Consider EHD/Bluetongue as a possibility.
Have been fielding telephone calls daily, for the past 2 weeks, from veterinarians and producers over most of our service area (western KY/TN)- mostly calves/yearlings, but some adult cattle - with salivation, difficulty eating/drinking, lameness/lower leg swelling; some with oral ulcerations consistent with crossover of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD of Whitetail Deer) into the cattle population. Currently chasing diagnoses down on several different farms, doing serology/virus isolation/PCR for EHD virus.
Big outbreaks of EHD occur in the WTD population on 4-5 year cycles; often in those major epizootics, we'll see a few clinically-affected cattle. This is an 'off' year for EHD in the deer population - we're seeing a few dead deer, but more apparent disease in cattle than in years when deer are dying like flies.
Here's a copy/paste from an ISU online article:
(EHD)Disease in cattle is characterized by fever, anorexia, and difficulty swallowing. The swallowing disorders are caused by damage to the striated muscles of the pharynx, larynx, esophagus and tongue, and may lead to dehydration, emaciation, and aspiration pneumonia. Edema, hemorrhages, erosions, and ulcerations may be seen in the mouth, on the lips, and around the coronets. The animals may be stiff and lame, and the skin may be thickened and edematous. Abortions and stillbirths have also been reported in some epidemics. Most EHDV infections in cattle appear to be subclinical. Typical symptoms include fever, oral ulcers, salivation, lameness associated with coronitis, and weight loss. In pregnant cows, the fetus may be resorbed or develop hydranencephaly if it is infected between 70 and 120 days of gestation. Deaths are uncommon with the North American strains of EHDV; however, some animals may be lame and unthrifty for a prolonged period. Epizootic hemorrhagic disease has not been reproduced in experimentally infected cattle; although animals become viremic, they remain asymptomatic.
Sheep can be infected, but rarely develop clinical disease. There's no evidence that goats can even be infected - experimental inoculations failed to produce viremia.
Just had a text from one of my co-workers; she's had what I suspected were a couple of EHD-affected cows in their herd of 30; the first one's nose lesions are healing, but another has some ulcerations popping up, and she counted six more salivating excessively, this afternoon.
