February 22, 2006

A come-from-behind winner

Those of you who bought a square for the Pierce College farm CL abscess rupture game, sorry to report there’s no big payoff. We have a clear winner and she’s blown past the favored contender to victory.

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That squishy stuff seeping from the lump on her jaw is Corynebacterium, now on its way to snuggle in the dark, damp ground for a long time to come. She’s pregnant; her babies will be born carriers.

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Just like her pen mate was and the babies she’s carrying, too.

Isolating them from the rest of their herd so the contagious exudate contaminates only the soil, surfaces it contacts, and each other is one step in herd health management, with a few more still to go. It’s also a good idea to group together all animals with obviously visible abscesses. Then treat them.

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But this one’s likely to blow the next time she scratches her head on the “fence.”

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How much of a problem is it? They’re only sold for food. You decide.

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