Monitoring bovine tick fever on a dairy farm: An economic proposal for rational use of medications

Abstract

In this study, we evaluated the monitoring of tick fever (TF) in a Brazilian dairy farm in the Minas Gerais state, Brazil, from July 10 to August 4, 2018. We aimed to identify diagnostic and treatment flaws in the protocol adopted by the farm, and to establish a novel and accurate TF monitoring protocol based on precision dairy farming and rational use of antimicrobials and antiparasitic drugs, while evaluating the economic benefits of the proposed strategy. We monitored TF in 395 heifer calves aged between 3 and 14 mo. According to the farm's standard protocol, all calves with an increase of 0.5°C in rectal temperature compared with the previous week's measurement were treated for Anaplasma spp. and Babesia spp. Blood smears were collected from the tail tip of the treated calves. During the last week of the study, we prepared blood smears of all calves regardless of treatment indication. Economic analysis was performed. The results indicated that at least 56.86% (261/459) of the calves did not require treatment for TF, whereas only 23.09% (106/459) had treatment indications. Negative blood smears (45.97%; 211/459) indicated the possibility of calves being affected by another disease or a condition that was not being adequately treated or those not necessarily sick. These results demonstrate the excessive use of medications, representing a direct economic loss, in addition to potentially favoring the occurrence of resistance to antimicrobials. In contrast, 9.42% (26/276) of calves had no treatment indication based on rectal temperature but had treatment indications based on blood smears. Only 5.73% (42/735) of blood smears had co-infection with hemopathogens, and none had triple co-infection. Therefore, we proposed the monitoring of TF using rectal temperature and microscopic analysis. If implemented, this strategy would result in a direct annual savings of approximately $22,638.96 (77.99%) related to medication for the treatment of TF. Therefore, implementing the proposed protocol would be cheaper than treatment based only on rectal temperatures. The currently implemented TF protocols overestimate the occurrence of TF, resulting in overtreatment. Thus, implementing a TF monitoring protocol based on a microscopy tool is justified, with benefits including rational use of medication, potential to generate savings, and reduced morbidity and mortality rates, in addition to enabling other diagnoses.

Using rumination and activity data for early detection of anaplasmosis disease in dairy heifer calves

“…The impressive performance of machine learning models in predicting anaplasmosis using RUM and ACT data from Hr-Tag sensors observed in this study pointed out the possibility for use of such device as an auxiliary tool for precision tick fever therapy (Souza et al, 2021), avoiding the indiscriminate use of antimicrobials and development of antimicrobial resistance (Aslam et al, 2018;Haley et al, 2020;Lei et al, 2020). At the same time, this approach can improve prognosis due to early detection and can result in better animal welfare (Relić et al, 2020).…”

“…However, the use of such sensor devices to create predictive models for detection of diseases such as anaplasmosis has not been extensively explored in dairy heifer calves. Souza et al (2021) recommended a protocol based on blood smears associated with rectal temperature for bovine tick fever monitoring. Such protocol avoided unnecessary treatments, drove the correct treatment, and decreased the unnecessary use of medicines.…”

“…Such protocol avoided unnecessary treatments, drove the correct treatment, and decreased the unnecessary use of medicines. Continuous sensor-based monitoring can automate animal screening for application of the Souza et al (2021) protocol.…”

Enzootic stability of tick fever in Holstein calves grazing in a tropical region, subjected to strategic cattle tick control with fluralaner

“…In the field, it is possible that enzootic stability is more likely for B. bigemina than for B. bovis in regions where both are present [ 44 ], and some theories have been elaborated to explain this hypothesis. The rate of infection in cattle ticks has been found to be higher for B. bigemina than for B. bovis [ 55 – 60 ] and, consequently, the degree of parasitemia in cattle in the field tends to be higher for B. bigemina than for B. bovis [ 2 , 61 – 63 ]. While mainly cattle tick larvae transmit B. bovis and only nymphs and adult ticks have been found to transmit B. bigemina [ 58 , 64 ], 74–90% of the larvae that infest cattle do not complete their life-cycle [ 65 , 66 ], and the nymphs from surviving larvae transmit B. bigemina , maintaining the infection rate in cattle.…”

Adoption of Precision Technologies by Brazilian Dairy Farms: The Farmer’s Perception

“…The authors of [ 28 ] reported that it is possible to determine the occurrence of mastitis with an accuracy of 77% through gas sensors capable of evaluating samples of raw milk in terms of acidity, composition, CCS, and electrical conductivity. Bovine parasite sadness (tick fever), the second most important problem according to farmers, can be detected by precision technologies [ 29 ]. Labor problems (third most important) can also be solved or minimized through the adoption of precision technologies.…”