Dairy Cattle Health and Welfare
Major diseases affecting dairy cattle
Bovine Johnes disease (BJD)
Bovine Johne's (pronounced 'yo-nees') disease is a fatal wasting disease of cattle, goats, alpaca and deer. Bovine Johne’s disease is often abbreviated to bjd, and is far more common in dairy herds than in beef herds.
More information about Bovine Johne's Disease (BJD)
Enzootic bovine leucosis (EBL)
Enzootic Bovine Leucosis (EBL) is a viral disease of cattle. Most affected animals show no signs of illness but some develop cancers of the lymph nodes. There is no treatment or effective vaccine for EBL. The presence of the disease causes economic loss through decreased production and increased mortality of cattle with tumors and restricted trade of cattle, semen, ova, and milk products from affected herds and regions.
More information about Enzootic bovine leucosis (EBL)
BSE (Mad Cow Disease)
BSE stands for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, which is a fatal nervous disease of cattle. It is one of the diverse group of diseases known as the Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs) that cause degenerative changes in the brain and other nervous tissues. The TSEs of most importance to the Australian livestock industries are bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle and scrapie in sheep and goats. These diseases do not occur in Australia.
More information about BSE (Mad Cow Disease)
Diseases of young dairy calves
The two major types of problems seen in calves are:
- Gut problems leading to scouring
- Pneumonia
These two problems account for over 80% of all losses in calves, with scouring being the most common. Bloat, navel-ill, accidents and poisoning make up most of the rest.
More information about diseases of young dairy calves
Foot and mouth disease
Foot and mouth disease is an acute infectious viral disease of livestock causing fever, followed by the development of vesicles (blisters) chiefly in the mouth and on the feet. It is one of the most infectious diseases affecting livestock and spreads rapidly if uncontrolled. It affects cloven-hoofed animals (those with divided hoofs) including cattle, buffalo, camels, sheep, goats, deer and pigs.
More information about Foot and Mouth Disease
