A2O-Lancaster Farmina. Saturday. Auaust 16. 2003
Penn State Cooperative Extension
Capitol Region Dairy Team
COULD LEPTO BE
CAUSING YOUR
BREEDING PROBLEMS?
Dr. Arlen Mills
Capital Region
Extension Veterinarian
Lebanon
About all farms I visit vacci
nate for lepto on a regular basis.
But in spite of a regular vaccina
tion, lepto can still be a problem.
Most vaccines used contain
five different strains of the lepto
organism. One of these types or
strains has been known as lepto
hardjo. It has been known for
years that cattle are the normal
host of this type of lepto and can
carry the organism and shed it
into the environment around
them. Our current vaccines have
not been shown to be effective in
the control of lepto hardjo.
The lepto hardjo strain has re
cently been better defined and re
named as Leptospira borbpeter
senii serovar hardjo (type hardjo
bovis). Lepto infections have been
shown to cause chronic reproduc
tive problems in infected herds.
This can be seen as early em
bryonic death, resulting in an in
crease in services per conception.
Infected cows may be bred and
may miss a heat only to be seen
in heat later. It may also cause an
occasional abortion and the birth
of weak calves that usually do
not survive.
Also linked to lepto hardjo
bovis infections is a type of masti
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tis. Affected cows go off-milk,
and may be off-feed for several
days. These cows will eventually
start eating but rarely return to
normal milk production.
If any of these symptoms are
seen in a herd, diagnosis has been
a problem. Cattle do not develop
a good immune response to lepto
infection. Even taking two blood
samples three to four weeks apart
has not been helpful as it often is
for other infectious organisms.
Researchers at Michigan State
University have determined a
method to collect urine from sus
pect cows and check for the lepto
organism. The urine must be col
lected after giving cows Lasix to
dilute the urine to flush the or
ganism from the cow’s kidneys.
Herds where lepto is suspected as
causing reproductive problems
need to consider collecting urine
on several cows to submit for
testing. This can be done along
with blood tests to check for
BVD and Neospora.
Lepto vaccines currently avail
able may not protect against the
lepto hardjo-bovis strain. We
know that vaccination does not
prevent infected cows from shed
ding the organism in urine and
uterine secretions. So current
vaccination use may only give us
a false sense of security. Some be
lieve that many dairy heifers are
exposed and infected with lepto
hardjo-bovis at an early age be
fore most producers even begin
Land O’Lakes, Snc.
/, ) * in /V , thnni(i)> O'vntv*/*//’
vaccination.
Fortunately, a new vaccine will
soon be available that will protect
against lepto hardjo-bovis infec
tion. This vaccine will also stop
shedding of cattle already in-
Pennsylvania
Editor’s note: Pennsylvania
Horse Power was developed for
promoting and educating people
on the size, scope and economic
impact of the equine industry in
Pennsylvania.
The information found in
Pennsylvania Horse Power is a
summary of the results found in
the “2002 Pennsylvania Equine
Survey” in addition to other spe
cific facts noted.
The “2002 Pennsylvania
Equine Survey” was conducted
the Pennsylvania State Universi
ty. The Pennsylvania Department
of Agriculture, through the State
Horse and Harness Racing Com
missions, contracted with The
Pennsylvania State University to
conduct the study.
Look for the second half of
this summary in an upcoming
issue of Lancaster Farming.
STATE COLLEGE (Centre
Co.) Horses are a huge force
in Pennsylvania’s culture and
economy. Just as horses were im
portant enough to our forefathers
to include on Pennsylvania’s
State Seal, this study suggests
that the state’s thriving equine in
dustry can help enhance the
quality of life for future
generations.
This study shows that
the number of equine has
increased 27 percent in the
last ten years. More horses
mean a stronger demand
for production agriculture
and the infrastructure that
supports it. Most Pennsyl
vanians agree that more
farmland and a strong
farm economy are good for
' *! ' ♦ Mi! K
Dr. Ann ML Swinker
Extension Horse Specialist
Penn State
fected. The initial vaccine will
apparently contain only the new
strain and will have to be used in
addition to the available five
strain lepto vaccine.
If you are having trouble get
Equine Survey Summarized
everyone’s quality of life,
Economic Value
Overall, the direct and second
ary contributions of the state’s
equine industry are estimated at
more than $1.12 billion in reve
nue (output), of which nearly
$615 million is value-added.
This translates into 20,300 jobs
that compensate state workers
with $412.2 million.
The racehorse survey indicated
that this portion of the industry
generated $197.4 million in out
put and $100.6 million in value
added. This activity directly sup
ported 4,740 jobs. Accounting for
multiplier effects, the racing in
dustry supported an additional
$147.1 million in output, of
which $B7 million was value
added, and 1,690 additional jobs.
The general population results
indicated that the industry di
rectly generates $445.5 million in
output, of which $229.9 million is
value added. This activity pro
vides 10,220 jobs. And the ripple
effects generate still more eco
nomic activity, supporting $334.5
million in output, of which
$197.6 million is value-added,
and 3,650 additional jobs.
Equine Population
The 216,000 equid living in
Pennsylvania represent approxi
mately 50 different breeds, en
compassing horses developed in
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ting cows pregnant, you may
want to discuss the possibility of
lepto hardjo-bovis with your vet
erinarian. Make sure that you
also rule out chronic BVD and
Neospora infection as well.
this country by pioneers and Na
tive Americans as well as horses
imported from around the world.
The American Quarter Horse
at 40,110 head, represents the
most popular light horse breed in
the state, followed by Arabians
and Half Arabians at 11,154;
Morgans with 10,136; Thorough
breds (non-racing) at 9,567;
Mules/Donkeys with 8,665 head;
and Appaloosas with 7985.
The survey respondents, iden
tified specific other breeds and/or
grade horses totaling 7,248 head;
a large portion of these are light
horse breeds.
Draft horse breeds totaled
11,185 head; Belgians with 6,202
head were the most popular fol
lowed by the Percherons with
3,000 head.
Pony breeds accounted for
10,577 head (Welsh 3,582, Hack
neys 1,635, Shetlands 1,538 and
other breeds at 3,822). There
were 3,450 Miniature horses re
ported.
Pennsylvania’s Racehorse Breeds
Pennsylvania’s racehorse in
dustry included 26,365 head of
horses. There were 14,815 and
11,550 head of Standardbreds
and Thoroughbreds, respectively.
An additional 6,317 Stan
dardbreds and 9,567 Thorough-
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