Failure of Passive Transfer

"Failure of Passive Transfer" is a phrase used in veterinary medicine to explain why the newborn has diarrhea or pneumonia or joint ill or navel ill or other physical problems or developments indicative of some generalized infection or unthrifty condition. By the way, the students on my rotation the other day didn't know what I meant by the terms "joint ill" or "navel ill". I guess these conditions are called by other names now. When "thinkers" are bored they seem to change the name of certain conditions or disease processes if they are suffering from a drought in discovering new diseases. Joint ill is the term I learned when a foal or sometimes a baby calf develops a swollen, tender, warm or hot joint or joints. This happens when germs enter the system (often times through the navel) and "settle out" in the joints. The condition is almost always a death sentence to the affected newborn since treatment can become very expensive and frustrating. Certainly, mama stepping on the leg could produce a similar appearing problem, but if multiple joints are affected, mama probably isn't that clumsy.

What allows these serious infections to occur in such a young, fragile offspring is often related to the baby not nursing the dam soon enough after birth in order to receive the very important colostrum. In some cases, it's possible that the dam's immune system wasn't properly prepared for the germ Mother Nature showed the baby, so although the newborn nursed well and in a timely manner, the colostrum was a little lacking since mama's immune system was deficient in some way. That's what is meant by "failure of passive transfer".

Since the newborn's immune system isn't ready to "take on the world" of germs, mama's milk needs to provide immediate protection. This is a concept we've all been familiar with since basic animal husbandry classes. But what sometimes isn't understood is that the window of opportunity for the absorption of these protectors against disease that are in the colostrum is relatively short. The time frame varies a little depending on whose opinion you're hearing, but I learned within the first 8 hours of birth. Some offer a more narrow window for the best chance of protection.

So what's the big deal? We all can expect the newborn to certainly have an opportunity to nurse within 8 hours. Or maybe not. What about that cow that wasn't culled last year because she's pregnant again and she always does a good job on her calf. The only problem is the several calves she's had and the plentiful milk she provides have caused her teats to be so big the calf can't get them in his mouth. Or maybe only one of her teats is enlarged, but that's the one her calf chooses to try to nurse while he's still wobbly legged. The mare with the nervous disposition that was bred since she wasn't suited for anything else has now gone through pregnancy and labor; she's still nervous and unsettled and won't let her baby even try to nurse.

The other important thing to consider is preparing the dam's immune system with the proper ammunition through a thoughtful, systematic approach to vaccination. If you are uncertain what types of infections and diseases are prevalent in your area, the local veterinarian should have already done the homework for you. He or she is probably happy to share the knowledge. Saving expense by shortcuts on nutrition and proper mineral supplementation, may compromise the vaccination protocol. So don't be too quick to blame 'ol Doc because the vaccine recommended didn't seem to help at all. Those animals need a healthy immune system in order to respond to the vaccination.

There's quiet a lot of stuff that can allow "failure of passive transfer" to occur. The end result is almost always the same, though. The dam's inventory cost is real. Her lack of productivity is too.