Diseases That Affect the Neonate

Chapter 57 Diseases That Affect the Neonate



FAILURE OF PASSIVE TRANSFER


Failure of passive transfer is a condition where a foal does not receive adequate amounts of immunoglobulins from the mare’s colostrum. This condition can occur any time the foal does not receive enough colostrum. Such occurrences can be a mare that rejects the foal, a mare that has not produced milk, or a foal that cannot stand on its own. Colostrum (first milk) contains antibodies against any antigens to which the mare has been exposed. The foal’s intestine will not absorb the antibodies more than 18 hours after parturition, thus it is important that the foal receive colostrum as soon as possible.




CLINICAL SIGNS



• The mare may have a distended udder

• The foal appears septicemic (usually seen a few days after birth)

• The foal appears maladjusted (can appear hours after birth)


DIAGNOSIS



• If a foal is suspected of having failure of passive transfer, the diagnosis can be confirmed by performing a simple IgG test.


TREATMENT



• If the results of the foal’s IgG test are low, the animal can be given colostrum from a nurse mare, as long as it receives the colostrum within 18 (preferably 12) hours after birth. After 18 hours or if no colostrum is available, plasma transfusions can be given.


INFORMATION FOR CLIENTS



• Colostrum can be frozen for future use in breeding operations where this is a problem.


NEONATAL ISOERYTHROLYSIS


Neonatal isoerythrolysis is a condition where the mare’s antibodies attack the foal’s red blood cells. The condition is usually seen only in foals from multiparous mares, and it is most often seen in Thoroughbreds. The disease occurs after a mare is mated to a stallion with a different blood type. If the resultant foal carries the sire’s blood type, and if the mare’s and foal’s blood mix (as can happen at parturition), the mare will produce antibodies against the foal’s erythrocytes. If the breeding is repeated the next year, antibodies in the colostrum will attack the foal’s erythrocytes, causing lysis.




CLINICAL SIGNS



• A foal that is affected with this condition becomes listless and weak because of diminished oxygen-carrying capacity of its blood.

Related posts:

  1. Hematologic and Immunologic Diseases
  2. Hematologic and Immunologic Diseases
  3. Diseases of the Cardiovascular System
  4. Hematologic Diseases

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Aug 31, 2016 | Posted by in GENERAL | Comments Off on Diseases That Affect the Neonate

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