Keep Salmonella out

• Practice strict biosecurity to prevent introduction of Salmonella into the herd. Place new animals in isolation for at least two weeks. Do not allow outside vehicles (rendering truck, livestock truck, etc.) or visitors with manure contaminated tires or boots access to cattle or feed areas.

Keep Salmonella away from calves

• Provide clean, dry calving pens. Avoid group calving areas. Remove calves from their dams as soon as possible after birth and place them in a clean, dry, well ventilated environment, such as a hutch, where they do not have contact with other calves or adult cattle.

• Maintain strict control of colostrum management to prevent contamination.

• Do not feed raw waste milk to calves. If waste milk will be used consider pasteurizing waste milk prior to using.

• Do not allow farm personnel who have had contact with older cattle to enter the calf area without washing hands and boots and changing coveralls.

Keep Salmonella from spreading animal to animal

• Identify and isolate any newly sick animals immediately. Personnel should handle sick animals separately/last and maintain strict sanitation as described below

• Sanitize and disinfect equipment used between animals including water or milk pails, feeders, esophageal tube feeders, nipple bottles, and oral medication equipment (ex. balling gun).

• Wash hands, boots, and common equipment between groups of animals. Change coveralls if they become contaminated with manure. Farm personnel should practice good personal hygiene.

Keep feed and water free of Salmonella

• Maintain clean, dry pens and alleys. Avoid walking across feed with manure contaminated boots. Do not use the same equipment for handling manure or dead animals and feed. Clean manure from tires before driving in feed bunks or feed storage areas.

• Prevent contamination of feeds and water sources by feces from cattle, birds, rodents, pets, and wild animals. Restrict animal access to surface water sources.

• Maintain clean, dry barnyards. Prevent opportunities for flooding of manure laden areas.

• If possible store manure at least 60 days in summer and 90 days in winter.

• Incorporate or spread manure on crop rather than grazing land but if manure must be spread on grazing land, delay grazing for 30 days and then only graze adults or non-susceptible groups.

• Avoid spreading manure when soils are saturated and in areas with high runoff potential

Maximize animal resistance to Salmonella

• Provide good cow comfort and prevent herd stresses such as excessive heat and overcrowding

• Aggressively monitor and treat fresh and sick animals

• Prevent sudden feed changes

• Maximize feed intake in the periparturient period

  • Maintain adequate fiber intake

  • Minimize milk fever, ketosis, displaced abomasum and retained placenta

  • Prevent over-conditioning in the dry period

• Implement a sound general herd vaccination program

Salmonella Dublin specific recommendations

• S. Dublin is known to produce long-term carrier animals that remain healthy but may shed S. Dublin intermittently in the feces and milk.

• If current herd status is unknown for S. Dublin:

  • Consider repeated bulk tank milk testing using the S.Dublin ELISA every 3 months over a one year period.

• If herd is currently free of S. Dublin:

  • Consider only purchasing animals from herds that are negative for S.Dublin on repeated bulk tank milk testing using the S. Dublin ELISA.

  • If data is unavailable on the herd of origin of purchased animals, consider screening individual purchased animals with the S. Dublin ELISA on milk or blood samples. Animals should be isolated on arrival until results are obtained. This test may not detect all S. Dublin carrier animals.

• If herd is known to be infected with S. Dublin:

  • The highest priority should be preventing the transmission of S.Dublin to newborn and young calves. See above for general recommendations.

  • It may also be beneficial to identify high risk adult cattle prior to introduction to the calving pen by using the S. Dublin ELISA on individual animals. Ideally this would involve multiple tests over at least a 3 month period to more accurately categorize an individual animal.

  • As a monitoring tool, consider testing ten calves over 3 months of age with the S. Dublin ELISA to assess whether the management practices in place prevented exposure to S. Dublin.