ABSTRACT:
Digestive problems are important causes of diseases in cattle and studies on the frequency of its occurrence in the semiarid region of Brazil have not been conducted. The aim of this study was to acquire information on the occurrence of digestive diseases of cattle attended at the Veterinary Hospital of the Federal University of Campina Grande from January 2000 to December 2014. During the period of the survey 1,202 cattle were attended, from which 19.4% (233/1202) were diagnosed with digestive disorders. The lethality rate of the diseases was 49.8% (116/233). Traumatic reticulitis and vagal indigestion were diagnosed respectively in 13.3% e 5.1% of the animals treated being considered common and high lethality motor disorders, which were attributed to the severity of injuries, delay in the clinical care and inaccurate diagnoses. Obstruction of the intake flow, caused by esophageal obstruction (4.3%), rumen impactations (11.7%), omasum and/or abomasum impaction (3.4%), and especially intestinal accidents (26.2%) was a commonly identified condition, and its case totality exceeded the number cases of ruminorreticular cavity fermentative disorders. Actinobacillosis (6.9%), actinomycosis (3%) and paratuberculosis (1.7%) were the bacterial infectious diseases diagnosed, and the first was the most frequent. Viral infectious diseases diagnosed were malignant catarrhal fever (4.3%), bovine viral diarrhea and mucosal disease (3%). Despite the management systems with low animal density and climatic conditions of the region do not favor the survival of gastrointestinal parasites, parasitic diseases were also important causes of morbidity in young cattle (9.4%), suggesting that suitable control measures for those diseases have not been implemented Motor disorders of the ruminoreticular cavity, followed by intestinal obstructions and digestive infectious diseases are the most frequent digestive problems of cattle in the semi-arid region of Brazil. The ingestion of foreign bodies is one of the most serious problems in the region and intense work is needed to disseminate it on prophylactic measures. In addition, measures for the control and prophylaxis of infectious diseases such as bovine viral diarrhea and paratuberculosis need to be disclosed, due to the possibility of dissemination of these diseases in the herds of the region.
INDEX TERMS:
Cattle; semiarid; digestive diseases; digestive system; clinics