Animal Health Management, Signs, Causes

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Hi, welcome to this blog on the Title: Animal Health Management.

Table Of Contents

  1. Meaning of animal health.
  2. Signs of good health in farm animals.
  3. Meaning of disease in farm animals
  4. Types of disease in farm animals
  5. Causes of disease in farm animals
  6. Signs of disease in farm animals.
  7. Terms used in animal health.
  8. Revision Questions.

See Also

Meaning of Health and Disease

Health is defined as a state of alertness, freedom from ill-health, accompanied by unhindered growth and productivity of an animal. If an animals physiological processes are functioning normally, the farm animal is described as being healthy.

Signs of Good Health in Farm Animals

Signs of good health in farm animals are:

  • Contentment
  • Alertness
  • Eating with relish and cudding by ruminants.
  • Sleek coat
  • Pliable and elastic skin
  • Bright eyes
  • Pink membranes
  • Normal body temperature
  • Normal pulse rate
  • Normal breathing rate.

Meaning of Disease

Disease can be defined as the absence of normal health due to infection (present of pathogens in the body), nutritional deficiency and imbalance, hereditary and functional disorder as well as injuries. Disease can also be described as any disturbance in the normal life or body functions of an organism, which may affect a particular organ, or the whole body and sometimes lead to reduced growth, production, or premature death of the farm animal.

Types of Disease in Farm Animals

  1. Peracute disease: A disease is described as peracute if it occurs and it last for a very short period of time and no symptoms are easily noticed.
  2. Acute disease: Acute disease in a farm animal shows some noticeable symptoms and manifests maximum casualty.
  3. Sub-acute disease: A sub-acute disease is the type that last more than the acute one with more symptoms of a disease.
  4. Chronic disease: A chronic disease is the type that keeps on longer, causing loss of growth and production, but not resulting to death of the animal.

Causes of Diseases In Farm Animals

Diseases in farm animals are caused mainly by micro-organisms called pathogens. This pathogens are:

Others are:

  • Malnutrition or metabolic disorder.

Signs of Disease in Farm Animals

There are many external signs by which diseased animal can be identified. These are:

  • Unthriftiness
  • Lack of appetite
  • Dullness
  • Rough coat
  • Ruffle feather in poultry
  • Blood stain in faeces
  • Discharge of mucus from the nostrils, anus (or vent in birds).
  • Reduced production
  • Wasting
  • Diarrhea or watery stool
  • Premature abortion
  • Reduced or loss of weight
  • Reduced feed and water intake
  • Decrease in activities
  • Discharge from mouth and eyes
  • Increase in mortality rate

Terms Used In Animal Health Management

  1. Pests: Pests are organisms which through their feeding habit cause physical damage and /or discomfort to other organisms called host. Examples of pests are mites, lice, ticks, houseflies, mosquitoes, sand flies and tsetse flies.
  2. Pathogens: Pathogens are micro-organisms that cause diseases in farm animals. Examples of pathogens are bacteria, fungi, viruses and protozoa.
  3. Vectors: Vectors are also pests which, besides causing physical damage to the Host, transmit disease causing-organisms to farm animals. Examples of vectors are tsetse flies, ticks, mites and fleas.
  4. Parasites: Parasite are a class of organisms that live on or in their host permanently. They establish a physiological relationship with the host and rely on them totally for food and protection. Examples of parasite are ticks, lice, mites, fleas, liver flukes tapeworms and roundworms.

Difference between Resistance and susceptibility to Diseases

The difference between Resistance and successibility to disease is that an animal is said to be resistant to disease when it is not affected by an invading pathogenic disease causing organism or pathogen, while the animal is said to the susceptible to disease when it is not able to ward off the effect of the invading pathogenic organism, in which case it manifests disease symptoms.

Economic Importance of Animal Diseases

  • The diseases brings about poor growth of animals.
  • Diseases lead to poor feed utilization by animals due to loss of appetite or anorexia.
  • Diseases brings about low yield of products.
  • Diseases in farm animals produce low-income for farmers due to reduce quantity and quality of products and death of the animals.

Factors Which Determine The Degree Of An Animal’s Resistance To Disease

The factors which determine the degree of an animal’s resistant to diseases are:

  1. Development of immunity
  2. Specie of animals
  3. Inoculation
  4. Level of feeding.
  5. Age of animal
  6. Physiological condition of the animal.

Conditions That May Inactivate A Pathogen

Conditions that may inactivate or will not bring back to active life a pathogen are:

  1. Low temperature
  2. High temperature
  3. Sunlight and x-rays.
  4. High pH medium.
  5. Dryness or low relative humidity.

Factors That Could Predispose Animals To Disease

Factors that could predispose animals to diseases include:

  1. Health status of the animal: Animals with poor health stand the risk of getting infected with diseases faster than animals with good health.
  2. Nutrition: Animals which are poorly fed are easily infected with diseases than animal that are well fed with balanced diet.
  3. Sanitation: Poor or improper sanitation, including dirty environment could predispose animals to diseases.
  4. Management: Poor management of the animals such as non-administration of vaccines and drugs at appropriate doses and time could predispose animals to diseases.
  5. Breeds of animals: Poor breeds of animals are in position to get infected with diseases than good breeds.
  6. Poor housing: This predisposes farm animals to disease due to unfavorable climatic conditions like heavy rainfall and high temperature. Diseases and parasitic infestation can also break out due to poor housing.
  7. Unfavorable climatic conditions: extremes of temperature, winds, rainfall, etc do predispose farm animals to diseases.

Revision Questions

  1. (a) What is the meaning of health in animal health management? (b) briefly explain four factors that could predispose farm animals to disease.
  2. (a) State six signs of good health in farm animals. (b) States eight signs of disease in farm animals.
  3. Diseases in farm animals are caused by what? (b) list and explain four types of diseases in farm animals.
  4. (a) Define the term disease (b) state a difference between Resistance and susceptibility to disease (c) enumerate four economic importance of animal disease (d) outline three conditions that may inactivate a pathogenic organism.
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