The Relationship of Serology and Nasal Microbiology to Pulmonary Lesions in Feedlot Cattle

A group of 62 beef calves, born and raised in an institutional herd, were transferred at nine months of age to a commercial feedlot where they remained until slaughter seven months later. Clinical, immunological and microbiological monitoring was carried out during this period. No serious clinical illness occurred. One hundred percent seroconversion to bovine virus diarrhea virus took place after introduction of the calves into the feedlot as well as almost complete (59/62) seroconversion to bovine herpesvirus 1, a proportion of which could be related to a single vaccination. Significant increases in recoveries of Mycoplasma spp. from nasal swabs also occurred in the feedlot. At slaughter, the lungs of all animals were recovered and examined for pathological lesions: 23 were completely normal and 39 showed minor histological changes chiefly characterized by areas of lobular to sublobular atelectasis. For this group of calves, no relationship was found between the presence of potential pathogens in nasal mucus and the occurrence of lesions in the lung. The serological results are discussed in terms of vaccinations and other known events that occurred during the study period.