[Omphalitis and risk factors of its development in calves]

The causes of occurring omphalitis in newborn calves at the farms in the Voronezh Region and using a test for predisposition to disease under production conditions have been considered. There were studied 408 newborn calves, of them 320 were kept in groups, 88 – individually, as well as 187 cows and 133 heifers. It has been found out that the occurrence and development of omphalitis in newborn calves was influenced by: late toxicosis of gestation (gestosis) in mother cows and first-calf heifers, the omphalus diameter enlarged up to 18.00 mm and more at the abdominal wall base within 1-3 h after birth (in healthy newborn calves – 14.2 mm), group-confined system and further development of gastro-intestinal and respiratory diseases. Omphalitis was more often reported in calves than in heifers. The incidence of group-confined newborn calves was 27.5% that is 1.73 times more than in individually kept calves (15.9%). In the newborn obtained from cows and heifers with the signs of gestosis, hypoxia was observed and omphalitis developed 6.34 and 4.2 times more often than from clinically healthy mothers. Under omphalitis there was a dependence of omphalus diameter and the time of falling-off the stump of umbilical cord on the disease severity. As researches have shown, the enlargement of omphalus diameter within 1-3 h of life may be regarded as an easily recorded prediction test for omphalitis. It is concluded that one of the causes of occurring omphalitis in calves is late toxicosis in mother cows resulting in hypoxia, reduced buffer capacity of blood and disordered formation of colostral immunity in newborn calves. Under group-confined system omphalitis is recorded more often than under individual system, herein, the incidence in calves is higher than in heifers. The earliest and most effective test defining the risk of development of omphalitis in newborn calves is the omphalus diameter enlarged to 18.0 mm and more in calves within 1-3 h after birth.