The Use of Non‐Immune Plasma Powder in the Prophylaxis of Neonatal Escherichia coli Diarrhoea in Calves

Nollet, H.; Laevens, H.; Deprez, P.; Sanchez, R.; Driessche, E. Van; Muylle, E.

The protective use of plasma powder from cattle and swine against experimentally induced neonatal E. coli diarrhoea in colostrum‐deprived calves was examined. Diarrhoea was induced with a strain expressing F5(+) fimbriae and a strain expressing F17(+) fimbriae. In all groups supplemented with bovine plasma powder, diarrhoea and fever were less severe than in the control groups. For the groups infected with the F5(+) E. coli strain, a reduction in excretion of the challenge strain by 2–4 orders of magnitude and by 1–2 orders of magnitude was seen when supplemented with bovine plasma powder at a dose of 25 g/l milk and 10 g/l milk, respectively. The bovine plasma powder showed also beneficial effects in the F17(+) infected groups. No mortality, no septicaemia and no severe clinical signs were observed. Concerning the excretion of the E. coli F17(+) strain in the faeces, no significant difference with the control group was found. Swine plasma powder showed little beneficial effect on E. coli diarrhoea in calves in this study.