Monitoring ventral tail base surface temperature for fever detection in calves

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Medicine
• Animal Health Monitoring
• Infectious Disease Diagnostics

Background:

• Early fever detection is crucial for managing calf pneumonia.
• Traditional methods like rectal temperature monitoring can be labor-intensive.
• Histophilus somni infection is a common cause of pneumonia in calves.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of wearable wireless sensors for detecting fever in calves with experimentally induced pneumonia.
• To compare surface temperature (ST) monitoring with rectal temperature measurements for fever detection.

Main Methods:

• Calves were experimentally infected with Histophilus somni strain 2336.
• Ventral tail base surface temperature (ST) was monitored using wearable wireless sensors.
• Rectal temperatures, serum haptoglobin concentration, and clinical scores were recorded.
• Necropsy was performed to confirm pneumonia.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in ST were observed between control and infected groups after 24 hours.
• Rectal temperature differences became significant earlier, at 12 hours post-inoculation.
• Increased serum haptoglobin and clinical scores correlated with ST changes in infected calves.
• Pneumonia was confirmed in infected calves at necropsy.

Conclusions:

• Monitoring ventral tail base surface temperature (ST) with wearable sensors can effectively detect fever in calves.
• This method shows potential as a labor-saving tool for calf health management.
• ST monitoring may reflect inflammatory responses associated with Histophilus somni infection.