Barkly beef
Northern Territory. Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries
Barkly Beef; E-Journals; PublicationNT; Barkly Beef
2014-12-01
Made available via the Publications (Legal Deposit) Act 2004 (NT).; This publication contains many links to external sites. These external sites may no longer be active.
English
Agriculture; Tennant Creek Region; Periodicals
Northern Territory Government
Tennant Creek
Barkly Beef
Newsletter, Decenber 2014
application/pdf
1325-9539
Attribution International 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)
Northern Territory Government
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/253924
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/534650
DEPARTMENT OF PRIMARY INDUSTRY AND FISHERIES BARKLY BEEF | page 8 www.dpif.nt.gov.au During an outbreak of the disease such activities as mustering have to be disrupted as the added stress will cause increased mortalities. As natural infection provides a lifelong immunity, younger stock are the most likely group to be affected. However, if there has been a lengthy period of dry conditions, then the incidence of the disease after the next big wet will increase significantly and a much higher percentage of older animals will be affected. Clinical signs are much more pronounced in heavier cattle. Abortions may occur if the heifers/cows are infected during the second and third trimesters of their pregnancies. Clinical Signs. o Fever, depression, lameness with muscular stiffness and twitching. o Downer animals o Abortion, saliva drooling from the mouth Note: heavier and older animals are more severely affected. Prevention and Control Measures o Vaccinationthis is a 2 shot vaccination, the initial dose followed by a booster in 4 weeks o Provide shade, water and food to downers if this is at all possible, as the effected animals already have a fever and any lengthy period exposed to the elements will result in many animals perishing. o Prop the animal upright so that it rests on its breast bone as this will help to prevent fluid retention in the lungs from occurring. It is recommended that at least bulls are vaccinated to prevent temporary infertility. Census figures for 2004 indicated that 8% of producers did this in the Barkly region; however vaccination of commercial breeders appears not to be warranted. Effective vaccination requires two shots given a month apart. o Following natural infection, cattle generally remain immune for at least 2 years. If you have any questions regarding any of these diseases or others, please contact John Eccles, Regional Veterinary Officer, on 08 8973 9716, or John.Eccles@nt.gov.au.