The state Animal Industry Board is warning cattle producers in northwest South Dakota to watch for bovine trichomoniasis after the parasite-borne disease was confirmed in three herds in Butte County.
State veterinarian Dustin Oedekoven said Tuesday that the board is advising cattle producers with concerns to have bulls tested for the disease and consider pregnancy testing cows. Trichomoniasis causes early term abortions in cows, so if a high percentage of cows are “open,” or not pregnant, it could mean the disease is in the herd.
Oedekoven said the cost of testing now in vulnerable herds could more than pay for itself by preventing serious losses through the spread of the disease later.
“If folks are kind of on the fence on whether to preg check or wait and see what they’ve got, we’d sure encourage them to check,” he said.
Signs of the disease in a herd include a high number of open cows or many late-calving cows, which can mean they aborted early and re-bred. Infected herds may have more than 50 percent open cows, although the percentage typically is lower, a news release by the board said.
The parasite that causes the disease lives in the reproductive tract of bulls and is transmitted to cows during the breeding season. It is probably best to sell open cows and bulls that test positive for the disease to the slaughter market, Oedekoven said. Read more…
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