In recent times we have been called to postmortem predominantly younger cattle that have died suddenly, and the findings are similar, a rapidly decomposing carcass, lots of gas and a terrible smell when the carcass is opened. These are classical signs of clostridial infection.
The risk of clostridial disease is usually higher in youngstock when on high-quality feed or when grazing crops. High carbohydrate diets generally cause dietary changes that lead to clostridial overgrowth, while winter crop is associated with higher soil intakes and therefore increased clostridial spore consumption. Beet in particular combines both high soil intake with high ME, and as such can be a particularly high-risk feed.
Disease may also follow yarding or trucking.
The preventative is vaccination with a 5-in-1 vaccine (these contain the five most common strains of clostridia). However, with the value of cattle now being so high, we are encouraging vaccination with Covexin®10, a vaccine that contains 10 different strains of clostridia.
Not all of these strains are present in NZ but Covexin® 10 does contain Clostridium sordellii and while it is not a primary cause of clostridial death in NZ it is believed to have a role in the clostridial disease malignant oedema, a disease which should be more accurately called gas gangrene.
Why do I go into this detail? Recently Zoetis withdrew from the market their Ultravac®SD 6in1 clostridial vaccine. This product contained the five most common clostridial diseases that are in either Multine® or Ultravac® 5in1, but it also incorporated Clostridium sordellii.
Whether you have bred your cattle or you have purchased-in, always ensure their clostridial vaccinations are done and they’re up to date. With these vaccines an initial shot followed four to six weeks later with a booster is required and thereafter an annual booster.
When using Covexin® 10 or Multine®/Ultravac® 5in1 keep the vaccine cool and change your vaccination needle regularly. As a guide, after every tenth cattle beast. Particularly for Covexin® 10, dirty needles will increase the chance of a vaccination site reaction.
These vaccines are applied subcutaneously, between the skin and the underlying muscle.
