Cowpox: treatment and symptoms

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

There are hundreds of different pathogenic viruses and diseases they cause in the world. But smallpox in cows is a legend in its own way, since it was its pathogen that was used to create the world's first vaccine. Today, this disease is not so common, but all owners of these animals should remember about it.

What is this?

Cowpox is a viral disease that manifests itself in the form of small ulcers and pustules on the skin, accompanied by a short-term and slight increase in the general body temperature of the animal. Skin lesions usually disappear on their own (over time). However, if the animal's immune system is suppressed by drugs or another disease, the infection can be severe, with unpleasant consequences.

Causes of disease

There are many rash-causing viruses that can infect many different types of animals. Despite the fact that the cowpox virus infects cattle, there have been many cases of its transmission to other pets, ascows are not a natural reservoir for this pathogen. In particular, domestic cats and even cheetahs, cattle and (very often) people working with cows have been repeatedly described.

In addition, the disease can occur in dogs, elephants and horses. Surprisingly, many scientists suggest that the natural host of the cowpox virus is… small mouse-like rodents!

Veterinarians believe that smallpox epidemics in isolated herds of cows (in segregated villages) are possible only because of the actions of peddlers. These may include: bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus), common vole (Microtus agrestis) and house mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus).

When examining more than 1.5 thousand rodents, researchers determined that at least 27% of them are natural carriers of the virus. Typically, these "reservoirs on legs" do not show any signs of infection. Cases of cowpox (and regular ones) have been reported in many European countries, including Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, Scandinavia and throughout the former Soviet Union.

What is happening in some countries of the Asian region and Africa, one can only guess. However, regular essays by naturalists and ethnographers indicate that cowpox occurs more than regularly in these parts.

Spread of disease

Spread of infection among cows and other domestic animals, likeit is believed to be rather insignificant, but there are variations depending on the geographical location of a particular area. There is no breed, age or gender predisposition, but the risk of infection increases markedly in seasons when rodents begin to enter agricultural buildings en masse (for example, autumn).

Most often, smallpox in cows occurs where animals are kept on the run, that is, one way or another in contact with the external environment. In the conditions of modern automated complexes, where livestock is not walking and where deratting is regularly carried out, outbreaks of the disease are not recorded at all (with very rare exceptions).

Clinical signs of infection

As a rule, the virus enters the body in the alimentary way, when eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water. In addition, cases of the disease after bites of rats and mice were recorded. How does cowpox manifest itself? Its symptoms are quite typical. A viral infection becomes apparent after a few days, when small, wrinkled nodules (papules) appear on the skin of the udder. This can be accompanied by secondary bacterial infection, up to the formation of abscesses, so cowpox is not as harmless as some owners think.

In addition, viremia develops (a virus in the blood). It spreads very quickly to all organs and tissues of the body, which often leads to serious consequences. Cases of formation of ulcerative lesions in the gastrointestinal tract have been described.intestinal tract. In more moderate situations, rhinitis, pneumonia and diarrhea develop. Fortunately, it doesn't always come to this. As a rule, the maximum that threatens a cow is a short-term increase in body temperature, a slight indigestion and a short-term refusal to feed.

Further development of the infection

Approximately ten days after the virus enters the body, more numerous, diffuse skin lesions develop in the form of papules and pustules. This is smallpox in cows on the udder. Their shape can vary from oval to almost perfectly round, the diameter of the lesions rarely exceeds a centimeter. Most often, although this phenomenon is described in the veterinary literature, in practice the animal does not experience severe itching.

After a few days, the pustules begin to crust, which subsequently dry out and finally fall off the skin. These lesions can be seen on any part of the body, but are best seen on the udder. There have been reports of papules and pustules developing on the skin of the nasal planum of cows (although this is unusual).

When can a disease be deadly?

After about six to eight weeks, the infection "spontaneously" subsides. Important! If for some reason the animal at this time was receiving glucocorticoids (steroids), which have the extremely significant disadvantage of suppressing the immune system, or if it has some significant problems with the immune system (for example, leukemia), a general septic lesion of allbody systems. So if you see that there is udder pox in a cow, under no circumstances should treatment involve corticosteroids!

In such cases, severe purulent pneumonia often develops, usually ending in the death of the animal. If signs of damage to the respiratory tract appear, it is recommended to slaughter the cow for meat. So if your cow has smallpox on the udder (there is a photo of pustules on the pages of this material), you should not take the disease lightly.

Diagnosis

To confirm/deny the diagnosis, the veterinarian will take pieces of skin and samples of the contents of the papules. They are used to test for certain antibodies or the vaccinia virus itself. Infection can be confirmed using the following methods:

• Positive antibody titer in blood tests. This test is carried out using serological reactions. Important! Initially, antibodies are detected no earlier than 7-10 days after the pathogen enters the body (when the first clinical signs appear). If tests are done before then, their results will be false negative.
• Cultivation of the virus in cell culture, as well as polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Detection of the genetic material of the pathogen with its subsequent identification. The test sample is taken from the crusts that have arisen on the skin of the udder, as they contain a lot of viral bodies. These types of tests are considered the gold standard for diagnosis, but they require a well-equipped clinic andexperienced veterinarian. However, smallpox in cows (the treatment of which we will discuss later) usually does not require such complex diagnostic methods.
• Skin biopsies from affected areas also show characteristic changes in infected cells and, if necessary, the virus can be detected by these indirect signs (although this method is less reliable, it is much simpler).

Information about the treatment of sick animals

So how do you treat cowpox? In most cases, the lesions will heal without intervention within a few weeks of the onset of the infection, and in mild cases often no treatment is needed at all. Of course, this does not mean at all that the disease can be treated carelessly. If there are a lot of rashes on the skin of the udder, and the cow's immunity is already weakened by some kind of infection, the consequences can be the most unfavorable, up to the development of sepsis with a massive bacterial lesion.

In the case when signs of deterioration are visible, a sick animal must be treated. Specific therapy, as with many other viral pathologies, does not exist. Treatment is symptomatic and supportive. Thus, smallpox in cows, the treatment (there is a photo of the consequences of the pathological process in the article) which we are discussing, has no specific features, in comparison with other viral ailments.

What to use to treat the affected areas of the udder?

The skin of the udder is treated using zinc ointment. It allowsdry lesions and accelerates regeneration processes. Moisturizing ointments should not be used, since they may well contribute to maceration (softening) of the skin and simplify the task of pathogenic microflora to penetrate into its thickness. Because of this, smallpox in cows on the udder (treatment, photo - all this is in our material) can become fatal due to the rather high probability of sepsis.

Other recommendations

If the cow is not eating well, appetite stimulants and, if necessary, mild laxatives (like Glauber's s alt) are used. With an increase in temperature, the appointment of intravenous buffer formulations and glucose solutions is indicated, which help relieve intoxication and help lower the temperature. It is vital to avoid prescribing glucocorticoids because clinical signs can become much worse.

We emphasize once again that in severe cases, when it came to damage to the lower respiratory tract and lungs, it is recommended to slaughter for meat. In this regard, smallpox in cows on the udder (treatment, photo - you will find all this in our article) is a rather dangerous disease.

As a rule, antibiotics are not prescribed for this disease, since such drugs do not work on viruses in principle. But at the slightest risk of developing secondary bacterial infections, the appointment of antimicrobials is fully justified. However, the decision on this should be made exclusively by the veterinarian. Here's how to treat smallpox in cows.

Spread of infection and risks to people

Transmissionfrom animal to animal is extremely rare, but in general it is possible, since you can easily infect a cow by simply rubbing the contents of the papules of her sick "comrade" into her udder. For humans, infection with cowpox is quite rare, but still such cases occur. In particular, it was on the basis of observations of milkmaids that the world's first vaccine was developed at one time, so that smallpox in cows (the photo of which is in the article) can be recognized as a zooanthroponotic disease.

If possible, work with sick cows of immunocompromised people should be limited. In addition, contact of sick animals with children is undesirable. Again, many pediatricians believe that it is useful for young people to get smallpox: despite its elimination in the world and the absence of infection in our country, the epidemiological situation in the countries of Central Asia is difficult, and there is a possibility of infection.

Disinfection measures

Use disposable medical gloves when caring for sick animals, be sure to disinfect care items, as the virus is able to stay alive for a long time at room temperature. For effective disinfection, you can use any products based on sodium hypochlorite (whiteness, other chlorine bleaches). Thus, smallpox in cows is not the most dangerous disease of cattle, but nevertheless, certain measures must be taken when it occurs.