Respiratory diseases and what you should be aware of

Respiratory disease is one of the most common in livestock production. These type of diseases can appear at any time during a year, especially during season changes and in areas with poor sanitation. In this article, we will discuss what cause this type of disease and explore different options to keep them at bay.

Let’s find out what they really are

1. Definition

Respiratory diseases are the type of diseases that affect the lung and other parts of the respiratory system. Let’s take a more detailed look at the respiratory tract:

  • Upper respiratory tract includes the nose (nostril) and nasal cavity, mouth, throat (pharynx) and voicebox (larynx). These upper airways not only provides passage for air to be breathed in and out of the lungs, but it also heats, humidifies and filter the air.
  • Lower respiratory tract includes the windpipe (trachea), bronchi, bronchioles and alveoli. These structures pull in air from the upper respiratory system, absorb the oxygen, and release carbon dioxide in exchange.

Let’s find out what they really are

It goes without saying that respiratory activities is an indispensable part of any living things survival as oxygen helps organism grow, reproduce, and turn food into energy. Therefore when suffering from respiratory diseases, animals may experience difficulty in respiration and parts of their respiratory tracts will suffer from certain after-effect.

2. Etiology

Bacteria or viruses are the most common culprit for causing lung diseases in aminals. Here are some common diseases and virus strains that cause respiratory diseases in these group of animals:

  • Swine: Blue Ear Disease (Porcine Respiratory Repreduction Syndrome – PRRS due to Lelystar virus), Pasteurellosis (due to Pasteurella multocida), Pleuro-pneumonia (due to Actinobacillus pleuropneumonia), Chronic Respiratory Disease (Swine Asthma caused by Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae) , Infectious Atrophic Sinusitis (due to Bordetella bronchiseptica), Pneumonia, Sinus Infection and Meningitis (Glasser disease due to Haemophilus parasuis),
  • Cattle: Pneumonia (due to Mannheimia haemolytica), Pasteurella multocida, Thrombotic encephalitis, Meningitis, Stillbirth, Arthritis, Myocarditis and Septicemia (due to Histophilus somni).
  • Canine: Kennel cough (caused by Bordetella bronchiseptica), Secondary Bacterial Infections caused by viral diseases such as Caré, Vice-influenza, etc… Respiratory infections caused by Pasteurella, Mycoplasma, Bordetella, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Pseudomonas spp...

3. Pathology

Livestocks suffer from respiratory diseases will experience hypoxia. Hypoxia is defined as a state in which an animal does not have enough oxygen to maintain normal metabolic functions. Animals deprived of oxygen will show respiratory failure, namely as:

  • Impaired oxygen-carrying of the blood (hypoxia decreases red blood cell count)
  • Hypoperfusion (reduced amount of blood flow) – causes low blood pressure, heart failure or even stroke.
  • Hypoxemia (low oxygen level in blood) – related to breathing circulation, and may result in various symptoms such as shortness of breath.

If brain hypoxia occurs, respiratory function may be further impaired by impaired neuronal activity. In addition, multi-organ dysfunction may result.

4.Symptoms

You can easily recognize respiratory infections if livestocks show these symptoms:

  • Fatiguity
  • Nasal discharge (white or bluish like pus)
  • Epistaxis
  • Drooling profusely
  • Hemoptisi
  • Shortness of breath
  • Falling ears
  • Mouth breathing

How to prevent respiratory diseases

To protect livestocks from contracting respiratory diseases, you can follow some of the following measures:

How to prevent respiratory diseases

  • Vaccinate your herds
  • Should any has respiratory diseases, separate it from the rest
  • Establish anatomical identity by establishing accurate clinical and autopsy diagnoses, and maintaining an up-to-date pneumonia-related records.
  • Make sure that the rearing environment is always open and clean.

Treatment of respiratory diseases

In case livestocks are infected with respiratory diseases, they should be given treatment promptly because of respiratory diseases are infectious. Therefore, selecting a drug with a quick and long-lasting effect to stop relapsing is imperative.

In addition, certain type of bacteria strains are susceptible to certain active ingredients in respiratory agents so studying the exact type of disease that livestock are contacted to is crucial. Should treatment is not given in time and when the infection has become acute, many other conditions may follow after that.  In such cases, treatment a combination of measures to strengthen the animal constitution to prevent secondary infections.

Respiratory agents & respiratory support supplements

1. Oral soluble powder - grannules

Respiratory support supplements

Oral administration via drinking water or feed, for 3 - 5 days.

- Swine, goat and sheep: 10 g / 100 kg b.w or 1 g / 1 litre of drinking water.

- Poultry: 10 g / 5 kg of b.w. or 1 g / 1 litre of drinking water.

Preventive dosage: half the recommended dosage.
Oral administration via drinking water or feed, for 3 - 5 days.

- Cattle, goat and sheep: Twice daily 1 g / 40 kg of b.w for 3 - 5 days.

- Swine: 10 g / 200 kg of b.w per day or 40 g / 100 litres of drinking water for 3 - 5 days.

- Poultry: 10 g / 80 - 100 kg of b.w. or 100 g per 200 - 300 litres of drinking water for 3 - 5 days.

 Respiratory support supplements

Oral administration via drinking water or feed for 3-5 days with the following recommended concentration: 

- Poultry: 1 g / 1 - 2 liter of drinking water or 10 g / 100 kg of b.w.

- Swine: 2 g / 50 kg of b.w twice daily or 150 g / 100 kg of feed.

Preventive dosage: half the recommeded concentration.

2. Oral solution

Respiratory support supplements

Oral administration via drinking water or feed with the following recommended concentration:

- Poultry: 100 g / 400 kg of b.w. per day or 1 g / 1 liter of drinking water.

- Swine: 2 g / 8 kg of feed.

3. Injectable suspension - Injectable solution

Respiratory support supplements

- Cattle: I.M. or S.C. injection.

Two-dose regimen: I.M., 1 ml / 15 kg of b.w, repeat 48 hours later.

Single-dose regimen: S.C., 1 ml / 7 - 8 kg of b.w. as a single dose.

- Swine: I.M injection, 1 ml / 20 kg of b.w, repeated 48 hours later.

Caution: Do not inject more than 10 ml per injection site.
I.M. injection, once a day.

- Swine: 1 ml / 12 - 15 kg of b.w, for 3 - 5 days.

- Cattle: 1 ml / 15 - 20 kg of b.w, for 3 - 5 days.

Sanfovet is one of the first factories in Vietnam to be certified with GMP-WHO and we have years of experience and many products that are trusted by local and international herders. Hopefully you will find the information provided above helpful in the fight against respiratory diseases.