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tudies show every $2 spent on pinkeye vaccination spares 600 pounds of milk or $72 per cow

MILLSBORO, DE - As spring turns to summer, one of the major herd-health challenges facing dairy producers will be the prevention and management of pinkeye (Infectious Bovine Keratoconjunctivitis, or IBK). Though other diseases may garner more attention, pinkeye can be one of those nagging diseases that tend to fly under the radar, causing substantial declines in cattle performance and profitability due to cost of treatment, reduced weight gain and devaluation of sale because of eye disfigurement.

In fact, the United States Department of Agriculture estimates pinkeye costs the nation's dairy and beef industries an estimated $150 million per year. While total control is close to impossible, sound management – with an emphasis on prevention – can go a long way toward reducing the disease's impact on producers' herds and their profitability.

"Pinkeye is one of those realities that every dairy operator has to deal with, and it should not be overlooked," says Dr. Bill Burdett, Intervet Technical Services Specialist. "In a study conducted by
North Carolina Cooperative Extension, losses totaled $72, or 600 pounds of milk, for each heifer affected with pinkeye for 30 days."

What is pinkeye?
Pinkeye typically is caused by a bacterium known as Moraxella bovis (M. bovis). The insidious nature of the disease is that there are seven different strains of M. bovis with several different isolates within each type. Each isolate of M. bovis has slightly different physical properties; yet all are capable of causing the disease. So immunity to one isolate does not mean an animal is immune to the other strains of the organism.

Face flies also play an important role in the spread of M. bovis and pinkeye. Flies feeding on mucus and secretions from the eyes of infected cattle pick up the organism on their legs and spread it to others. Calves generally are far more susceptible to pinkeye than older cows or bulls. In addition, environmental factors, like sunlight, wind, dust, pollen, tall pasture grasses/seed heads and weeds, can contribute to eye irritation and lead to a higher rate of the disease within a herd.

Tis the season for pinkeye
While pinkeye in cattle can occur at any time, the warm conditions of summer provide the peak season for the disease. During this time, herd outbreaks can involve up to 80 percent of the animals and last from three to four weeks.

"During summer, dust, pollen, tall grasses and weeds are at an all-time high, which contributes to cattle eye irritation, increasing the risk and spread of pinkeye," says Burdett. "The pinkeye season is right around the corner, and one of the keys to managing the disease and lessening its impact is to know what pinkeye looks like."

Although the signs of pinkeye can vary from animal to animal, Burdett points out one of its earliest indications is a reddening of the eyeball and swelling of the eyelid lining. This is accompanied by a watery discharge. The animal will blink frequently or tend to keep the eye closed due to pain and sensitivity to bright light. As the disease progresses, the cornea will become cloudy or white.

"Spontaneous healing will sometimes take place at this stage of the disease's development," Burdett notes. "If this doesn't occur, the area of whiteness will progress, eventually covering the entire cornea. The watery discharge will lessen, but become thicker and more whitish in color. At this point, maximum recovery can take as long as five weeks. During that period of time, cattle suffering from pinkeye will eat less, put on fewer pounds and sometimes even lose body condition."

Severely infected eyes may go on to develop penetrating ulcers, which can rupture, leading to complete blindness in the affected eyes.

"It's important to note that other diseases and injuries to the eye can lead to symptoms that mimic pinkeye," says Burdett. "Producers' best bet is to work with their veterinarians to accurately identify pinkeye and the best course of action for managing the disease."

Prevention is best defense
Sound management, with an emphasis on prevention greatly reduces the disease's impact on producers' herds and their profitability.

"Treatment for a herd that contracts pinkeye can be extremely labor intensive and costly," says Burdett. "This makes prevention, rather than treatment, a cattleman's best plan of attack. The key is to eliminate, or at least limit, as many factors as possible that contribute to the development and spread of the disease."

According to Burdett, there are a number of preventive measures producers can employ to help keep pinkeye in check:

• Control face flies by applying insecticides through a variety of means, including insecticide ear tags, sprays, back rubbers, dust bags, systemic pour-on products or mineral supplements. Face flies don't stay on cattle at all times, so a continuous method of insecticide application provides more effective control than periodic methods of application, such as sprays.
  
• Tall grasses and their coarse seed heads can irritate the eyes of young calves and
  older cattle alike, so proper pasture management, including practical periodic mowing, should be an integral part of any overall pinkeye-prevention program.
  
• Proper nutrition also is important. Low vitamin A intake can exacerbate pinkeye, so producers should strongly consider making mineral supplements available to their cattle.
  
• Wherever possible, producers should offer enough shade where animals can limit their exposure to ultraviolet light without being bunched together.
  
• Predisposing stress factors, such as other disease and seasonal conditions can cause cattle to become more susceptible to pinkeye. Reducing stress can help cattle ward off the infection.
  
• Replacement heifers can be a source of pinkeye infection. Be sure to vaccinate and/or treat replacement heifers for pinkeye before they are acclimated into a herd.

Vaccinate with 20/20 Vision® 7 for optimal protection
Another critical element of any overall prevention program, Burdett points out, is the use of a pinkeye vaccine. Studies show that every $2 spent on a vaccine spares approximately 600 pounds of milk or $72 per cow.

"No vaccine is 100 percent effective, so that's why it should be used in conjunction with a complement of preventive measures," Burdett says. "Because there are several different strains of M. bovis, it's very important for producers to select a vaccine that contains as many M. bovis isolates as possible.

"No pinkeye vaccine on the market offers broader-spectrum control than Intervet's 20/20 Vision 7," adds Burdett. "This vaccine contains eight M. bovis isolates, allowing animals to develop a broader immunity to the disease. And the SPURÔ adjuvant in the 20/20 Vision 7 vaccine is very effective, and causes low reactivity for very few lumps at the injection sites. SPUR also does a great job of holding the antigen in place long enough for the animal to develop the necessary immune response, while greatly reducing the injection-site problems that can come with other products."

Burdett says producers can vaccinate for pinkeye and blackleg at the same time because 20/20 Vision 7 does both simultaneously.

For more information about 20/20 Vision 7, talk to your veterinarian, contact Intervet Customer Service at 1-800-441-8272, or visit www.intervetusa.com.

Intervet Inc. (www.intervetusa.com) is an affiliate of Intervet International, one of the world's leading animal-health companies. The company is a leader in research and dedicated to the development, production and marketing of innovative, high-quality animal-health products such as Safe-Guard®, Vision®, Once® PMH, Volar®, Fertagyl®, Chorulon®, GAINPRO® and NeoGuard®. Intervet employs more than 4,800 personnel and maintains a global distribution network of subsidiary companies and agents in 120 countries. 20/20 Vision, Once PMH, Volar, Fertagyl, Chorulon, GAINPRO and NeoGuard are registered trademarks, and SPUR is a trademark, of Intervet Inc. or an affiliate.

Source: Intervet Inc.