Introduction
As a cattle keeper or animal enthusiast, it is prudent that you have an all-round awareness of whatever happens to them. This includes among other factors their nutrition, upkeep and health concerns. Mannosidosis is a fatal genetic condition that affects Galloway, Murray Gray and Angus cattle breeds over the generations.
Mannosidosis is one lethal disease that should always be treated with all the seriousness it diserves. This is because the calves born with this condition die imediatelly at birth if they were lucky enough not to be aborted. For those few that survive birth, living through the first year is always a unimmaginable miracle.
History
Mannosidosis was first described in 1957 by Whittem & Walker in Australia. However, their findings where not conclusive as they did not demonstrate the precence of stored lipids vascuolated neurones. Around this time the disease was still being refered as pseudolipidosis.
In 1970s, there still were no controls that had been put in place to regulate and curb Mannosidosis. This is a time when almost three thousand Angus cattle were born with the mutation annually in New Zealand alone. Currently, the spread and prevelence of Mannosidosis has been contained by tough regulations that have been set.
Twenty years after the first discovery of this disorder, there was finally a breakthrough. This milestone was necessitated by the high levels of advancement in technology and research. Due to the advancements, testing is currently being done using the cattle’s DNA.
Features
You might be aware of several complications that might affect your cattle without necessarily knowing their causative agent. The cause of the disease may be viral, bacterial and hereditary among other causes. In the case of Mannosidosis, the disorder is genetic disease that is passed on from one generation to another hence hereditary.
Mannosidosis is caused by mutation of the genes and is evident from certain symptoms. Some of the symptomps that can be used to prove the existance of the disease are; uncordination, aggresion, head tremors, faluire to thrive and nevoursness. These symptoms should not be used as conclusive evidence, instead lab test is most recomended.
Since Mannosidosis is a lysosomal storage disease, it can be exermined by plasma enzyme activities. The factors that affects the plasma enzyme activities includes gender, month of pregnancy and month of testin. The activity is higher in males than females and higher than winter than summer.
There might be a time when one is never quite sure wheither their cattle is suffering from Mannosidosis. You can simply do this by taking samples from your cattle that you can be tested for a conclusive and undesputed results. The samples that can be sent to an animal lab for test includes samen samples, blood and hair follicles.
Tips and comments
If you were to send certain samples there are few precautions that have to be put in place for success with your Mannosidosis test. For instance, if you are to send hair follicles, they should be at least fifteen for sufficient DNA to test. The containers you use to carry the blood and semen samples should be disinfected and free from any infection for accurate outcome.
