A Survey of Bovine Practitioners to Determine Factors Associated with Acute Bloat Syndrome in Pre-Weaned Dairy Heifers

Abstract

Acute bloat syndrome (ABS) -also known as abomasal bloat syndrome; perhaps better termed acute forestomach dilatation syndrome- is an emerging problem in dairy calves. The disease syndrome affects young calves that are generally healthy prior to the onset of clinical signs and is characterized by abdominal distension and death within 6 to 24 hours. Some calves will apparently respond to therapy if they receive immediate and aggressive intervention, although it is not clear that clinical improvement is necessarily a result of the therapy. ABS has been identified primarily in well managed herds but that may simply reflect a tendency for managers of those herds to be more aggressive at pursuing the problem diagnostically. Many herds have had calf losses due to ABS. In order to further clarify the syndrome and in hopes of identifying promising avenues for further research, members of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners were asked about their experience with ABS.