An on-farm observational study on the prevalence and associated factors of bacteremia in preweaned dairy calves diagnosed with bronchopneumonia by thoracic ultrasonography.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Bacteremia is a potential systemic complication of bronchopneumonia (BP) in dairy calves, which increases the risk of sepsis and mortality. However, data on bacteremia in farm conditions is still limited. This study investigates the prevalence of bacteremia in calves with BP on farms, examining isolated pathogens and the associations between thoracic ultrasonography (TUS) and non-endoscopic bronchoalveolar lavage (nBAL) findings.

Results

The study enclosed 13 dairy farms and included 211 eligible preweaned dairy calves, of which 88 were diagnosed with BP based on a highly sensitive threshold of ≥ 1 cm for lung consolidation detected by TUS. The affected calves underwent non-endoscopic bronchoalveolar lavage (nBAL) and blood culture procedures. Blood culture result

SUBMITTER: Boccardo A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11984053 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature