NADIS disease bulletins are written specifically for farmers,
to increase awareness of prevalent conditions and promote disease prevention and control,
in order to benefit animal health and welfare.
Farmers are advised to discuss their individual farm circumstances with their veterinary surgeon.

July 2005

Richard Laven PhD BVetMed MRCVS

The NADIS records show that pyelonephritis is a relatively rare disease of older cattle

What is pyelonephritis?

Pyelonephritis is a bacterial infection of the kidneys which usually starts in the bladder and spreads back to the kidneys

Clinical Signs

There is a lot of variation between cases. Some cases are obvious with obvious changes such as blood-stained urine and colic while others are more gradual with poor production and weight loss. The main signs to look out for are:

• Blood-stained urine
• Severe abdominal pain (colic)
• Weight loss
• Fever
• Reduction in appetite
• Reduction in milk yield
• Swelling under jaw and brisket

For many of the signs, particularly fever, appetite, milk yield and urine changes, the changes may be intermittent with relapse and recovery.

Diagnosis

•  On the clinical signs described above
• Bacteriology of a urine sample can be very useful but difficult to get
• A vet may find one or both kidneys to be enlarged and painful on examination

Treatment

• Early treatment with antibiotics can be very effective
• However the longer the disease goes on the less effective treatment gets
• If you have a cow with the signs above, particularly urine changes get a vet to examine the cow as soon as possible.
 

Prevention

Pyelonephritis is a disease that usually occurs sporadically so prevention is difficult. However early isolation and treatment of infected animals, followed by thorough disinfection can reduce the spread to other cows in the herd.

Additionally, herds where several cases of pyelonephritis occur are more likely to use natural service. In such herds using AI has been associated with a reduction in the number of cases.

Copyright © NADIS 2005
www.nadis.org.uk

While every effort is made to ensure that the content of this forecast is accurate at the time of publication, NADIS cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions.
All information is general and will need to be adapted in the light of individual farm circumstances in consultation with your veterinary surgeon