Synonyms

No known synonym

Name of the disease in English

Fever with no identifiable infectious site

The disease in brief

The entity described is neither a disease nor a condition but can be defined as a syndrome constituting a stage in a diagnostic approach aimed at identifying one or more initiating primary causes.

Clinic & diagnosis

This suspicion is formulated

– in the absence of any sign(s) indicating or specific to an illness for an attentive and observant breeder; in this case the reason for consultation is “sick”, “not well”, “not happy”, “not eating”, “drop in milk”;

– And /Or when the careful and complete veterinary clinical examination concludes only with a febrile syndrome, objectified in particular by hyperthermia, but without being able to attribute it to the infection of a particular organ (lung, breast, uterus, etc.)

Moreover, this suspicion is legitimate.

– if the case is isolated/unique (the bovine is febrile but not its congeners) and at a given time (other clinically identical cases are possible, but of non-simultaneous appearance and at an interval of at least a few days – a week);

-if the body temperature drops following antibiotic or anti-inflammatory therapy, but rises again after stopping the treatment.

These criteria rule out collective fevers, therefore collective viral infections, and particularly target bacterial infections that respond to antibiotic therapy; localized infections such as abscesses and other deep infections are concerned by this suspicion.

Suspicion will only be supported if the results of a properly conducted clinical examination are normal, in particular, for

– the head of the bovine (attitude, mouth, muzzle, nostrils, eyes),

– pulmonary auscultation,

– external lymph nodes,

 – breasts and milk,

– the vulva and the vagina,

– rectal exploration,

– urine test results on strips.

Typical sign of the disease

No description

Pictures

See below

Diagnostic formulas

No description

Differential diagnosis

-Mastitis dominated by colibacilli and streptococci MA29

-Acute viral bronchopneumonia -RS26 onset

 

– Heat stroke = hyperthermia without fever

– Blood infection – Mycoplasma wenyonii

– Poisoning by ergo-peptide alkaloids

Confirm a suspicion?

Additional tests are intended to explore some of the possible causes. Their prescription may be considered depending on the incidence rate in the herd.

For a single/isolated case, the search for inflammatory markers is indicated and includes a blood count/formula and blood analytes (e.g. total protein, albumin, fibrinogen).

Prognosis and treatment

Prognosis: not applicable or considered reserved.

Waiting treatment based on the administration of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; careful monitoring of the progress is essential, with systematic and repeated search for possible signs indicating a primary condition.

Possible additional treatments, based on the context (known history of the animal, the breeding, and socio-psychological profile of the breeder).

Prevention

No prevention possible without diagnosis.

References

No description