L. M. Kashkovskaya, Candidate of Veterinary Sciences (PhD-equivalent), Senior Researcher at NITA-FARM
How to improve survival rates and productivity of calves through to finishing?
Practicing livestock industry professionals meet annually at the ANIMALPROFI forum to communicate and exchange experience, discussing real-world production challenges. Many note that gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases are the main cause of calf losses.
The former typically affect one-month-old calves, while most diseases of the subsequent period are respiratory diseases.
The disease rate in calves up to one year of age in cattle breeding averages 40%, while in industrial operations it exceeds 60% and increases each year. A proportion of calves (7.2-15.6%) suffer from illness repeatedly [1, 2].
Despite significant efforts in calf rearing, mortality rates during the first months of life remain high.
Specialists at NITA-FARM, an innovative leader in the veterinary pharmaceutical market, share their experience in improving survival rates of calves.
The number one strategic task in ensuring animal health and survival rates is a systematic approach to prevention. It is well known that disease is easier to prevent than to treat. However, under industrial rearing conditions – with high animal density, frequent regrouping, and constant technological stress – following this rule is practically impossible. Therefore, it is important to maintain animal health for as long as possible through general preventive measures and to treat sick animals in a timely manner.
It is well known that respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases are often caused by opportunistic microflora, as well as protozoa – the main cause of diarrhea in calves during the first two months of life.
Control of microbial pathogens should be based on chemotherapy with antibacterial products. At the same time, the choice of antibiotic is an important point! It is advisable to use broad-spectrum products in injectable form, which are characterized by high bioavailability, rapid action, and accurate and convenient dosing. It is a plus if the antibacterial product can provide additional effects, such as anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and others.
Currently, macrolide antibiotics possess the listed properties in pharmaceuticals.
In the portfolio of NITA-FARM, there is an injectable product based on a macrolide – Azitronit .
Unlike most other antibiotics, azithromycin, which is part of the product, penetrates cells well and creates long-lasting high intracellular concentrations.
Numerous studies by research institutes and universities, as well as practical experience from dozens of farms, prove the high efficacy of Azitronit in treating bacterial infections in calves. The trials involved several tens of thousands of calves with gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases.
As a result, it was established that within a few hours after the first injection of the product, positive changes are observed in sick calves: lethargy decreases, appetite returns, body temperature and respiratory rate normalize, and disease symptoms noticeably subside.
The clinical status data are confirmed by hematological parameters. Thus, with Azitronit treatment, parameters indicating reduced inflammatory response and increased immune reactivity of the body normalize faster. The efficacy of such therapy for respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases is very high – 92-100%.
It has been proven that the product works even in cases of complicated diseases and prevents the development of chronic conditions. As a result, this prevents growth and development delays, helps maintain productivity, and reduces culling of animals from the herd.
In addition, the efficacy of Azitronit in the treatment of calf cryptosporidiosis has been established [3]. Usually, prolonged diarrhea in this disease, even with therapeutic measures, stops on the third day when using Azitronit. The product efficacy reaches 97.4%, with cryptosporidia oocysts ceasing to be shed on the third to fourth day from the start of treatment.
Thus, the summarized results of experiments on the use of Azitronit demonstrate a significant acceleration of the recovery process, achievement of a stable therapeutic effect even in complicated infections, and prevention of disease progression to a chronic form.
Calf survival rates in farms where Azitronit is used in therapy increased to 89-94%.
With excellent antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory properties, as well as targeted action, Azitronit is a reliable solution in the fight against infection. When used, animals recover quickly, which helps reduce treatment costs and restore productivity.