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Thrilling Symptoms: How Blood Septicemia Rapidly Destroys a Cattle's Health?
Haemorrhagic septicaemia (HS) is a fatal disease caused by Pasteurella bacteria that particularly affects cattle and buffaloes and has a huge economic impact. The disease is caused by two major Pasteurella serotypes, Asian B:2 and African E:2. Although it primarily affects cattle and buffalo, it has also been found in goats, camels, horses and pigs. Once an HS outbreak occurs, it is often accompanied by nearly 100% morbidity and mortality. If the disease is not treated at an early stage, the losses will be irreparable.
Animals that die within 24 to 36 hours will generally have only a small amount of spot bleeding in the lungs, while animals that die after 72 hours will have more significant bleeding and lung congestion.
Root causes and epidemiology
The main route of transmission of HS is through inhalation or ingestion of contaminated water sources and feed. The distribution of HS varies widely in different regions, depending on climate, feeding practices and animal species. For example, in Sri Lanka, the country has distinct endemic and non-endemic areas due to its diverse climatic environment. This variation allowed researchers to observe potential high-incidence areas of the disease, particularly during the South Asian expedition, where the prevalence of HS reported in the literature was quite common.
South Asia is the region where hemorrhagic sepsis occurs most frequently, which is related to animal weakness caused by seasonally poor feed.
Clinical symptoms and pathology
The clinical symptoms of HS are diverse, and the incubation period varies depending on the mode of infection. The incubation period in some cases can be as short as 12 hours and progress to displaying a high degree of clinical symptoms. In the early stages of the disease, cattle will show fever, depression, and loss of appetite, and may later develop difficulty breathing and significant salivation.
The clinical course generally seen is divided into three stages: first, fever and depression; second, shortness of breath and mandibular edema; finally, with the further course of the disease, animals will show signs of being unable to stand and develop to the terminal stage septicemia.
Diagnosis and Management
The diagnosis of cancer usually relies on blood smear tests and the display of clinical symptoms. In terms of treatment methods, the use of oral sulfadiamine and injected oxytetracycline are currently the more common management methods. In the early stages of an outbreak, timely treatment can significantly reduce mortality and prevent further spread of the disease.
Public health impact
The impact of HS on communities and agricultural economies cannot be underestimated, especially in areas where cattle and buffalo are the main productive forces. For example, in Pakistan's Punjab province, economic losses due to HS in 1996 were estimated to exceed 2.17 billion Pakistani rupees (approximately US$58 million). Farmers generally believe that hemorrhagic septicemia has an economic impact even greater than that of foot-and-mouth disease, due to its higher mortality and economic losses.
In studies in India, from 1974 to 1986, hemorrhagic sepsis led to the highest mortality rate among all infectious diseases.
Outbreaks of hemorrhagic septicemia may have serious consequences for the breeding industry, food safety and the entire ecosystem. As the epidemic continues to spread, should we pay more attention to disease surveillance and control to protect our cattle and buffaloes and prevent economic losses?
