The laboratory service saw a diversity of submissions in terms of species and disease presentation, and the high number of calf submissions reported by the laboratories in recent months continued in June. , Kilkenny reported a number of cases of umbilical and hepatic abscessation in calves. In one such case, a three-week-old calf with a history of respiratory distress ante mortem was found on post mortem to have an umbilical abscess greatly distended with pus while several abscesses were found withinthe liver. Escherichia coli was the only pathogen isolated from these lesions. From a separate herd Kilkenny found abscessation in the umbilicus and liver of a three-week-old calf with a history of ill thrift, and again E. coii was isolated from the lesions. Cork found a very large umbilical abscess in a two-month-old calf that had been found dead. Arcanobacterium pyogenes was isolated from the abscess, while Pasteurella multocida was isolated from lung, which was partially consolidated. Post mortem examination of a 10-week-old calf submitted to Kilkenny revealed an umbilical abscess 15cm diameter, and large abscesses were also found in the liver. Sligo reported several cases of umbilical and hepatic abscessation in calves, which were usually betweensix and 10 weeks of age. Arcanobacterium pyogenes was the common bacterial isolate in such cases, these lesions were most likely to have been a consequence of umbilical infection arising from poor hygiene and management of the calves as neonates. Gastrointestinal disease seen by the laboratory service in June included a fatal E. coli K99 infection in a two-day-old calf submitted to Kilkenny that had been normal at birth but which rapidly succumbed to enteritis. Kilkenny also examined 10-day-old twin calves with a history of
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