Comparative Disease susceptibility of Cattle and Buffalo in Punjab (India)

Comparative Disease susceptibility of Cattle and Buffalo in Punjab (India) K. Dua, Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine Ethics & Jurisprudence Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141004, India. Email kirtidua@satyam.net.in Summary: In Punjab there are 6.17 million buffaloes and 2.4 million cattle, which are responsible for the production of 9.7% of the total milk produced by the country. In this paper comparison is made of the disease susceptibility of cattle and buffalo in Punjab. Various conditions like ticks, tick borne diseases and mastitis are much more prevalent in cattle whereas diseases like rinderpest, diaphragmatic hernia and tail necrosis are more prevalent in buffaloes. Hemorrahagic septicemia is one of the most serious disease-affecting buffaloes. Besides this the diseases commonly prevalent in both cattle and buffalo are also reported in this paper. Introduction: Punjab, which has a subtropical location, has been on the forefront in dairy production in India. In this state there are 6.17 million buffaloes and 2.4 million cattle which are responsible for the production of 9.7% of the total milk produced by the country. In this state the common buffalo breeds are Murrah, Nili Ravi and their cross and the most common cattle breed is HF cross. In this paper the comparative disease susceptibility of the various diseases of the cattle and buffalo in the Punjab State are discussed. Bacterial Diseases: Mastitis is widely prevalent condition of cattle and buffalo and is responsible for causing annual financial loss of Rs 5410 million in Punjab (Dua, 2001). The incidence of clinical and sub-clinical mastitis in cattle in Punjab is 7.08%, and 48.7% whereas the corresponding values in buffalo is nearly half i.e.3.70% and 23.93% respectively (Singh, 1991). Anthrax occurs sporadically and there is no recent report on anthrax in dairy animals in Punjab. An outbreak of anthrax with 100% mortality in both cattle and buffalo has been reported in Himachal Pradesh, the neighbouring state of Punjab (Sharma et al., 1996). Hemorrhagic septicemia or pasteurellosis is probably the most serious disease of buffaloes. The death rate in buffaloes are three times than in cattle (Bain et al., 1982) and 30,000-50,000 animals die annually (Verma, 1998) in India. Significant losses occur due to calf mortality caused by colibacillosis and salmonellosis in cattle and buffalo. In poorly managed herds, the calf mortality from salmonellosis may go upto 40-72% and that from colibacillosis 47% (Srivastava & Sharma, 1980). Brucellosis is prevalent throughout the Punjab state and the incidence of Brucellosis in Punjab reported ten years ago was 3.17% (Saini et al., 1992). However in the recent survey in Punjab Sandhu et al.,(2001) reported an increased incidence of brucellosis in cattle (10.06%) and buffalo (9.33%). Sporadic cases of infectious keratitis caused by Moraxella bovis infection are observed in cattle and buffalo of Punjab. The incidence of tuberculosis in dairy animals of Punjab and Haryana states varies from 3.8-4.4% (Kulshreshata et al., 1980). Similarly Joshi et al., (1976) also reported 4.7% TB in a buffalo farm in Punjab. However Sood & Gupta, (1996) observed only 10 cases of TB in 3370 slaughtered buffaloes. Cattle and buffalo suffering from Johne s disease have similar clinical manifestation of chronic diarrhoea, wasting and emaciation. In Haryana; neighbouring state of Punjab; the incidence of this disease in buffaloes is 3.6% (Kulshreshtha et al., 1980). Incidence of Actinobacillosis in cattle and buffalo is sporadic in Punjab. Actniomycosis like affection was observed in 1.11% and 1.74% buffaloes of Punjab in year 1974 and 1975 respectively (Ray, 1976). The clostridia are of major importance in farm animals as primary cause of disease. Tetanus generally occurs in cattle and buffalo as individual sporadic case. Black quarter is

enzootic in certain areas particularly those frequently affected with floods. In India this disease is milder in buffalo than in Cattle (Dhanda, 1977). In two districts of Punjab, heavy mortality occurred in buffaloes due to botulism in buffaloes (Dua, unpublished observation). An occasional case of malignant edema in crossbred cattle has also been observed (Dua, unpublished observation). Foot Rot a chronic infection of the feet is seen much frequently in cows as compared to buffaloes. Some animals become permanently crippled. In a village of Ludhiana district, the outbreak of leptospirosis was observed in buffaloes but none of the cow in that village was affected with the similar symptoms. The contamination of wallows by excreta of animals maintains a high level of populations in water, which may be the possible reason of outbreak of leptospirosis in that village (Dua, unpublised observation). Buffaloes are more resistant than cattle for Mycoplasma mycoides infection which is responsible for causing contagious bovine pleuro-pneumonia. Viral Diseases: Outbreaks of FMD occur frequently in cattle and buffaloes. In most of the cases there is recovery but at times there is high mortality rate especially animals infected for the first time. Due to the success of the national rinderpest eradication plan in India, there is no recent report of rinderpest outbreak in Punjab. Otherwise buffalo is much more susceptible to this disease as compared to cattle and mortality may go upto 87%. Bovine ephemeral fever, is an arthropod-borne viral disease of cattle and buffalo and affected animals suffer severe loss of weight and condition. The clinical signs of infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) are not observed in the dairy animals of Punjab. But as per sero-prevalence survey of IBR made by Dhand et al., 2002 it was observed that the incidence of this disease is high in cattle (34.16%) as compared to buffalo (17.48%) in Punjab. Rabies caused by bite of mad dogs or mangoose is observed in buffalo (Singh, 1999) and cattle. Papillomatosis is observed both in cattle and buffalo which can affect any part of the body. There are no reported cases of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in cattle and buffalo in Punjab. The virus of cowpox can be transmitted to buffaloes and there are sporadic outbreaks. The pox lesions are generally localized on the relatively softer skin of the udder, teats and genital organs and are transmitted to the milkers. Bovine ulcerative mammillitis is common in cattle and buffalo. From 1978-81, the following outbreaks of disease were confirmed in Punjab: rinderpest (139 animals died in 2 outbreaks), cow and buffalo pox (2 outbreaks), foot and mouth disease (3 outbreaks), rabies (13 cattle and buffaloes died in 1 outbreak), pasteurellosis (8 cattle died in 1 outbreak), leptospirosis (1 abortion outbreak), salmonellosis (12 calves died in 1 outbreak), brucellosis (1 herd) (Oberoi et al., 1983). Protozoan diseases: Since buffaloes are comparatively resistant to ticks, various tick borne haemo-protozoan infections like theileriasis, babesisosis and anaplasmosis are more important in cattle as compared to buffaloes. Out of these three haemoprotzoan infections, theileriasis is the most common condition that affect the cross bred cattle (Yadav et al., 1985). Trypanosomiasis is observed both in cattle and buffaloes with similar susceptibility. Coccidiosis is another protozoan infection that is responsible for causing serious losses in calves of cattle and buffalo. Fungal diseases: The incidence of ringworm is sporadic in both cattle and buffalo. Helminth parasitic diseases: There are various parasitic conditions to which both cattle and buffalo are equally susceptible. In one survey of dairy animals in Himachal Pradesh, it was observed out of those animals which suffer from endoparasites, 23.5% (cattle) to 35.5% (buffalo) of these animals also suffer from various types of flukes like Fasciola, Amphistomes and Dicrocelium. In the nematodes the main endo-parasites were stronglye and stronglyde spp

which account for 15.2% (cattle) and 21.5% (buffalo) infection. Rest of the nematodes (Toxocara spp. Dictyocaulus spp. Trichuris spp. Capillaria spp.) were responsible for 5.3% (cattle) and 1.9% (buffalo) infection (Jithendran & Bhat, 1999). Schistosoma naslis is another fluke found sporadically in cattle and buffaloes. Hydatid cysts can occur in any part of the body and its incidence reported in buffaloes is 8.7% (Sood & Gupta, 1986). Several types of cutaneous filariasis in cattle and buffalo reported from various parts of India are not observed in Punjab. Both cattle and buffaloes are host to Theleazia, a small worm that live in the conjunctival sac of eye. In Punjab this condition occur sporadically however in Uttar Pradesh which is another state of India, the reported incidence of Thelezia is quite higher (Chauhan & Pande 1973). Arthropod parasitic diseases: Sarcoptic, psoroptic and demodectic mange has been reported in cattle and buffalo. Young calves are more susceptible and often deaths can result. In one survey 6.82% and 38.36% buffaloes were found to be infected by Sarcoptes scabiei and Psoroptes natalensis, respectively (Nooruddin et. al., 1986). Buffaloes are notably resistant, although not immune, to ticks. Nutritional/Metabolic disorders: A survey revealed that only 13.7% of the buffaloes and 8.77% of cross bred cows have normal mineral status (Singh, 2002). There is a widespread sub-clinical hypocalcemia (Ca< 2.1 mmol) in buffaloes (Dua, 2003) and cattle of Punjab. The incidence due to milk fever in buffaloes in Punjab is 3.1% (Singh et al., 1993). Clinical and sub-clinical phosphorus deficiency is the other important nutritional disorder of the dairy animals in Punjab. The incidence of sub-clinical hypophosphatemia is more prevalent in crossbred cows as compared to buffaloes in Punjab (Randhawa, 1999). Significant high level of molybdenum was a consistent finding in clinical cases of hypophosphatemia (Randhawa, 1999). Due to the subtropical location of the Punjab and inadequate sodium intake, mild to moderate sodium deplete dairy animals are widely prevalent in Punjab and urinary electrical conductivity is quick field test to detect the sodium status in dairy animals (Dua et al., 2003). The survey of the micro-nutrient status of the dairy animals revealed that the mean prevalence of iodine deficiency in cattle is 35.9% and showed considerable geographical variation from 0 to 86% within Punjab (Randhawa, 1999). Molybdenosis induced hypocuprosis in dairy animals is endemic in many parts of the Punjab state. In a survey it was observed that 34.6% cattle from the unorganized farms and 7.14% cattle of the organized farms in Punjab suffer from hypocupremia (Randhawa & Randhawa, 2002). It results in nutritional haemoglobinuria, leucoderma and anemia. The incidence of nutritional haemoglobinurea is more in buffaloes as compared to that of cattle (Singh, 1980). Cases of leucoderma or vitilgo in which area of skin is devoid of pigment are fairly common in buffaloes of Punjab (Randhawa et al., 1994). Subnormal manganese and cobalt concentrations both in cattle and buffaloes were also observed (Randhawa, 1999). In a survey of manganese deficient area of Punjab about 68.8% of animals were found to be suffering from manganese deficiency (Singh 2002). In Punjab there are few areas where levels of fluoride in soil and water is very high. In those areas the incidence of fluorosis is 97.5% in buffaloes, but in cows it was only 2.5% (Sharma et al., 1997). Selenium toxicity is the other condition reported in cattle and buffaloes from the areas in Hoshiarpur district of Punjab, the soil of which is rich in selenium content (Gupta et al., 1982). Reproductive disorders: In a study of 802 female cattle and 2316 buffaloes examined over a 6-yr period, the most frequent disorders were anoestrus (43.0% and 55.5%) and repeat breeding (35.3% and 12.8%) respectively. The next most important disorders were retained placenta (6.4% and 4.7%), genital prolapse (3.61% and 12.1%), dystocia (3.5% and 8.3%) and abortion (2.6% and 3.1%) in cattle and buffaloes respectively. In buffaloes, there was a

seasonal pattern in the incidence of anoestrus, genital prolapse, dystocia and retained placenta (Pandit et al., 1982) and heat stress during the month of March to June decreases the reproductive efficiency in buffaloes. Buffaloes have a lower incidence of cystic ovarian degeneration. Abattoir studies from another state of India revealed an incidence of 1.8% for buffaloes compared to 3.8-5.2% for cows (Rao and Sreemannarayana, 1982). Miscellaneous conditions: Bloat is a common problem both in cattle and buffalo especially with Barseem (legume) feeding. Recurrent bloat in buffaloes suffering from diaphragmatic hernia is an important clinical sign. During the period from 1980 to 1994 there were 285 cases of diahgragmatic hernia in buffaloes in the age group of 5-8 (Saini et al 2001) and only 10 cases in cows (Saini, 2003 Personal communication) were reported from Punjab at the Veterinary Hospital at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. Foreign Body Syndrome is more common in adult cattle and buffaloes grazing in mineral deficient areas. Traumatic recticulo-peritonitis is also responsible for diaphragmatic hernias in many cases (Singh et al., 1983) The increased paddy crop cultivation and using paddy straw as fodder resulted in development of Degnala disease in buffaloes in Punjab. However with increased awareness and improved managemental practices, the incidence of this condition has decreased. Tail necrosis is common ailment observed only in buffaloes. The disease is chronic and progressive. It usually starts from the tip of the tail and may involve the complete tail. Occular ganglioneuroma is a condition of the eyes which is observed sporadically only in buffaloes (Saini et al., 1992). Besides, cases of downer syndrome (Wadhwa & Prasad, 2002), fore stomach impaction (Saxena, R, 2003), rumen acidosis, rumen alkalosis, are observed frequently in cattle and buffalo in Punjab. References Bain-RVS., De Alwis-MCL., Carter-GR. & Gupta-BK. (1982). Haemorrhagic septicemia. FAO. Anim Hlth Prod Paper 33, FAO., Rome. Chauhan-PPS. & Pande-BP. (1973). Indian J Anim Sci. 43: 300-05. Dhanda-MR. (1977). In handbook of Animal Husbandry, ICAR, New Delhi. pp 788. Dhand-NK., Singh-G., Sharma-DR. & Sandhu-KS. (2002). Indian J Anim Sci. 72: 850-52. Dua-K. (2001). Indian Dairyman. 53: 41-48. Dua-K., Randhawa-SS. & Randhawa-S. (2003). Proceedings 4 th Asian Buff Cong, New Delhi. Dua-K., Singh-H. & Randhawa-SS. (2003). Proceedings 4 th Asian Buff Cong, New Delhi. Gupta-RC., Kwatra-MS. & Singh-N. (1982). Indian Vet J. 59: 738-40. Jithendran-KP. & Bhat-TK. (1999). Trop. Anim Hlth Prod. 31: 205-14. Joshi-DV., Sharma-DR., Sodhi-SS., Dhillon-SS. (1976). Indian J Anim. Hlth. 15:27-28. Kulshreshta-RC., Singh-J. & Chandiramnai-NK. (1980) Haryana Vet. 19: 139-41. Nooruddin-M., Gill-BS., Singh-J. & Singh-KB. (1986). Buff J. 2: 81-86. Oberoi-MS., Kwatra-MS., Nem-Singh., Gurkirpal-Singh (1983). Indian J Ani Sci. 53: 1338-40. Pandit-RK., Gupta-SK. & Raman-SRP. (1982). Livestock-Adviser. 7: 51-53. Randhawa-CS. & Randhawa-SS. (2001). Aust Vet J. 79: 5, 349-51. Randhawa-CS. & Randhawa-SS. (2002). Indian J Anim Sci. 72: 1087-91. Randhawa-CS. (1999). Ph.D. thesis, Punjab Agric. Univ. Ludhiana. India. Randhawa-SS., Arora-CL., Randhawa-CS. & Joshi-BP. (1994). Proceedings XVIII World Buiatrics Cong., Bolonga, Italy; pp 1545-1548. Rao-AVN. & Sreemannarayana-O. (1982). Theriogenology. 17:189 Ray-SK. (1976). Ph.D. thesis, Punjab Agric. Univ. Ludhiana. India. Saini-NS. (2003). Personal communication. Saini-NS., Singh-KI., Sobti-VK. & Bansal-PS. (1992). Indian Vet. J. 69: 642

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