Pneumonia: How To Defeat A Calf Killer
Cleaning bedding and ventilation will reduce the risk of pneumonia in calves
We know more than ever about the causes, symptoms and treatments of pneumonia in calves. So why, after scour, does it continue to be the second biggest cause of calf mortality on our farms ?
There are no easy answers or magic solutions.
In my opinion, pneumonia continues to be an issue because too often we don’t deal with all the contributing factors.
Also in a future where our choices of antibiotics will inevitably be more limited we must look at management at reducing risk and focus very much on prevention.
So what drops the immunity of calves to make them more susceptible?
- Not enough, poor quality or timing of colostrum leaving natural immunity low
- Under-nutrition for prolonged periods
- Poor housing prolonged cold leading to dropped immunity levels.
- Calf scour or other diseases reduce immunity.
- Calves left outdoors during extreme changes in weather.
- And the following factors increase the exposure of viruses and bacteria that cause pneumonia in our calves?
- Calves sharing airspace with older animals who may be shedding viruses to more vulnerable young calves.
- Overcrowding causes stress which lowers immunity and also allows close contact between animals to spread disease
- Poor housing ventilation can play a huge role in contributing to pneumonia.
- Any sort of stress particularly for long periods releases cortisol which lowers immunity and inhibits the body’s ability to fight off disease.
Antibiotics
Noromycin 300 La For Animal Use
Beef cattle, non-lactating dairy cattle, calves, including pre-ruminating calves: NOROMYCIN 300 LA is indicated in the treatment of pneumonia and shipping fever complex associated with Pasteurella spp., and Histophilus spp. NOROMYCIN 300 LA is indicated for the treatment of infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis caused by. Delivers 300 mg of oxytetracycline per mL. Only 3 mL per 100 pounds of body weight. Provides sustained blood levels for up to 4 days. Use for treatment of pneumonia, shipping fever complex, pinkeye, wounds, infections or foot rot, scours, and leptospirosis. Recommended for use in beef cattle, non-lactating dairy cattle, calves, and swine On day 3 after administering LA 300 on the calf, that had foam coming out of his mouth, contacted the vet and he said probably bad pneumonia and needed something stronger than LA 300, but not Resflor Gold because Nuflor is too hot . Vet came out and gave him draxxin, IV sulfa, and banamine
Cattleman Dies Due To Accidental Injection
SUMMARY
A 38-year-old cattleman died as a result of an accidental injection of an animal antibiotic known as Micotil which has no known antidote. On March 8, 2003, the victim was preparing to vaccinate a heifer inside a barn. He was carrying a 12cc plastic disposable syringe in his right hand when a cow that was in an adjacent pen charged him, striking the fence between the two. The victim was knocked to the ground. Either when struck or from the fall, he was injected with an unknown amount of the antibiotic. He immediately began to feel dizzy and nauseous. He was able to return to the vet room inside the barn and call his wife who was nearby in the house. An ambulance was called and the victim was rushed to a nearby hospital where he died less than an hour later.
The Nebraska Workforce Development, Department of Labors Investigator concluded that to help prevent future similar occurrences:
PROGRAM OBJECTIVE
The goal of the Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation workplace investigation is to prevent future work-related deaths or injuries, by a study of the working environment, the worker, the task the worker was performing, the tools the worker was using, and the role of management in controlling how these factors interact.
This report is generated and distributed solely for the purpose of providing current, relevant education to employers, their employees and the community on methods to prevent occupational fatalities and injuries.
INTRODUCTION
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Treat Calf Pneumonia Early Grainew
Preparation Of The Animal For Injection:

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Receptors And Attachment Factors
BCoV attaches to N-acetyl-9-O-acetylneuraminic acid through HE and S proteins to initiate infection . BCoV attachment is blocked by acetylesterase or neuraminidase treatment and can be restored by resialylation. It is further hypothesized that after the initial binding to sialic acid -containing receptors, the BCoV S protein may interact with a specific cellular receptor that leads to a conformational change and the viral-cell membrane fusion . A study demonstrated that similar to HCoV-OC43, BCoV preferentially used -2,6- and not -2,3-SA however, this effect was less pronounced for BCoV compared with HCoV-OC43 . The same study has shown that BCoV employs human leukocyte antigen class I as an entry receptor. HLA class I molecules that belong to the immunoglobulin superfamily consist of three chains linked with a 2-microglobulin molecule that adopt a standard immunoglobulin-like fold . The receptor-binding and receptor-destroying domains of the HE protein also play important roles for viral entry although, these interactions may be weaker than for the S protein because HE is a less efficient hemagglutinin. Additionally, heparan sulfate was identified as an alternative attachment factor, but this may be related to the cell culture adaptation, not affecting the in vivo infection and pathogenesis .
Immunity Vaccines And Other Prevention Strategies
Optimal vaccines against pneumoenteric mucosal pathogens should be delivered to and be effective at both sites of virus replication to provide optimal protection. Also, most vaccines against mucosal pathogens fail to induce sterilizing immunity or to prevent subsequent reinfections, as observed for natural or experimental BCoV infections . Thus, the goal of vaccination is to confer broad protection against the severe enteric/respiratory disease that may lead to mortality and requires treatments. These objectives may be best accomplished by vaccinating calves on farms prior to shipping to auction barns or feedlots because BCoV infections occurring at feedlots necessitate rapid onset of protective immune responses. In support of this hypothesis, a recent study demonstrated that IN vaccination of feedlot calves with a modified live-BCoV calf vaccine on entry to a feedlot reduced the risk of treatment for BRDC in calves . These data confirm the results of experimental challenge studies of calves confirming cross-protection among BCoV strains of distinct clinical origin. Another recent study from Uruguay demonstrated that maternal vaccination against BCoV reduced BCoV shedding in their calves . Further studies are needed to determine whether inclusion of a mixture of CD/WD/BRDC strains could be an optimal strategy to develop a single broad-spectrum BCoV vaccine effective against BCoV infections associated with distinct clinical syndromes .
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Pro La Injection Antibioticfree
The conventional wisdom used to be to treat all calves first with the cheapest broad-spectrum antibiotic then move to stronger and more expensive drugs each time the calf is pulled. The problem with this method is that by the time a producer reaches for one of the high-powered drugs, it is too late and the damage to the lung is. 300 Pro LA Noromycin 300 LA Oxytetracycline BRD treatment & control, pinkeye, foot rot, calf diphtheria, enteritis, wooden tongue, metritis Histophilus, Pasteurella Single or Multi Dose 28 days Not for use in lactating dairy animals Sulfas Albon Di-Methox Solution 12.5% /Sulfa-dimethoxine Oral Solution Sulfadimethoxine BRD treatment, foot rot. Terramycin LA is a sterile, clear, stable and ready to use solution. Warnings: Do not administer Terramycin LA to piglets on the same day that they are injected with iron. Use only in cattle, sheep, goats and swine. Withdrawal periods: The meat from treated animals may not be used for human consumption within 28 days of the last treatment
The Importance Of The Post
If youre used to shorter-acting antibiotics, its important to adjust your protocols to the PTI of the longer-acting products. The PTI is the time interval after the first treatment administration when the antibiotic should be allowed to work, until the point the animal can be classified as a nonresponder that merits re-treatment.
With DRAXXIN, for example, research has shown the PTI to be effective for up to 14 days.2-5 Although it may be tempting to re-treat a calf that still has a fever a few days after initial treatment, its important to remember that the antibiotic is still at work in the animals system. Re-treating before the full PTI has elapsed may not be effective or necessary.
A better option might be to simply move the calf to a less crowded area with plenty of hay, fresh water and shade where it can recover.
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How Can You Prevent It
- Provide sufficient quality colostrum at birth: 10% of bodyweight fed within the first three hours of life. Test colostrum using a refractometer
- Vaccinate animals to increase immunity
- Improve housing: ensure calves are in a draught-free area with adequate ventilation to remove moisture. Porous walls can harbour bugs so consider using a resin coating or plastic sheets. Concrete panels can be cold. Locate feeders and water troughs on the outside of pens to prevent bedding from getting wet.
- Hutches are good because they give you good isolation from disease and you can move them. Ideally, you should locate them on a concrete pad with a slope for drainage or use gravel to allow good drainage.
- Temperature: provide plenty of dry straw to keep calves warm. Straw is the best bedding because its super absorbent and allows calves to nest.
- At less than 15C, calves aged two weeks and under will feel the cold so use a jacket
- At less than 10C, calves aged three to eight weeks will feel cold so use a jacket
- If the temperature is colder at night and warmer in the day, take jackets off and put them back on
- Have a thermometer in the shed to check the temperature
- For every 5C drop in temperature below 10C, calves require an additional 50g of milk powder per day
- Have a clear protocol so all staff know what to do in colder weather
- Dont overstock
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Noromycin 300 La Cattle Antibiotic Oxytetracycline
- LA 200 VS LA 300. Both products are excellent in the treatment of pasteurella, pneumonia, pink eye, foot rot just to name a few. Beef Cattle dosage is 5cc per 100lbs with a 28 day withdraw. LA 300 Will last longer in the body, 5-7 days VS LA 200 lasts 2-3 Days
- istration of the broad-spectrum antibiotic oxytetracycline by injection. Liquamycin LA-200 ad
- 200mg/ml vs. 300mg/ml oxytetracycline that’s about the gist of it. At the ‘high’ dose with LA-300 you may get 7 day’s maintenance of effective blood/tissue levels of OTC. OTC would not be my ‘go-to’ drug for treating scours. If it seems to be ‘working’, they might have improved without it
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Noromycin La 300 Dosage Instructions
Chocolate Cow2 said:On the side of the box is a chart that gives weight range and dosage. A 1,000lb cow should get 30ml. There is a 28 day withdrawl period. TC-he’s asking about LA-300. It’s more concentrated than LA-200. 50ml would be a huge overdose.
In treatment of foot-rot and advanced cases of other indicated diseases, a dosage level of 5 mg per pound of bodyweight per day is recommended.
Noromycin 300 La Indications

NOROMYCIN 300 LA is intended for use in treatment for the following diseases when due to oxytetracycline-susceptible organisms:
Beef cattle, non-lactating dairy cattle, calves, including pre-ruminating calves: NOROMYCIN 300 LA is indicated in the treatment of pneumonia and shipping fever complex associated with Pasteurella spp., and Histophilus spp. NOROMYCIN 300 LA is indicated for the treatment of infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis caused by Moraxella bovis, foot-rot and diphtheria caused by Fusobacterium necrophorum bacterial enteritis caused by Escherichia coli wooden tongue caused by Actinobacillus lignieresii leptospirosis caused by Leptospira pomona and wound infections and acute metritis caused by strains of staphylococcal and streptococcal organisms sensitive to oxytetracycline.
Swine:
NOROMYCIN 300 LA is indicated in the treatment of bacterial enteritis caused by Escherichia coli pneumonia caused by Pasteurella multocida and leptospirosis caused by Leptospira pomona.
In sows NOROMYCIN 300 LA is indicated as an aid in control of infectious enteritis in suckling pigs caused by Escherichia coli.
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Entering The Vein And Making The Injection:
Building Effective Pti Protocols
Whether youre familiar with a longer-acting antibiotic or trying an antibiotic with a demonstrated longer PTI for the first time, with any sick animal, re-assessment of the diagnosis and monitoring of response to BRD treatment by a veterinarian are important. This helps your veterinarian advise on an optimum PTI as well as to subsequent adjustments to treatment for your operation. Also, some animals may have other conditions that are not treatable with an antibiotic, so your veterinarian can help assess stage and type of disease for any animals that may die in the PTI period. Your veterinarian can also help devise protocols so all employees understand:
- What constitutes a sick animal that needs treatment
- When animals should be treated
- Which antibiotic to use
- Duration of therapy for the antibiotic
- How to identify treated animals
- When re-treatment is necessary
With a more effective, long-acting antibiotic, and a little patience, its possible to achieve a tangible reduction in cattle illness and death, re-treatment rates and treatment costs.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION FOR DRAXXIN: DRAXXIN has a pre-slaughter withdrawal time of 18 days in cattle. Do not use in female dairy cattle 20 months of age or older. Do not use in animals known to be hypersensitive to the product. See full Prescribing Information.
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La 300 Beyond Expiration Date
SBMF 2015 said:The LA300 should be fine. If the calf is that sick he needs something stronger though. Baytril, Nuflor, Advocin would be my top choices. If he’s in a pasture were he’s hard to doctor then Zactran or Zuprevo.
TCRanch said:Agree the LA should still be fine but won’t do much for pneumonia. In addition to the above suggestions, I’ve had good luck with Resflor Gold – same as Nuflor but with Banamine already in it. If I use Baytril or Draxxin then I also use Banamine for the fever.Even on a weekend or evening, if I call my vet he’ll either come out or meet me at the clinic with a pre-filled syringe. 104 isn’t scary high – yet.
TCRanch said:Agree the LA should still be fine but won’t do much for pneumonia. In addition to the above suggestions, I’ve had good luck with Resflor Gold – same as Nuflor but with Banamine already in it. If I use Baytril or Draxxin then I also use Banamine for the fever.Even on a weekend or evening, if I call my vet he’ll either come out or meet me at the clinic with a pre-filled syringe. 104 isn’t scary high – yet.