Cattlemen Alerted
Th# U. S. Department of emerging in large numbers
Agrlcidture (USDA) today and will remain active
warned cattlemen to be alert through early October in
(or signs of anaplasmosis, a much of the country,
serious blood disease of According to officials of
cattle. Horseflies-the most - USDA’s Animal and Plant
common insect spreaders of Health Inspection Service
the disease-are now (APHIS), anaplasmosis,
Keep
or*" ■ Inq
witha
Farm Credit
ban.
Lancaster. Pa.' York. Pa.
411 West Roseville Road 3301 West Market Street
393-3921 ' 792-2641
Lebanon, Pa
The Agway Building Chambersburg. Pa. Carlisle. Pa.
17th and Cumberland Streets 183 Lincoln Way East 133 West High Street
273-4506 263-3315 249-1711
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farm building improvements, even home improvements You can get a low-cost
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characterized by anemia, is heavy, moaquitoea can
infectious but not con- spread the disease. In other
tagious. Thia means the • areas, principally in the
organism must get into the west, certain ticks can also
blood stream of an animal serve as spreaders of the
either from an insect bite or disease.
careless handling of medical
or other instruments.
In areas where the
mosquito population is very
Man can also spread
anaplasmosis. This is
especially true of those who
engage in do-it-yourself
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 17,1974—13
veterinary service. In the
hands of careless in
dividuals, hypodermic
needles, nose leads and,
dehorners can be tran-‘
smitters of the disease.
Anaplasmosis is par
ticularly severe in mature
cattle, often causing 30 to 50
percent death losses among
infected animals. Annual
losses to the livestock in
dustry nationally are
estimated at well over |lOO
million.
What should cattlemen
look for? When an animal
becomes weak and lags
behind the herd,
anaplasmosis should be
suspected. The skin first
becomes pale around the
eyes, on the muzzle, lips and
teats, and then turns yellow.
Following the acute stage
of the disease, infectious
organisms remain in the
body of survivors, and these
animals become carriers.
Significantly, some animals
-especially younger ones
become carriers without
showing any signs of illness.
If anaplasmosis’ is
suspected, APHIS officials
urge cattlemen to consult
their veterinarians about
control and preventive
measures. Most important,
they emphasize, is testing to
identify carriers.
Laboratories in all states
are now equipped to perform
the rapid card test for
anaplasmosis, at no cost to
herd owners except the
veterinary fee for drawing
blood samples.
Unfortunately, this is not
the best time of the year to
test, because blood samples
from animals recently in
fected will not react to the
test. They must have the
infection 30 days or more to
show a reaction.
Ideally, testing should be
carried out during the
winter, APHIS officials
explained. Then, depending
upon the size of the herd and
the number of carriers
found, one of five alternate
plans should be put into
effect:
-If only a few carriers are
found, send them to
slaughter.
-If a large number are
found and facilities are
available, separate the
carriers from healthy
animals and maintain them
as two separate “herds.”
This works because the
horsefly must bite an in
fected animal and then a
healthy animal within five
minutes to transfer the
disease.
-Treat carrier animals
with high levels of antibiotics
(tetracyclines) in the feed to
eliminate infection. With
drawal time should be ob
served.
--Vaccinate negative
(noninfected) animals.
APHIS officials note,
however, that vaccination is
occasionally associated with
anemia in newborn calves
and can complicate future
testing since vaccinated
animals may show reaction
to the blood test.
Silver Spurs
Show Aug. 18
Silver Spurs 4-H Horse and
Pony Club will hold their Bth
Annual Open Horse Show
this Sunday, August 18, at
the Lancaster County Riding
and Tennis Club beginning at
11:00 a.m. sharp.
There will be 38 classes
including western, english,
jumping and roadster.
Western Judge will be
James Catagnus,
Norristown, Pa. and English
Judge will be Leonard Fis
chback from Boontown, New
Jersey.