Lymphoma

[MissKitty]

Hello I am a newbie....
We had a registered Jersey that is our milk cow and she had alittle heifer 13 months ago...Great bloodine...Windy Willow Montana Jace was her sire...we had big plans for her...
About 2 weeks ago we noticed swelling in the right neck and flank area...the vet thought it might be a snake bite so treated it as such...She seem to get better but noticed that she was having breathing difficulties...not eating or drinking...bleaching...Walking like someone with arthritis...The vet thought pneumonia and treated her with more antibotics...HAd to have him out last SAt. night...she was anable to lay down and very sick...
He noticed a mass on her neck and mentioned lymphoma...told us to bring her in Monday for a biospy and just to see what it was...We took her in and he called us shortly and told us it was the lymph glands and the cancer was all over her body and that she was in extreme pain...We had him put her down...
The vet told us he had never seen a heifer this young have the malady...Our milk cow ...the heifers Mamma will calve anyday...Will this calf have cancer lymphoma also???...It has a diffiert sires....IS there any type of test to see if our cow is a carrier of the virus???...Is it okay to drink her milk...She seems healthy..Vet said it was one of those oddities that happen...I would like ya'lls thoughts and views on the subject...No one seems to know much about it here...Thanks...MissKItty

 

[Beefy]

i would guess its just a freak occurence. sounds like something that would happen to me.

 

[msscamp]

Will this calf have cancer lymphoma also???...It has a diffiert sires....IS there any type of test to see if our cow is a carrier of the virus???...Is it okay to drink her milk...She seems healthy..Vet said it was one of those oddities that happen...I would like ya'lls thoughts and views on the subject...No one seems to know much about it here...Thanks...MissKItty

Lymphoma is not a virus. Genetics being what they are, I would suspect that there is a possibility that this calf may also develop the same disease, as cancer tends to be hereditary. Whether it's the cow or the bull or some combination of both is probably impossible to tell. Just my thoughts.

 

[JustACountryGirl]

You may want the vet to do lab work. Ask him to check for BLV. I know it usually hits older cattle but I seem to remember hearing there is a juvenile form. Also ask him to do labs on the mamma. In the older cattle, I understand that BLV is a precurser to lymphoma. I don't believe all cancers are hereditary.

 

[MissKitty]

Thanks all for the input on my topic...Anymore ideas or dicussion on this topic will greatly appreicated...I can not even find anyone who has had cattle have this disease...My husband dreads now not having a post partum done...we have just spent well over $500 tyring to get a dying calf well...We just didn't have the money...a lame excuse but when you don't have it it is the best excuse there is...
Please if you hear anymore or know anymore ablout lymphoma share it with me...Thanks again...MissKitty

 

[TR]

Seems to me I heard something on the news the other morning about some studies being done linking BLV to breast cancer in women. I was only half listening, but perked my ears up when they mentioned BLV being present in milk. Maybe a Google search would bring some additional info to light?

 

[semen demon]

Yes cancer is usually genetic but not always, I'm pretty sure it probably didn't come from the sire. I have seen LOTS of Jace calves and he seems to be an excellent sire. As far as the cows milk is concerned, yes its fine to drink, nobody in the house will grow any extra lumps.

 

[MikeC]

Lymphoma is not a virus. Genetics being what they are, I would suspect that there is a possibility that this calf may also develop the same disease, as cancer tends to be hereditary. Whether it's the cow or the bull or some combination of both is probably impossible to tell. Just my thoughts.

BLV is a virus. A certain percentage of BLV cattle have the lymphosarcoma? tumors. It is not a rare disease. Leukosis (as my vet calls it) is very prevalent in most herds with most being carriers and a percentage having the tumors.

I have heard all my life if "a knot on a cow is soft-stick a knife in it, if it's hard-get rid of her".

 

[MikeC]

From below:
Symposium Abstract (2005)
We cannot hope to control breast cancer without knowing its cause. Breast cancer in mice is caused by a milk-transmitted virus, MMTV, and provides a model for a viral cause of human breast cancer. Since humans drink more cows milk than human milk, a bovine virus might be involed in human breast cancer. Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) causes widespread infection of cattle globally and in 1-5% of infected cattle leukemia/lymphoma may develop. Most infected cattle remain healthy, are retained in the herd, and are sources of beef and dairy products. Infectious virus may be present in bovine foodstuffs not adequately cooked or pasteurized. BLV infects white blood cells and breast cells of cattle. It can cross species naturally to infect goats and sheep, and can infect human cells in culture. Evidence is accumulating that some humans are infected with BLV. Antibodies to BLV were detected in 74% of human volunteers. BLV protein and DNA have been detected in human breast epithelium. The purpose of this case-control study was to determine whether BLV DNA is present more frequently in the breast tissue of women with a diagnosis of breast cancer than in women who have never had breast cancer. This is a first step in determining whether BLV in breast tissue is a risk factor for developing breast cancer. Breast tissues were obtained through the Cooperative Human Tissue Network from four catchment areas, Philadelphia, PA, Columbus, OH, Birmingham, AL, and the San Francisco East Bay area. Breast tissue sections were tested by in situ polymerase chain reaction (IS-PCR) for the presence of BLV DNA using primers from the BLV gene (tax) responsible for malignant transformation. This gene is not related to any region within the human genome. Results for 211 subjects completed to date indicate that the breast tissue of women with a diagnosis of breast cancer tested positive for BLV DNA significantly more frequently (62%) than breast tissue from women with no history of breast cancer (23%) (P<= .0001; age-adjusted odds ratio = 5.4, confidence interval = 2.42-11.9). In 55% of pairs of malignant and "uninvolved" breast tissues from the same breast cancer patient, BLV was present in the nonmalignant breast epithelium. This suggests that virus infection may have preceded malignant transformation, i.e. cancer may have been a rare, delayed event within a population of BLV-infected cells widespread in the breast tissue (field effect), rather than virus infection being selective for cells already malignant. If further studies support our data, and indicate how the virus is transmitted to humans, it may be possible to prevent some breast cancer cases by preventing or controlling human infection with BLV. This work was supported by funds from the California Breast Cancer Research Program of the University of California, Grant 6PB-0075 and the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, grant DAMD17-02-1-0320.

 

[MissKitty]

Have ya'll ever had anything like my occurance happen in your herds???...Is the tank samples from a dairy tested for the BLV virus???...Is it only able to be found in blood???
Again you will never know how much I appreicate all the info...this has been a terrible blow...and not being able to talk to someone about it has been terrible...MissKitty

 

[MikeC]

Have ya'll ever had anything like my occurance happen in your herds???...Is the tank samples from a dairy tested for the BLV virus???...Is it only able to be found in blood???
Again you will never know how much I appreicate all the info...this has been a terrible blow...and not being able to talk to someone about it has been terrible...MissKitty

Before you get too worked up......................

Pasteurization kills the virus in milk.

Hardly anyone tests cows for BLV. Why would they when they don't know they have it?

I read somewhere that tumors from BLV are the biggest reason for discarding entire carcasses in the packing plants.

 

[MissKitty]

We drink our milk raw....
I see what you mean about the testing Mike...Kinda like just for example...why would someone test for pregnancy unless they thought it a possibility they were...Is that about the right analogy???
Do you think it dangerous for us to keep drinking our milk raw???...Thanks...MissKitty

 

[MissKitty]

Another question...don't mean to seem dense...But sense our calf had lymphoma am I right in beleiving that her MAmma had to be a BLV carrier???...How would they catch the BLV virus if not from drinking the colostrom ftom Mom???..Thanks...MissKitty

 

[SPRINGER FARMS MURRAY GRE]

We drink our milk raw....
I see what you mean about the testing Mike...Kinda like just for example...why would someone test for pregnancy unless they thought it a possibility they were...Is that about the right analogy???
Do you think it dangerous for us to keep drinking our milk raw???...Thanks...MissKitty

To be on the safe side....you should pasteurize it.Lehmans has one in their catalog that you can use at home. ;-) :cboy:

 

[MikeC]

Another question...don't mean to seem dense...But sense our calf had lymphoma am I right in beleiving that her MAmma had to be a BLV carrier???...How would they catch the BLV virus if not from drinking the colostrom ftom Mom???..Thanks...MissKitty

It is believed by some that the ones who have the lymphoma tumors probably were infected through the placenta before birth via the cow being exposed. The calf in that stage has no immunities and accepts the virus readily, therefore making her a Persistantly Infected animal.

I think you would have to do a PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) test on the cow to see if she is shedding the virus.

A Serology Test would tell you if she has been exposed to the virus and therefore has Antibodies to prove it, but may not be a carrier.

Before taking my word for it check with your vet. I am NOT a vet.

 

[MissKitty]

Since I have been drinking this milk for over 2 years...if she has the BLV virus I probabaly do also???...Not scared ,just wondering...MissKitty

 

[MikeC]

We drink our milk raw....
I see what you mean about the testing Mike...Kinda like just for example...why would someone test for pregnancy unless they thought it a possibility they were...Is that about the right analogy???
Do you think it dangerous for us to keep drinking our milk raw???...Thanks...MissKitty

Yes and maybe.

 

[msscamp]

Lymphoma is not a virus. Genetics being what they are, I would suspect that there is a possibility that this calf may also develop the same disease, as cancer tends to be hereditary. Whether it's the cow or the bull or some combination of both is probably impossible to tell. Just my thoughts.

BLV is a virus. A certain percentage of BLV cattle have the lymphosarcoma? tumors. It is not a rare disease. Leukosis (as my vet calls it) is very prevalent in most herds with most being carriers and a percentage having the tumors.

I have heard all my life if "a knot on a cow is soft-stick a knife in it, if it's hard-get rid of her".

Thank you Mike! I learned something today and I appreciate that very much!

 

[MissKitty]

I have got more info on here than any vet or website I have read...I wish I had found this place long ago...
BLV being a virus is there another avenue it might enter the system...such as infected dehorner tools...or dirty nose pliers???...enviroment...feed???..Also is it airbourne are strictly contact???...I hope ya'll do get mad at me asking all these questions...but no one here seems to know anything about it or if they do will not talk about it...I wonder if BLV is more prevelant in different states???
Ya'll have a good day and Thanks and apperication to all...MissKitty

 

[Vicky the vet]

I have got more info on here than any vet or website I have read...I wish I had found this place long ago...
BLV being a virus is there another avenue it might enter the system...such as infected dehorner tools...or dirty nose pliers???...enviroment...feed???..Also is it airbourne are strictly contact???...I hope ya'll do get mad at me asking all these questions...but no one here seems to know anything about it or if they do will not talk about it...I wonder if BLV is more prevelant in different states???
Ya'll have a good day and Thanks and apperication to all...MissKitty

Anything which can transmit blood can transmit the virus. Emasculators, dehorners, needles and anything through the skin including ear taggers....