Investigation of different calf cases presented at Upazila Livestock Office and Veterinary Hospital, Narshingdi Sadar, Dhaka

Abstract

Calf diseases are concerning for marginal farmers who rear a small number of cattle at their home premises. However, the current study has been conducted to estimate the prevalence and distribution of different calf diseases or disease conditions and to describe the prescription patterns for different calf diseases. This study was conducted at upazila livestock office and veterinary hospital from 16 April to 8 June 2023. Clinical data and epidemiological data were collected through interviewing the farmers and clinical inspection of the animals. Obtained data were stored in Microsoft Excel 2013 and sorted and cleaned for statistical analysis. This study obtained Navel ill (33.3%), calf scour (11.1%), bovine coccidiosis (13.3%), idiopathic diarrhea (13.3%), parasitic infestation (15.6%) and keratonconjunctivitis (13.3%). The duration of different diseaseswere reported in the study following: navel ill (2-5 days), Endoparasitic infestation (7-15 days), bovine coccidiosis (2-4 days), idiopathic diarrhea (3-5 days), keratoconjunctivitis (5-7 days) and calf scour (3-5days). Crossbred male calves of less than one month had more cases than that of the local female calves. Navel ill was treated with Ceftriaxone (26.7%) and a combination of penicillin and streptomycin (26.7%), whereas amoxicillin (33.3%) and ceftriaxone (33.3%) were used in idiopathic diarrhea. As supportive medicines, povidone iodine, flunixin meglumine and fluid therapy were commonly used. Veterinary provision of calves at field level is so scanty due to the lack of knowledge of marginal farmers which requires further initiative to make farmer interested in taking treatment from upazila livestock office and veterinary hospital. Moreover, the study could help in future researches that would be beneficial for the calf health and farmer’s economy.