Interesting Cases

This calf originally presented with a high temperature, low appetite and stiffness. It improved on antibiotic therapy, but never totally recovered. Despite three types of antibiotic, the temperature never came down.

Two weeks after initial presentation, wounds broke out on both the back legs, halfway between the hock and the foot. The portion of limb below these wounds then bent forwards nearly 90 degrees and the calf walked around in this position.

A few days after that the ears started to rot off and the left forelimb began to swell, causing the animal some discomfort. These photos were taken at that point.

The likely diagnosis was a rare presentation of a Salmonella Dublin infection. This bacterium usually causes sudden death, but in some cases the calf survives.

The endotoxins that the infection produces destroy the blood supply to the extremities of the animal. The wounds that broke out on the hind limbs were the point below which all the tissue had died.

The portion of the leg that had bent forwards was in fact dead. This accounts for the lack of discomfort. The toxins were also responsible for the ears rotting away. The forelimb swelling was likely to be the start of a similar occurrence in that leg.

Despite the fact that the animal did not appear to be suffering and it had put on weight, it was felt that without any chance of recovery, the kindest thing was to euthanase the animal.