by Mayy Feras

Created on: March 16, 2009   Last Updated: March 21, 2009

Scours, which is often referred to as Beef Cattle Disease, is a term describing diarrhea in calves, common result of bacterial or viral infection.

Newborn calves are especially vulnerable to the disease, especially since their immune systems are not fully developed soon after birth. A calf infected with scours can easily infect another calf. Some scours appear in very young calves, as soon as zero to seven days of birth, while some cases don't appear until twenty-one or more days after birth. Although more common in hand-reared calves, it can also occur in calves which are being suckled by their mothers.

Scours are caused when the normal amount of water in the digestive tract is disrupted, resulting in water loss and causing dehydration. This is commonly accompanied by loss of body salts. Scours can be caused by coronavirus, rotavirus, K99 E. coli bacteria or Clostridium perfringens Type C.

Calves that are suffering from scours commonly have moderate to severe diarrhea, suffer from dehydration and, occasionally, death. Calves that survive scours attacks are often weak and vulnerable to other diseases throughout their lives.

Nutritional scours, also know as Noninfectious scours, are usually caused by changes in a calf's diet. Noninfectious scours usually aren't life threatening to calves, but they can weaken a calf, making its immune system more vulnerable to infectious scours.

Bacterial E. coli, Salmonella, Clostridium perfringins, Rotavirus,Coronavirus, Cryptosporidia, Coccidia (Eimera), and Giardia are the leading causes of infectious scours. Bacterial agents produce toxins that degrade the intestinal lining. The calf responds to these toxins by pumping large amounts of water into the intestinal tract as if trying to flush out the toxin.

Treatment for a case of scours is commonly the same, regardless of its cause. It should be given to prevent further dehydration, and correcting the acidosis and electrolyte loss. Antibiotic treatment can be administered at the same time that treatment for dehydration is given. (In the case of major dehydration, intravenous fluid administration may be necessary)

The best way to prevent scours is to vaccinate the pregnant cow with the proper preventive medicine at least 9 to 10 weeks prior to the expected date of calving to maximize the calf's natural resistance and acquired immunity (colostrum) prior to exposure.

Some cows are chronic carriers, and intermittently shed low numbers of the viral scour agents. The agents can survive very well in almost every circumstance. The incubation period for these in baby calves is usually around three days. Scouring baby calves infected with these agents shed them in very high numbers, contaminating everything around them. Heifers' calves are more susceptible than cows' calves.

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