Pinkeye

[bball]

Anyone else struggling with pinkeye? Have 4 or 5 herefords that are really struggling. Only one black cow so far. I have treated one hereford twice with LA 200 and went to vet yesterday and got some pen g and dex for a conjunctival injection. Looks a bit better today, but now the hereford bull has a bad eye, another hereford cow, and a couple calfs too. All calfs were vaccinated for pinkeye. Pastures are fairly short due to lack of consistent rain, and been pouring the cows for flys. I understand there is a new strand, moraxella bovoculi, of bacteria that does not respond as well to traditional treatments.
I have always treated in the past, but am beginning to wonder if the old adage is true: treated pinkeye will heal in a week, untreated takes about 7 days. Hmmmpfh?

 

[Bright Raven]

Anyone else struggling with pinkeye? Have 4 or 5 herefords that are really struggling. Only one black cow so far. I have treated one hereford twice with LA 200 and went to vet yesterday and got some pen g and dex for a conjunctival injection. Looks a bit better today, but now the hereford bull has a bad eye, another hereford cow, and a couple calfs too. All calfs were vaccinated for pinkeye. Pastures are fairly short due to lack of consistent rain, and been pouring the cows for flys. I understand there is a new strand, moraxella bovoculi, of bacteria that does not respond as well to traditional treatments.
I have always treated in the past, but am beginning to wonder if the old adage is true: treated pinkeye will heal in a week, untreated takes about 7 days. Hmmmpfh?

Moraxella bovoculi is not strain. It is a species. The other species is Moraxella bovis. There are literally 100s of strains of those two.

Brad, I have not had a case in 2 years. And their eyes this year are clear and don't even weep. I used the autogenous vaccine which means it is made from local strains of M. bovis and M. bovoculi.

 

[bball]

Ron,
Where do you obtain your autogenous vac.? Local vet?

 

[Bright Raven]

Ron,
Where do you obtain your autogenous vac.? Local vet?

Yes. Dr. Darin Stanfield. Maysville, KY. He has been collecting eye swabs for 10 years. He sends the swab to the lab to be cultured and they make the vaccine. His autogenous vaccine is up to about 100 strains of Moraxella bovoculi and Moraxella bovis.

 

[TCRanch]

I get an Autogeneous from my vet and vaccinate annually (cows, bulls, calves, heifers) but I believe you can get it online. Noticed one of my PB Angus with a little white spot/watery eye first part of June and the condensed version; epic fail getting her in either of the corrals/chutes. Watched her closely and I'll be damned if her eye quit watering within 2 days & the white spot completely cleared, never ulcerated, within 10 days. Was it because she's been vaccinated all her life (6 years old, born/raised here)? Or was it just a little eye abrasion that healed itself? Dunno. But I rarely treat for pinkeye; more often than not it's during the winter months & an abrasion from stemmy bales.

 

[bball]

Checked with local vet. No autogenous vaccine which surprised me because they are a pretty good sized outfit. Wonder if your vets vaccine would be efficacious up here Ron?
Would you Pm me his contact info at your leisure please.
Thanks

 

[Bright Raven]

Checked with local vet. No autogenous vaccine which surprised me because they are a pretty good sized outfit. Wonder if your vets vaccine would be efficacious up here Ron?
Would you Pm me his contact info at your leisure please.
Thanks

I suspect it would. You are not that far away and with the movement of cattle these days, organisms have become cosmopolitan.

Just call Tri County Vet. Ask them to send the Autogenous Pinkeye vaccine. Send it in cooler.

Phone 6067595799. Dr. DARIN STANFIELD

It is not cheap. In general, immunity via vaccine is not as effective for bacteria as it is for viruses- has to do with the complexity of proteins, capsule, cell wall, morphology etc. So expect to see the best results in the second year of use.

 

[TCRanch]

The one I use is manufactured by Newport Labs: http://www.newportlabs.com/products
There is also one manufactured by Addison: https://addisonlabs.com/product/moraxella-bovoculi/
And here's an article from the Angus Beef Bulletin with a 3rd reference: http://www.angusbeefbulletin.com/extra/ ... 2GjF_ZFyM8
Good luck w/Ron's vet but if it doesn't work out you might try a manufacture directly.

 

[bball]

The one I use is manufactured by Newport Labs: http://www.newportlabs.com/products
There is also one manufactured by Addison: https://addisonlabs.com/product/moraxella-bovoculi/
And here's an article from the Angus Beef Bulletin with a 3rd reference: http://www.angusbeefbulletin.com/extra/ ... 2GjF_ZFyM8
Good luck w/Ron's vet but if it doesn't work out you might try a manufacture directly.

TC, did you send them eye swabs from your cows?

 

[TCRanch]

The one I use is manufactured by Newport Labs: http://www.newportlabs.com/products
There is also one manufactured by Addison: https://addisonlabs.com/product/moraxella-bovoculi/
And here's an article from the Angus Beef Bulletin with a 3rd reference: http://www.angusbeefbulletin.com/extra/ ... 2GjF_ZFyM8
Good luck w/Ron's vet but if it doesn't work out you might try a manufacture directly.

TC, did you send them eye swabs from your cows?

No, my vet now has it in stock. Evidently both strains are prominent here. Looking at the bottle it simply says Autogenous Bacterin, Moxaraxella bovis, Moxarella bovoculi. Manufactured for Winfield Veterinary Hospital.

 

[TCRanch]

The one I use is manufactured by Newport Labs: http://www.newportlabs.com/products
There is also one manufactured by Addison: https://addisonlabs.com/product/moraxella-bovoculi/
And here's an article from the Angus Beef Bulletin with a 3rd reference: http://www.angusbeefbulletin.com/extra/ ... 2GjF_ZFyM8
Good luck w/Ron's vet but if it doesn't work out you might try a manufacture directly.

TC, did you send them eye swabs from your cows?

No, my vet now has it in stock. Evidently both strains are prominent here. Looking at the bottle it simply says Autogenous Bacterin, Moxaraxella bovis, Moxarella bovoculi. Manufactured for Winfield Veterinary Hospital.

BTW the last time I got enough to treat 100 head & it was $195.

 

[bball]

Thank you for the info. Like anything worth having, pertaining to cattle, its going to cost.

 

[Bright Raven]

Moraxella bovoculi is a species of bacteria. Moraxella bovis is a species of bacteria. They are not strains. Strains are the next hierarchical category beneath a species. Within the species of Moraxella bovis and Moraxella bovoculi there are hundreds of strains. Every pinkeye commercial brand I have studied only contains the two species. They do not include the many strains of those two species. The autogenous vaccines usually do contain numerous strains of Moraxella bovoculi and Moraxella bovis.

Most pinkeye is caused by strains of Moraxella bovis.

 

[bball]

Thanks Ron.
What i have read recently suggests that the bovoculi SPECIES does not respond as well to traditional treatment interventions, greater winter tolerance, greater frequency of repeat occurrences.

 

[Bright Raven]

Thanks Ron.
What i have read recently suggests that the bovoculi SPECIES does not respond as well to traditional treatment interventions, greater winter tolerance, greater frequency of repeat occurrences.

I have read that also. I have to wonder if it is simply because Animal Science was just a little behind the "learning curve". Meaning the species was probably always there but not recognized. The reports do suggest it is more hardy than bovis.

 

[JW IN VA]

BTW the last time I got enough to treat 100 head & it was $195.[/quote]

That's expensive.No doubt.It would cause a lot of people to think twice.

But,what does it cost to treat it and what loss do you have if you get a bad run like we did in Virginia last year? You can go through a bottle of 300LA in a little while.Draxin isn't cheap,either.

Just thinking out loud.

 

[TCRanch]

BTW the last time I got enough to treat 100 head & it was $195.

That's expensive.No doubt.It would cause a lot of people to think twice.

But,what does it cost to treat it and what loss do you have if you get a bad run like we did in Virginia last year? You can go through a bottle of 300LA in a little while.Draxin isn't cheap,either.

Just thinking out loud.[/quote]

Not to mention the hassle & (quite often) subsequent drama of getting them in/working them, preferably when it's not 100 degrees.

 

[Bright Raven]

Not to mention the hassle & (quite often) subsequent drama of getting them in/working them, preferably when it's not 100 degrees.

The hassle is worse than the cost. My cattle summer on the back pastures, near a flowing stream. Although my cows are easy to work, regardless, they have to be brought to the front of the farm where the facilities are, the affected cow separated and treated. It also adds a bad experience into their memory of the facility - those oxytetracycline shots are not a pleasant experience.

 

[TCRanch]

Not to mention the hassle & (quite often) subsequent drama of getting them in/working them, preferably when it's not 100 degrees.

The hassle is worse than the cost. My cattle summer on the back pastures, near a flowing stream. Although my cows are easy to work, regardless, they have to be brought to the front of the farm where the facilities are, the affected cow separated and treated. It also adds a bad experience into their memory of the facility - those oxytetracycline shots are not a pleasant experience.

Bingo! My girls are all hand feeders, love to be petted, easy to deal with - until they're not. It's amazing how a cow with any type of injury/in need of treatment can run &/or hide, generally where it's impossible to get to them. And as you well know, 6cc per 200 lbs. means a lot of injections in our fatties.

 

[JMJ Farms]

Everyone who has cows should own a dart gun. Saves a lot of stress for man and beast alike.