Vet on call: Dealing with leg joint inflammation in calves

Malelo Ipani attends to a calf in a farm in Kajiado County. Farmers should always ensure that cattle's maternity areas and the calf pens are clean and free of objects that can injure calves’ legs. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The calf was relieved of all pain below the point of injection. From knowledge and experience, I knew the heifer, at that point, did not even register the existence of the portion of the leg below the injection.
  • The discussion helped me to decide on the antibiotics I would use. I chose a combination of four antibiotics. Two I gave into the vein as a mixture and the other two into the muscles.
  • Using a gauge 18 needle and 2ml syringe, I drew out fluid from the joint. It was thick yellow pus looking like spoilt milk.
  • Joint ill is a common infection of the joints in calves, kids and lambs especially where the newborn fails to take enough colostrum.

Julius is a dairy farmer in Nairobi. His 10 cows of mixed breeds complement his earnings from other businesses.

When he called me to treat his heifer calf two weeks ago, he was emphatic that the calf should be saved at all costs. In it he saw a valuable cow as productive as the mother.

Though his cows are not high producers, the big milk demand in his operation area ensures him good earnings.

He told me the calf had started limping a month earlier and he thought it was a slight injury that would heal on its own.

However, within a week, the calf preferred to sleep most of the time and stopped feeding well.

Both carpal joints began swelling and became painful and hot. He even noticed the calf would turn and face the wall to hide the joint when someone approached. I explained animals have memories of unpleasant events and try to avoid a repeat of the same.

Julius further told me his regular service provider had attended to the calf but the problem had persisted after a week of treatment. He had decided to request for my assistance when one of the joints got a swelling that burst and produced pus.

As I got into the pen to examine the calf, it turned and faced the wall. The animal had heavy breathing and a sad face.

The temperature was elevated and heart rate was fast. This calf was definitely in pain and the joints were probably spewing bacterial and tissue decomposition toxins into its whole system.

I bend to examine the joint and the poor calf started complaining loudly even before I touched it. At that point, I explained to Julius that I had to administer a pain killer and sedative before even touching the joints. They were too painful for the calf to bear with physical examination of the joints.

After the two medications I gave by injection, the calf relaxed and became drowsy. I further injected a pain killer called local anaesthetic above the heavily swollen right carpal joint to block nerve sensation in the joint.

BLOCKED THE PAIN

The calf was relieved of all pain below the point of injection. From knowledge and experience, I knew the heifer, at that point, did not even register the existence of the portion of the leg below the injection.

As the drugs were taking effect, I called the service provider because he had not left any clinical notes on the case. He explained the treatment he had given and told me he had been called to treat the animal when the case was already advanced.

The discussion helped me to decide on the antibiotics I would use. I chose a combination of four antibiotics. Two I gave into the vein as a mixture and the other two into the muscles.

It is always good to give an antibiotic before physical examination of the joint to avoid promoting entry of bacteria from the infection site into the blood stream.

I palpated the right joint all round and found that it contained fluid but some areas were very had. The joint was also crooked and stiff. It could not straighten. The left joint was slightly swollen but not painful.

The sedative and pain killer injected had blocked the pain and I did not need to inject the local anaesthetic above the joint like I had done with the right one.

On further examination, I found the calf had friction and cut injuries on both the front and hind legs. I determined they resulted from the legs being trapped in a gap between the stone wall of the pen and the floor board.

I checked the navel and found it was normal. I then shaved a fluctuant point on the joint and cleaned with 70 per cent alcohol, known as surgical spirit.

Using a gauge 18 needle and 2ml syringe, I drew out fluid from the joint. It was thick yellow pus looking like spoilt milk.

“Your calf has a disease called joint ill,” I told Julius who was wondering why I was doing so many manoeuvres and treatments on his calf.

He told me though I had explained to him my diagnostic process, he had not anticipated it to be so long. He was, however, happy that I had explained to him the problem and its cause.

FULL RECOVERY

I then shared the treatment process. It would involve surgically draining the pus in the right joint and prolonged multidrug antibiotic and anti-inflammatory injections.

It would later include physical joint manipulation, medically called physiotherapy, to help return the leg to proper shape and function. The left joint had inflammation but no pus.

I cautioned Julius the treatment would be prolonged, expensive and may or may not result in full recovery. I had, however, treated worse cases to full recovery. He affirmed to me the calf was very valuable to him and he preferred I do the treatment as necessary.

I drained the pus by making a surgical incision into the joint. I expressed lots of both liquid and cheesy pus, then cleaned thoroughly with hydrogen peroxide and iodine.

I asked Julius to apply tetracycline antibiotic spray on the wound twice per day for 5 to 10 days. He would also lay a heavy wood shaving layer on the pen floor to cushion the calf’s joints from injury. The animal is recovering well but will take up to six weeks to fully heal.

Joint ill is a common infection of the joints in calves, kids and lambs especially where the newborn fails to take enough colostrum.

Bacteria gets into the joints through the umbilical cord or direct injuries to the legs or joints. Farmers should detect the disease early when the animal starts limping or when joints swell and become hot before pus starts forming. This improves the chances of full recovery and reduces the probability of death.

Farmers should ensure maternity areas and the calf pens are clean and free of objects that can injure calves’ legs.