Animal Health Cover

Animal Health Cover

Herd health programme that emphasize prevention of disease, rather than treatment play a central role in any attempt to increase production efficiency. Treatment will always be important in terms of survival of the individual sick animal. However in terms of survival of the total production unit (profit verses Loss) prevention is the more desirable method of disease control. Individual animal treatment should be viewed as a salvage operation since it occurs after varying amounts of production have already been lost. Under present economic conditions the proverb "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" is truer than ever before. The selection of drugs and prescription should be left to the discretion of the dairy manager in consultation with his veterinarian.

Health denotes physical, physiological and mental wellbeing of an individual.

Disease means any deviation from normal state of health.

Classification of Diseases:

A. According to mode of origin

1. Hereditary diseases: are transmitted from parents to the offspring.

2. Congenital diseases: are acquired during intra-uterine life.

3. Acquired diseases: are acquired after birth.

B. According to specific causes:

a) Specific diseases: are produced by a specific pathogen or factor. They are subdivided into

i) Infectious diseases: are caused by pathogenic organisms

Viral diseases: Rinderpest (RP), Foot & Mouth disease (HMD)
Bacterial diseases: Black quarter (BQ), Haemorrhagie septicemia (HS)
Protozoan diseases: Surra, Thieleriosis.

ii) Non-infectious diseases: are caused by physical or chemical or Poisonous agents, nutritional deficiency or disturbed metabolism.
E.g.

1. Deficiency diseases – Rickets.

2. Metabolic diseases – Milk fever

3. Poisoning – Pesticide poisoning

b) Non-specific disease: those diseases whose causes are indefinite or multiple e.g. Pneumonia

C. According to mode of spread: 

1. Contagious disease: sprout by means of direct or indirect contact, e.g. FMD; HS All infections discuses may or may not be contagious but all contagious dieses are injections.

2. Non-contagious diseases: do not spread by means of direct or indirect contact. E.g. Rickets.

D According to clinical signs: 

1. Preacute disease is characterized by very short course (few hours to 48 hours) and very server symptoms e.g. Anthrax,

2. Acute disease is characterized by a sudden onset, short course (3-14 days) and severe symptoms e.g. FMD, RP.

3. Subacutc disease: whose course is 1-4 weeks and severity is less than acute one. E.g. Sub acute mastitis

4. Chronic disease: whose course is more than 4 weeks and signs are not severe in character e.g. Tuberculosis

E. According lo intensity and spread of diseases: 

1. Sporadic disease: affects one or f-o animals and shows little or no tendency to spread within the herd e.g. Johne’s disease.

2. Enzootic/Endemic disease: means are outbreak of disease among animals in a   definite area or particular district. E.g. Anthrax, H.S.

3. Epizootic/Epidemic disease: which assets a large population of animals in large area at the same time and spread with rapidity e.g. FMP, RP.

4. Panzootic /Pandemic disease: is a widespread epidemic disease usual of world wide distribution e.g. Influenza

5. Zoonotic disease: a disease which can be transmitted from animal to man and vice versa e.g. Anthrax, Brucellosis.