Veterinary Medicine: Research and Reports (Dec 2021)
Evaluation of Activated Charcoal as an Alternative to Antimicrobials for the Treatment of Neonatal Calf Diarrhea
Abstract
Joseph Ross,1 Crystal Schatz,1 Kendall Beaugrand,1 Sjoert Zuidhof,2 Brenda Ralston,3 Nick Allan,1 Merle Olson4 1Chinook Contract Research Inc., Airdrie, AB, Canada; 2Sjoert Zuidhof Consulting, Okotoks, AB, Canada; 3Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, Airdrie, AB, Canada; 4Alberta Veterinary Laboratories Ltd., Calgary, AB, CanadaCorrespondence: Joseph Ross Email [email protected]: Neonatal calf diarrhea (NCD) is a major cause of death and economic loss in the cattle industry. Although NCD is caused by a variety of nutritional factors and non-bacterial pathogens, treatment typically includes systemic antimicrobial therapy, even for non-severe cases that are more likely to have non-bacterial causes. Novel, non-antimicrobial therapies are needed to reduce antimicrobial use and optimize production efficiency.Methods: This production-level study compared the efficacy of activated charcoal to that of an antimicrobial regimen for treating mild-to-moderate cases of NCD, and identified the most common etiological agents. Calves diagnosed with non-severe diarrhea were randomly allocated into 3 treatment groups (n = 86 per group): group A received a standard antimicrobial regimen, B received both antimicrobials and activated charcoal, and C received activated charcoal only. Animals were monitored over the course of 7 days for mortality and recovery from diarrhea. Fecal samples were collected upon enrollment (day 0) and on day 7 to assess the presence of major NCD-causing pathogens.Results: Mortality was higher for groups B and C relative to A, although this difference was only statistically significant for group B vs A. No significant difference in the number of recovered animals was observed among the treatment groups, although group C was significantly slower to recover than A or B. The vast majority of day 0 samples were positive for non-bacterial organisms (mainly rotavirus and Cryptosporidium parvum), which decreased significantly by day 7 regardless of treatment group.Conclusion: Antimicrobials only moderately improved outcomes for non-severe diarrhea cases relative to activated charcoal. Thus, systemic antimicrobial treatment is likely unnecessary for the majority of NCD cases and should be limited to severe cases.Keywords: antimicrobial stewardship, activated charcoal, scours, non-bacterial, rotavirus, cryptosporidium
