Synonyms

No known synonym

Name of the disease in English

 Frothy bloat – Primary ruminal tympany

The disease in brief

These are green fodder (clover, alfalfa, etc.) or diets rich in finely ground cereals (flours) that will cause the formation of foam in the rumen, thus preventing the evacuation of gases by belching. The disease represents a risk for herds at certain vegetative stages of fodder; it can lead to losses of cattle in a few hours.

Clinic & diagnosis

With a left flank that swells moderately (first in the slope zone), then enormously in a few hours, to the point that both flanks appear swollen, we can suspect foamy meteorization:

-If the animals are grazing with young legume fodder

– If the animals are fed diets rich in finely ground cereals,

-If foam is removed by ruminocentesis or probing…

Typical sign of the disease

No description

Pictures

See below

Diagnostic formulas

No description

Differential diagnosis

– Acute gaseous meteorization due to lack of eructation DG24

-Acute gaseous meteorism due to esophageal obstruction DG24.1

Confirm a suspicion?

Probing or ruminocentesis or trocar placement with visualization of the foam are the simplest means of confirmation.

Prognosis and treatment

It is necessary to know how to manage priorities if several cattle are bloated, by estimating the breathing difficulties of the cattle:

-Place a trocar in cattle that are having difficulty breathing, with a trocar of sufficient diameter; if this is insufficient to clear the rumen, do not hesitate to open it more widely with a scalpel.

-For very bloated cattle, but which are breathing normally, swallow 250 to 500 mL of mineral oil or 150-200 g of bicarbonate in water or polaxalene through a tube...

Prevention

At the pasture:

- Only put cattle on high-risk plots once the morning dew has evaporated; feed them a more fibre-balanced forage before putting them out to grass

-Practice grazing on wire or in paddocks so that the fodder is consumed right down to its base.

In the fattening workshop, maintain a minimum fibrosity of the ration >15%.

-Prefer crushed grains to ground flour, avoid sudden changes in diet

References

Veterinary Medicine-Pocket companion -9th Edition BLOOD DC-page 99