-Infected-Recovered-Susceptible model of S. Dublin spread in a batch-stocking HRO post-introduction of an index case, with stochasticity introduced through Monte Carlo simulations. Epidemiological outcomes ( S. Dublin-induced deaths and abortions during raising and S. Dublin carriers and asymptomatic infections among raised replacement heifers) and operating income per 100-head raised on a HRO over a 2-year simulation were compared between control scenarios. We validated our model against S. Dublin infection data in cattle. Partial rank correlation coefficient analysis and classification trees were used to determine parameter influence on model outcomes. Our model predicts a median of 37 carriers and 92 asymptomatic infections among raised replacement heifers out of 2,330 heifers that departed the operation by the end of the 2-year simulation period, suggesting a relevant role of HROs in spreading S . Dublin. Increasing barn floor cleaning frequency (to a maximum of 12x per day) meaningfully reduced the S. Dublin epidemiological outcomes and improved the HRO’s operating income. Depending on the cost of cleaning, the median operating income increased between 1.2% to 10.6% in the first year when cleaning 12x per day compared to baseline (cleaning 1x per week). In most cost scenarios, predictions do not support using a vaccine that solely reduces mortality, even when paired with stringent cleaning measures. The developed model is expected to aid efforts to control S. Dublin in HROs.

Livestock brucellosis is an endemic disease in many low-resource settings. Despite its widespread distribution, little is known about the scale of economic impacts caused by the disease. This study aimed to develop an integrated epidemiological-economic modelling framework to estimate production losses attributable to livestock brucellosis, using Tanzania as a case study. Data on livestock production and prevalence of exposure to Brucella spp. were obtained from surveys conducted in northern and central Tanzania between 2013 and 2019. A clustering algorithm was applied to classify households into pastoral and non-pastoral production systems. A Bayesian latent-class analysis model was applied to derive livestock brucellosis prevalence estimates. A herd-growth model was used to estimate production losses attributable to brucellosis. A total of 1,541 households (384 classified as pastoral and 1,157 as non-pastoral) contributed data on livestock production or prevalence of exposure to Brucella spp. The median (95% uncertainty interval, UI) individual-level brucellosis prevalence in cattle, sheep, and goats was 5.1% (3.4–6.9), 1.3% (0.1–3.0), and 2.5% (0.3–4.8) in the pastoral system, and 0.7% (0.1–1.6), 1.6% (0.2–3.8), and 2.5% (0.3–4.9) in the non-pastoral system, respectively. The median (95% UI) annual losses attributable to brucellosis in cattle, sheep, and goats, per infected animal, were 74.4 (26.2–211.7), 9.7 (3.4–23.1) and 10.6 (3.7–25.0) international dollars (int.$) in the pastoral system, and 62.3 (16.8–228.6), 6.3 (1.8–17.1) and 7.0 (2.2–17.9) int. $in the non-pastoral system, respectively. Household-level losses were equivalent to 4.4% (2.1–8.8) and 0.6% (0.2–1.6) of the median (95% UI) livestock-derived income in the pastoral and non-pastoral systems, respectively. This study did not capture the system-wide impacts of brucellosis, including on human health. The estimated losses are only a part of the full societal economic impact of the disease. These results can be used to inform cost-benefit analyses of potential interventions and guide policy development for brucellosis control.

Ticks and tick-borne diseases (TBDs) affect the productivity of bovines in tropical and subtropical regions of the world, leading to a significant adverse impact on the livelihoods of resource-poor farming communities. Globally, four main TBDs, namely anaplasmosis, babesiosis, theileriosis, and cowdriosis (heartwater) affect bovines, and the former three are of major economic importance in bovines in Pakistan. Given that the livestock sector has become an integral part of Pakistan’s economy and a large number of dairy cattle are being imported into the country, in order to meet an increasing demand of milk and milk products, it is timely to review current status of bovine TBDs in Pakistan and to identify gaps in the knowledge of TBDs and their control. Although there has been a recent increase in the number of studies of TBDs in this country, information on their prevalence, distribution, tick vectors, and control is limited. This article provides a brief background on key bovine TBDs and ticks and reviews the current status of bovine TBDs in Pakistan to identify gaps in knowledge and understanding of these diseases, propose areas for future research and draw attention to the need for improved tools for the diagnosis and control of TBDs in this country.

Background Dairy products provide invaluable sustenance for human populations and any factor that impairs dairy production is a threat to our future food supply. Dairy cattle parasitism is a critical and often unrecognized danger that harms cows; threatens producer livelihoods; can reduce food safety, and hurts farm profitability. Specifically, parasites cause illness and death, reduce milk production, slow weight gain, and harm carcass quality. They may cause abortions, transmit serious bacterial diseases, and harm human health. Cattle movement restrictions to prevent parasite spread add to production costs. Two general parasite types are those found internally (endoparasites) or externally to the animal (ectoparasites) and common parasite classes include: nematodes, trematodes, cestodes, protozoans, arachnids, and insects. Conclusions This paper reviews global economic and health impacts of dairy cattle parasitism including discussions of testing methods, treatment strategies, and resistance avoidance. Graphical Abstract

Lameness is one of the most costly dairy cow diseases, yet adoption of lameness prevention strategies remains low. Low lameness prevention adoption might be attributable to a lack of understanding regarding total lameness costs. In this review, we evaluated the contribution of different expenditures and losses to total lameness costs. Evaluated expenditures included labor for treatment, therapeutic supplies, lameness detection and lameness control and prevention. Evaluated losses included non-saleable milk, reduced milk production, reduced reproductive performance, increased animal death, increased animal culling, disease interrelationships, lameness recurrence and reduced animal welfare. The previous literature on total lameness cost estimates was also summarized. The reviewed studies indicated that previous estimates of total lameness costs are variable and inconsistent in the expenditures and losses they include. Many of the identified expenditure and loss categories require further research to accurately include in total lameness cost estimates. Future research should focus on identifying costs associated with specific lameness conditions, differing lameness severity levels, and differing stages of lactation at onset of lameness to provide better total lameness cost estimates that can be useful for decision making at both the herd and individual cow level.

This study assessed the farm-level economic loss due to LSD in India and at disaggregate (state) level by collecting data from 2351 cattle farms covering seven states. Data were analyed using descriptive statistics and stochastic modeling with Monte Carlo simulations. Gujarat state reported the highest milk loss, with a median reduction of 74, 90, 60, 45, 15, 15, and 8 L per animal in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, and Odisha, respectively. Crossbred cattle experienced more milk loss per animal, ranging from USD 0.0 to 237.8. The median mortality loss per animal varied between USD 12.2 and 1,084. The substantial national loss was due to decreased milk production, followed by the loss of draught power, treatment cost, and vector management cost. Stochastic modelling estimated economic loss due to LSD in cattle in India was USD 2440.29 million (90% CI 2162.55–2716.15) / (INR 202,544.07 million (90% 179,491.65—2,225,440.45) during 2022 & 2023 with a highest loss of USD 314.18 million (90% CI 279.10–349.34)) in Rajasthan state.