824-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 27,1990
David Kradel Herbert
O
D
Penn State
Poultry
Pointers 1
'erbert Siegel Donald Sin]
producers need to have an under
standing of the facts about bacte
ria, sometimes referred to as
“germs,” and food safety. We need
to develop effective and innova
tive approaches to better commu
nicate with public health workers,
regulatory officials, and consum
ers so that unrealistic requirements
related to the microbiologic, or
bacterial, aspects of food safety are
Poultry and other food animal not placed on the production seg-
Wintertime Means Lice And
FOOD SAFETY
AND BACTERIA
ANOTHER PART
OF THE STORY
David Kradel, MS.,
M.P.H., D.V.M.
Mange Problems In Cattle
EDWARD PRUSS
Wayne Co. Agent
HONESDALE (Wayne Co.)
With the onset of the winter sta
bling season, livestock managers
will probably be faced with the
problem of external parasites.
When dealing with cattle, the
two main external parasite threats
are lice and mange. These two
parasites can live on or in the skin
of cattle. They cause the animal
discomfort, itching, loss of nutri
ents, loss of growth, and loss of
production.
Cattle are affected by both bit
ing and sucking lice. Lice cause
skin irritations, scab formation,
and hair loss. Lice are found in
large numbers around the head
and neck and also around the tail
head. Lice will eventually spread
to other parts of the body. Cattle
lice spend their entire life cycle on
the host with adult lice laying eggs
on the hair. Lice are spread by
direct contact of animals or con
tact with bedding and other mater
ials that already contain the louse
eggs.
Cattle lice are usually a more
serious problem during the winter
months. Lice problems could also
be rather severe under mnHit;—
i ncrc are a number of lice con
trol products on the market, these
include formulations that are
“pour-ons,” dusts, sprays, dips,
backrubbers, eartags, and
injectable.
Mange is the other external
parasite that affects cattle. Mange
is caused by mites, liny insects
that live in the skin at the base of
hairs. Mange causes itching and
hair loss, particularly in the area
between the tailhead and the rear
udder attachment.
ordan Milton Madison
;letary Owen Keene
One type of mange causes a
severe skin irrigation in the neck
and head area. In chronic cases,
hair loss and thickened folds of
skin arc noticeable.
All forms of cattle mange have
life cycles like that of lice. Eggs
are laid on the hair and hatch in 10
to 12 days. They live 30 to 40
days. Mange, like lice, tend to be
more severe during the winter
months.
Treatment of mange with insec
ticides applied to the skin requires
very thorough coverage of the
medication to reach all of the
mitfcs that are burrowed in the
skin. Treatments should be
repeated at 1 to 2 week intervals to
be sure to kill and control newly
emerged adults.
Insecticides in backrubbers and
sprays, plus injectable products,
are ways of effectively controlling
mange.
Those using these types of pro
ducts to control external parasites
of cattle are strongly urged to
carefully read the label on each
insectide.
For additional information
about how to control external
rvii*'ji'.tciAAipcruuve
Extension Service by dialing
253-5970, extension 239, or by
stopping in at the office located in
the basement of the Wayne Coun
ty Courthouse in Honesdale, Pen
nsylvania. Additional information
about this topic is available
through Extension circular 349,
“Parasites In Beef and Dairy
Cattle.” Copies are available at the
Wayne County Cooperative
Extension office and also at other
county cooperative Extension
offices in Pennsylvania.
ments of the food industries.
In thinking about bacteria
related food safety, at least three
facts must be considered. First, the
bacteria of concern are going to
always be present; second, a
bacteria-free food supply, if this
were attainable, could present a
potential risk of another kind
which will be discussed in this arti
cle; and third, the costs to achieve a
bacteria-free supply of raw food
could far outweigh any benefits.
The bacteria of primary concern
in food safety (Salmonella, Cam
pylobacter, Listeria, E. coli, and
Clostridia) are relatively common
in the intestine, feces, and environ
ment of both animals and people.
’G
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S
4-)
Crt
4)
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c
lu
Raw food bacteria
Because of the presence of bac
teria, food—particularly raw food
can be contaminated with a
small number of bacteria. If such
food is improperly handled or pre
pared, a few bacteria can become
many. For example, 1 bacterium
can become 281 trillion bacteria
within 24 hours if present in a suit
able food and kept at a warm temp
erature. When such improperly
handled or prepared food is eaten,
some people may become ill, parti
cularly the elderly or those whose
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immunity or resistance may be
low.
The constant presence of poten
tially harmful bacteria in the envi
ronment is further illustrated with
the bacteria that cause Legion
naires’ disease. These bacteria are
present in most, if not all, water
supplies but result in disease only
under very specific conditions of
water storage, massive inhalation
exposure, and susceptible
individuals.
In the remainder of this article I
will briefly discuss another aspect
of bacteria-related food safety.
This is a difficult area to discuss
and understand, and the idea is not
necessarily popular but it should
be considered and evaluated when
trying to develop rational food
safety prevention and control
programs.
Immunity to bacteria
Immunity to bacteria may be
achieved in two ways either
through vaccination or by expo
sure to a small number of bacteria
so that a natural immunity, or
resistance, develops.
Some of us may remember the
old adage “... every child should
get his peck of dirt” a reference
to the importance of exposure to
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bacteria if resistance is to be deve
loped. In the case of the bacteria of
concern in food poisoning (Sal
monella, Campylobacter, Listeria,
E. coli, and Clostridia), there are
no vaccines, so any immunity that
develops must be from some expo
sure, ideally to small numbers of
the bacteria.
If an environment and food
supply completely free of these
bacteria could be developed, a
very susceptible, or “no immuni
ty,” population would result. If, by
accident or some breakdown in
such a “perfect” system, a few of
these bacteria gained entrance to
our food supply, a real epidemic
could occur.
An example of this kind of “no
immunity” problem is when
“travelers’ diarrhea” occurs in vis
itors to some countries. This diar
rhea occurs because visitors drink
water containing bacteria to which
they have developed no immunity.
The bottom line is that constant
exposure to a low level of bacteria
may in fact be very beneficial in
the long run.
In a future article we will dis
cuss the economics (cost vs. bene
fits) of trying to eliminate food
poisoning bacteria at the produc
tion level.
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