Oral meloxicam given as an ancillary treatment at respiratory disease diagnosis was not associated with growth, clinical scores, or ultrasound scores in preweaned dairy calves.

Objective: To assess the efficacy of a single dose of oral meloxicam as an ancillary therapy to an antibiotic given at the time of respiratory disease identification on average daily gain (ADG), behavioral attitude, clinical respiratory, and lung ultrasound scores in preweaned dairy calves.

Animals: 215 male and female Holstein, Jersey, and crossbred preweaned calves enrolled between 1 and 14 days of age at study enrollment on a single commercial dairy in the western US.

Methods: The study took place from March 4, 2021, to November 21, 2021.

Assessing the effects of experimental bacterial challenge with Pasteurella multocida and ampicillin on the respiratory microbiota of pre-weaned Holstein calves.

The association between changes in the respiratory microbiota and Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) in dairy calves is not well understood. We investigated characteristics of the nasopharyngeal (NP) microbiota associated with BRD following Pasteurella multocida infection. We also evaluated the effect of ampicillin on the respiratory microbiota.

BRD treatment failure: clinical and pathologic considerations.

In cattle treated for respiratory disease, resolution of clinical signs has been the mainstay of determining treatment response and treatment efficacy. Through the use of calf lung ultrasound, we have found that pneumonia can persist or recur in the face of antibiotic therapy, despite improved clinical signs, leading to greater risk of clinical disease and more antibiotic use in the future. This review will discuss the pros and cons of using clinical signs to define resolution of disease and discuss how to implement lung ultrasound to improve our ability to accurately measure the impact of antibiotic therapy in cattle with respiratory disease.

The nasopharyngeal microbiota of preweaned dairy calves with and without ultrasonographic lung lesions.

The primary objective of this cross-sectional study was to identify associations between the diversity and composition of the nasopharyngeal (NP) microbiota and pneumonia status, as diagnosed by ultrasonography (US), in preweaned dairy calves. Characteristics of the NP microbiota were compared between calves with and without pneumonia, as diagnosed by US. Secondary objectives were to compare the composition of the NP microbiota between calves by age, clinical respiratory score (CRS), and previous antibiotic therapy.

Behavior assessment and applications for BRD diagnosis: preweaned dairy calves.

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is an important disease in dairy calves due to its long-lasting effects. Early identification results in better outcomes for the animal, but producers struggle to identify all calves with BRD. Sickness behavior, or the behavioral changes that accompany illness, has been investigated for its usefulness as a disease detection tool.