Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan have developed a blood test to detect stress in cattle — with the promise it could give farmers a heads-up about whether their animals will get sick.
In a study on cattle, the researchers at the university's Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization found that psychological stress and physical stress cause detectable changes in blood proteins and other blood compounds.
They believe such "biomarkers" can then be used to predict diseases like stress-related bovine respiratory disease, which causes more than half of feedlot deaths.
The hope is that once the problems are identified through the blood test, veterinarians can treat the animals.
The study was published this week in Omics: A Journal of Integrative Biology.
Some cattle producers say they welcome the development.
"If it leads to better vaccines that respond to cattle under stress … I can see it being very useful," said Alvin Pawlitza, who raises purebred Hereford cattle on his farm near Abby in southwestern Saskatchewan.
But Dennis Fugelrud, president of the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association, said while a blood test is a good tool to have, its effectiveness will depend on how practical it is to use and how much it costs.
"There isn't a lot of room for many extra costs in our business," he said, "especially with this downturn in prices that we have seen in the last several months."
According to researcher Palok Aich, the findings could also help farmers change their management practices to reduce animal stress.
It's possible that the research could someday be adapted to detect stress in humans, he said.
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