The seminar, organized by Huvepharma®, took place in Pravets, Bulgaria from June 26th – 28th 2019 and attracted over 200 participants from countries across Europe as well as Brazil and Russia.
During the two-day seminar, nine keynote speakers addressed the audience on topics related to neonatal calf health. The seminar program also allowed time for dynamic and interesting questions and discussions involving the participants.
Dr David Black (UK) opened the seminar by giving an interesting overview of neonatal calf health from the position of a veterinarian, as well as an outlook for future cattle production and projected market developments up to 2050.
The neonatal stage is one of the most crucial stages in every newborn calf’s life, irreparably influencing the health status as well as the performance potential throughout the entire life of the animal. Challenges faced by the newborn animal from the moment it is born, as well as ways of controlling and minimizing their impact were addressed throughout the seminar by renowned speakers and vet practitioners, sharing their thoughts, knowledge and experience with attending participants.
Dr John F. Mee (IRL) focused on the “Golden hour”, the first hour of life after calving, as the most important time. Any challenges faced during this period will have the biggest impact on the future development of the animal.
The prevalence of pathogens in the neonatal period including results from a comprehensive study conducted in New Zealand, was presented by Prof. Alex Grinberg (NZ).
Prof. Sotiraki (GRE) and Dr Kostopoulou (GRE) gave an overview of new laboratory and field diagnostic techniques for neonatal pathogens, with special focus on Cryptosporidiosis, a disease affecting almost all cattle farms around the world.
Cryptosporidiosis was discussed in more detail by Prof Losson (BE) and Dr Duquesne (BE). Prof Losson pointed out that Cryptosporidiosis is a perfect fit for the one health umbrella concept, since both human and animal health communities should cooperate to minimize its impact. Dr Duquesne highlighted the negative implications of a Cryptosporidiosis challenge on neonatal calf development, followed by an overview of the biosecurity measures that can be used to reduce it on cattle farms.
Dr Stefan Krueger (DE) and Dr Sarah Gibbs (UK) shared their views on neonatal health and how to tackle neonatal health problems in calves. As practising vets, both have many years of veterinary experience in cattle farming. Their talks were extremely well received and were followed by good discussions.
Huvepharma® is a market orientated company, working diligently to develop and deliver unique solutions to neonatal calf health problems for customers around the world. For more information about the range of products already available from Huvepharma, please visit www.huvepharma.com.
