Let's talk BLV

[TCRanch]

I feel like I've been gut punched, losing 2 cows this week. One was the breeding spinal injury I had to eventually put down. The other blindsided me.

Noticed she was standing in the lake quite a bit late last week but it's rotten hot. I get that. But she didn't come out when I fed Friday and couldn't find her Saturday. Found her Sun morning and noticed a weird, fleshy looking discharge from her vulva and she looked heavy bred/bloated but temp was normal. Checked her that evening and she wouldn't eat cubes. Monday morning, I noticed a large tumor on her left rump, almost the exact location of a tumor on a cow diagnosed with BLV 4 years ago, prefemoral lymph nodes were swollen, whites of her eyes were blood red. And it all came back to me because I've been down this road before.

Some signs of bovine leukosis virus or lymphosarcoma are tumors, bloat, fever, enlarged lymph nodes, cervical swelling, loss of appetite, neurological manifestations, weight loss, bulging eyes, fluid retention in dewlap & chest. It's a blood borne disease that's generally transferred by needles, OB sleeves, dehorning, tattoo pliers, tail docking . . . basically anything transferred by blood or other body fluids. And vector transmission!!!! I have a closed herd, iron-clad vaccination schedule, diligent about spraying for flies/ticks, don't dehorn, a new sleeve always for preg checking and my vet is the only one that tattoos retained heifers at BANGS. Almost always use disposable syringes and needles. The exception is if I'm treating one cow that requires multiple injection sites and then I'll use a repeater syringe or the mod live vaccine for weaned calves but still, a new needle every time. And yet, it happens.

Here's a few pics of 3 BLV positive cows:

Eyes were swollen and took her to the vet on a Thursday (this was 2018).

By the time my vet called with the results (had to send the bloodwork to K-State) the following Wednesday, this is what they looked like.

Thought this cow had a UTI from the way she was straining and had lost condition. Nope. Can you see the tumor sticking out on her rump? This was in 2020.

Weird, fleshy-looking thing. It didn't feel attached, but I was afraid to try and pull it out. WTH?



Bloated, especially on the right side (which is why she looks bred).


Another tumor on the left rump

 

[GoWyo]

That is a horrible disease. I see why you go to the measures you do on herd health.

 

[Hpacres440p]

How quickly does this develop TC? You are so diligent, it seems like it must be a very fast course. Sorry you are going through this. Do you euthanize and then have to be careful with disposal due to being blood borne?

 

[puzzled in oregon]

Can mosquitoes spread this ?

 

[greybeard]

Can mosquitoes spread this ?

Yes, and just about any other blood sucking insect. Also can be transmitted to humans from beef, milk from infected cattle or from insects carrying liquids sucked from infected animals.
I don't know for sure I ever had to deal with it but did once have an older cow die with symptoms close to what CT describes.

 

[wbvs58]

Nasty.

Ken

 

[Redgully]

Never heard of it, hope i never see it either.

 

[TCRanch]

How quickly does this develop TC? You are so diligent, it seems like it must be a very fast course. Sorry you are going through this. Do you euthanize and then have to be careful with disposal due to being blood borne?

It depends on how aggressive the disease is and there are different variants of BLV. A cow can test positive but be asymptomatic and not die (or be euthanized). I equate that to Mr TC's CLL (chronic lymphocytic leukemia). His oncologist always says he's going to die with the disease, not necessarily because of it (bedside manner, much?). Midget, the 2020 cow, continued to nurse her calf and hang with the herd for a couple months after diagnosis. When she started losing condition and lagging, I knew it was time to end it. My first case was Satan in 2016 (no pics of her). She was standing in the water a lot and limping. I couldn't find any foot rot and she had a temp when I got her in. She was heavy bred, and I thought maybe she had a dead calf in her. Vet came out and she was full of tumors when he palped her. The limping was because of swollen lymph nodes. Had to put her down almost immediately. Hershey, the one last week, was fast & furious. I checked her Wed morning and was going to put her down when we got back from Wichita, but she was already dead.

And yes, they are disposed of in an empty pasture that has an old dried up well.

 

[Brute 23]

Damn that's rough.

I have never seen some one change a needle for ever new cow in their herd. It makes sense but that adds a lot of time.

 

[TCRanch]

Can mosquitoes spread this ?

What @greybeard said.

Up until 2 years ago we had neighbors that ran cattle on an adjoining property. Vaccinations and fly control were optional. Saw this mass on one of his cows, texted him the pic, and he said she had cancer. And subsequently did nothing but let her eventually die and decompose in the pasture. And you know those flies came over to our pasture.

 

[TCRanch]

Damn that's rough.

I have never seen some one change a needle for ever new cow in their herd. It makes sense but that adds a lot of time.

When we work cattle, I have all the vaccinations prefilled in disposable syringes/needles, bagged, marked and separated into different coolers. Yeah, it takes a lot of time prior to do that, but it's organized and actually saves time when we're working cattle. As far as switching out the needle in the repeater syringe for the mod live when working calves, it takes a couple seconds - a lot less time than it takes to get 'em in the chute. All the used needles are disposed of in a separate container, and I drop them off at my vet.

 

[Hpacres440p]

How contagious is it? Is it like EIA in horses that requires quarantine and such or is it more of always present but only a few are affected? This seems to be quite financially (and emotionally) impactful, but not something I had heard of before.
(I understand Mr TC’s doctor’s statement. There are “degrees of cancer”, some are still “get your things in order”, others are as he described).

 

[Ebenezer]

Damn that's rough.

I have never seen some one change a needle for ever new cow in their herd. It makes sense but that adds a lot of time.

Vet recommended that years ago and I have done it ever since. Just part of doing it right.

 

[TCRanch]

How contagious is it? Is it like EIA in horses that requires quarantine and such or is it more of always present but only a few are affected? This seems to be quite financially (and emotionally) impactful, but not something I had heard of before.
(I understand Mr TC's doctor's statement. There are "degrees of cancer", some are still "get your things in order", others are as he described).

That, I don't know. But my vet said there is most likely BLV in every herd. You can have your herd tested and sell any that are positive but that doesn't necessarily eradicate the disease.

 

[elkwc]

It depends on how aggressive the disease is and there are different variants of BLV. A cow can test positive but be asymptomatic and not die (or be euthanized). I equate that to Mr TC's CLL (chronic lymphocytic leukemia). His oncologist always says he's going to die with the disease, not necessarily because of it (bedside manner, much?). Midget, the 2020 cow, continued to nurse her calf and hang with the herd for a couple months after diagnosis. When she started losing condition and lagging, I knew it was time to end it. My first case was Satan in 2016 (no pics of her). She was standing in the water a lot and limping. I couldn't find any foot rot and she had a temp when I got her in. She was heavy bred, and I thought maybe she had a dead calf in her. Vet came out and she was full of tumors when he palped her. The limping was because of swollen lymph nodes. Had to put her down almost immediately. Hershey, the one last week, was fast & furious. I checked her Wed morning and was going to put her down when we got back from Wichita, but she was already dead.

And yes, they are disposed of in an empty pasture that has an old dried up well.

Hate to hear that. As far as I know we have never had one with it. Hope there isn’t anymore. Any idea where it comes from?

 

[TCRanch]

Any idea where it comes from?

I have no idea. We haven't bought a cow since our original herd of bred 2-year-olds in 2009. I still have one of our first heifer calves from 2010, who is now 14. The bulls we have purchased are virgin yearlings. Satan was one of our original cows and I do not have any of her lineage. But when she was diagnosed, we were still using a repeater syringe when we worked cattle, changing the needle every time we refilled. Changed our protocol immediately & starting using disposable. Early Bird's dam (she's the one with the bulging eyes) died of hardware. And that's when we changed our protocol and started giving every cow, retained heifer & bull a magnet. I don't have any lineage from either of them. Sold Midget's dam because she blew out her udder and don't have any of their lineage. Sold Hershey's dam last year because of the drought and I had to treat her for foot rot twice (harsh, I know, but . . . ). I still have her grandmother, who is 13, and a lot of that lineage. Is it possible it's been lurking in the herd the entire time? I suppose anything is possible. My vet says vector transmission is the most likely cause in our case.

 

[puzzled in oregon]

What @greybeard said.

Up until 2 years ago we had neighbors that ran cattle on an adjoining property. Vaccinations and fly control were optional. Saw this mass on one of his cows, texted him the pic, and he said she had cancer. And subsequently did nothing but let her eventually die and decompose in the pasture. And you know those flies came over to our pasture.View attachment 46154

I remember this picture. Doesn't take to much to connect the dots.
I am guilty of consulting DR. Google, but this article was sort of informative for me.

Disease Alert: Bovine Leukemia Virus - USDA

 

[Travlr]

My vet says vector transmission is the most likely cause in our case.

I was gonna suggest a vector. If it was me, I'd notify the neighbors within at least a half a mile of my fence lines and if they are farther away than that I'd go farther. Maybe ask around to see if anyone else has had problems and suggest testing locally?

 

[Ebenezer]

I have no idea. We haven't bought a cow since our original herd of bred 2-year-olds in 2009. I still have one of our first heifer calves from 2010, who is now 14. The bulls we have purchased are virgin yearlings. Satan was one of our original cows and I do not have any of her lineage. But when she was diagnosed, we were still using a repeater syringe when we worked cattle, changing the needle every time we refilled. Changed our protocol immediately & starting using disposable. Early Bird's dam (she's the one with the bulging eyes) died of hardware. And that's when we changed our protocol and started giving every cow, retained heifer & bull a magnet. I don't have any lineage from either of them. Sold Midget's dam because she blew out her udder and don't have any of their lineage. Sold Hershey's dam last year because of the drought and I had to treat her for foot rot twice (harsh, I know, but . . . ). I still have her grandmother, who is 13, and a lot of that lineage. Is it possible it's been lurking in the herd the entire time? I suppose anything is possible. My vet says vector transmission is the most likely cause in our case.

"Is it possible it's been lurking in the herd the entire time?" Yes. But most never express it and you just don't know. Our Vet said that it is very common in dairies but the average dairy cow never lives long enough for it to manifest. Most beef herds, including the registered seedstock folks never test. Apparently the IM work is a bigger carrier than the SQ from that past Vet conversation.

 

[Travlr]

"Is it possible it's been lurking in the herd the entire time?" Yes. But most never express it and you just don't know. Our Vet said that it is very common in dairies but the average dairy cow never lives long enough for it to manifest. Most beef herds, including the registered seedstock folks never test. Apparently the IM work is a bigger carrier than the SQ from that past Vet conversation.

Then maybe there's a trigger that allows an inflicted animal to become ill? In that case what does @TCRanch have going on that would trigger her animals to become positive?