Is GD skin or gut related? Probably both...
"two lines
of thought have developed"
DR. RICK PHILLIPS
Following the presentations by Collett
and Roney, the symposium's moderator,
Dr. Rick Phillips of Schering-Plough
Animal Health, noted that "two lines
of thought have developed" about
gangrenous dermatitis.
One pegs GD as a "scratch-related issue," while
the other asks whether GD is coming through the
gut as well," he said.
"If you look at other species - cattle and sheep,
for example - clostridia play a major role, it's gut associated.
It showers the blood, settles out and
then creates problems later," Phillips added.
The veterinarian thinks that vulnerability in both the
skin and in the lining of the intestine probably plays
a role in allowing GD to gain entry.
"One of the things we've seen in posting sessions
coast to coast is that operations that have different
kinds of programs for managing coccidiosis often
have dramatic differences in their rates of dermatitis,"
he said.
What was notable in many of the operations that
had lowered their rates of GD was that they had used
coccidiosis vaccine to modify the window of coccidial
cycling. "On their earlier programs, they were cycling
about 8 days earlier than with the vaccine. And that
peak cycling was occurring right at the time the dermatitis
would kick in," Phillips reported. When those
operations began using the vaccine, they effectively
moved outside of that coccidia-cycling window and
the rate of dermatitis decreased significantly.
Phillips emphasized that it is by no means clear the
exact role that vaccination can play in managing
dermatitis. More work needs to be done to determine
how coccidiosis and gangrenous dermatitis interact
with each other.
But, he added, "Doing that kind of research is a priority
for us. It's very important for us in the industry to
decide if the intestinal issue is associated with the
development of GD. Because if it is, that demands a
whole different management strategy."
Spring 2008
Back to North American Edition (#1)
