Septicemia is the result of bacteria or their toxins circulating in the blood. Bacteria in the blood is called bacteremia; their toxins in the blood is called endotoxemia. When one or both of these conditions result in systemic symptoms it’s called septicemia. The most common pathogen is E. coli, but septicemia can also be due to many other bacteria, including salmonella.
Some types of toxin-forming bacteria (often gaining entrance to the body via the gastrointestinal tract, after damaging the gut lining and slipping through it) cause rapid death; the calf goes into shock when internal organs start shutting down. Any blood-borne infection may become life-threatening if bacteria or their toxins damage vital organs. In some instances the infection localizes, creating internal abscesses or settling in the joints—causing painful arthritis, “joint ill.”
Dr. Steve Hendrick of Coaldale Veterinary Clinic in Coaldale, Alberta, Canada says calves are born without any antibodies to protect them from disease.
“They obtain the needed antibodies from the cow’s colostrum. Many people don’t realize how critical this is—to make sure the newborn gets adequate colostrum. Ideally it should come from the dam because she’s been in the environment the calf is born into (unless you bought her just before calving) and she’s been exposed to pathogens the calf will face—and has the needed antibodies in her colostrum,” he said.
“It’s ok to use a commercial supplement if necessary, if the cow dies before the calf can suckle, or doesn’t have any milk, or the calf is compromised from difficult birth (weak or unable to suckle), or is a twin, or un-mothered, but colostrum harvested to create the commercial product comes from a different environment. It’s a good ‘band aid’ but it’s best to use colostrum from your own cows.”
Beef colostrum is better than dairy, since a dairy cow’s colostrum is more dilute, due to higher volume. Beef colostrum is generally more concentrated.
“It may be hard to tell whether a calf got enough colostrum, soon enough. You can assess the mom’s udder and probably tell whether the calf suckled, but did he get enough? Most calves that develop septicemia didn’t get enough antibody protection from colostrum,” said Hendrick.
Even if they did, sometimes this passive immunity is overwhelmed if they are born into a filthy environment and develop navel infection. They may be exposed to a high dose of pathogens.
“Bedding is always good prevention against navel infection, if cows are confined rather than calving out on large grass pastures,” he said. People who calve early when weather may be bad, or calving out heifers, often have them confined so they can watch them closely. Then it takes more diligence to make sure that area is clean.
“We often see calves born in dirty conditions that have to suckle a dirty udder. This increases the number of pathogens the calf ingests, and there are also more pathogens that come into contact with the raw umbilical stump. There’s a huge challenge to the immune system,” said Hendrick.
Infections can get into the bloodstream from nearly any location of the body, including the respiratory system. With septicemia, the challenge is treating systemic infection.
“If you don’t start treatment early to halt the infection, some internal organs (including the brain, causing meningitis) and/or joints may be damaged,” he said.
Signs of septicemia
“Septicemia is the same as what we call blood poisoning,” Hendrick said. Signs may include weakness, depression and dehydration. The calf may be unable to get up, with signs of shock—pale gums, cold feet, cold ears, because the circulatory system is failing. The heart may be beating fast, trying to get blood to vital organs as everything shuts down.
The calf may have fever or hypothermia, high or low heart rate, or increased respiratory rate. Gums become red, blood vessels become visible across the whites of the eyes. One way to tell if a calf is septic is to look at mucus membranes and the white around the eye. The gums will be dark or red, instead of pink. Blood vessels under the surface may be getting bigger and standing out. The blood vessels of the sclera around the eye will be prominent and dilated, making the eye look bloodshot.
Onset of septicemia is often swift, and as the condition worsens the pulse becomes weak and extremities become cold. Prognosis isn’t good; this disease often results in septic joints, pneumonia, or meningitis. Calves with meningitis often extend their head and neck.
If the calf is young and sick, with swollen joints, check the navel for signs of infection such as swelling, heat, a thick umbilicus, or pus discharge. Infection from the umbilicus can get into the bloodstream and travel to other tissues. The joints swell and become painful and the calf is lame. A healthy calf that had good colostrum may still get an infected umbilicus but generally walls it off as a local abscess and is not as likely to get septicemia.
Treatment
It’s important to work with your veterinarian when early signs are noticed (lame calf, or very sick calf), because the earlier you can treat, the better chance of halting the infection before it causes extensive damage or makes it impossible to save the calf. Your veterinarian can recommend a course of antibiotics because there are several that could be effective.
It’s been estimated that 30 percent of calves with scours have circulating bacteria in the blood, but not all of them develop septicemia. Calves showing signs of systemic illness (fever, depression, etc.) or have blood or mucus in the feces are more likely to be septic. Antibiotics for calves with scours are not so much for the scours as they are for reducing the risk of septicemia, said Hendrick, and should be given by injection rather than orally. There are several effective drugs for septicemia but choice of drug may depend on the pathogen causing the problem.
If the calf is showing signs of shock, IV fluids will be needed immediately, and anti-inflammatory drugs or other treatments to help reverse this condition.
Even if the calf isn’t in shock, you need to act quickly.
“These infections tend to filter out into some of the smaller blood vessels and capillaries, particularly in the joints or where the bones are growing (ends of the bones). This may result in a chronic arthritis. It’s difficult to get enough antibiotic into those areas, so you need to treat quickly,” said Hendrick.
“Watch young calves closely, and make sure they are getting up, moving around, and not becoming stiff or lame. If they look sluggish or sore, you have a serious problem. Hopefully you can treat them before they get to this point; the infection is already having damaging impact by the time they are lame,” he said.
Prevention
Prevention is preferable to having to treat calves or losing them. Clean environment, clean equipment (such as esophageal feeding tubes) adequate colostrum, dipping navels of newborn calves if necessary, and adequate nutrition for the cow herd are crucial.
“If cows don’t have good condition and are not passing along good colostrum to their calves, you are fighting an uphill battle,” Hendrick said. Healthy cows and pre-calving vaccinations can help.
“Some producers who have had problems try to give every calf a long-acting antibiotic at birth, and this might be a short-term band aid, but is not a good solution. Antibiotics are not a cure-all for sloppy management and poor conditions.” — Heather Smith Thomas, WLJ correspondent
