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ARS Home » Plains Area » Lubbock, Texas » Cropping Systems Research Laboratory » Livestock Issues Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #410088
Research Project: Environmental and Management Influences on Animal Productivity and Well-Being Phenotypes

Location: Livestock Issues Research

Title: Liver abscesses – new perspectives on a historic fed cattle issue

Author
item Broadway, Paul
item NAGARAJA, T - Kansas State University
item LAWRENCE, TY - Kansas State University
item GALYEAN, MICHAEL - Texas Tech University
item HALES, KRISTIN - Texas Tech University

Submitted to: Applied Animal Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/10/2024
Publication Date: 6/1/2024
Citation: Broadway, P.R., Nagaraja, T.G., Lawrence, T.E., Galyean, M.L., Hales, K.E. 2024. Liver abscesses – new perspectives on a historic fed cattle issue. Applied Animal Science. 40(3):237-243. https://doi.org/10.15232/aas.2023-02498.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15232/aas.2023-02498

Interpretive Summary: Liver abscesses are a costly problem throughout the beef industry, costing producers and packers approximately $400 million annually. The development of models to study the cause of liver abscesses may allow researchers to develop preventative measures. Scientists in Lubbock, Texas and university partners have developed a repeatable model to induce liver abscesses that mimics real world disease etiology with the ultimate goal of evaluating prevention strategies. This article examines these models in comparison to other models and evaluates alternative theories for abscess development. These data will be of interest to researchers, producers, packers, and animal health professionals.

Technical Abstract: Purpose: Our purpose is to provide perspectives and commentary related to liver abscesses in beef cattle by describing and discussing documented research, anecdotal observations, and opinions regarding the causation, detection, and prevention of liver abscesses. Sources: Sources for this article include peer-reviewed, scientific literature, abstracts, proceedings, theses/dissertations, popular press articles, personal communications, and unpublished research data. Synthesis: Liver abscesses (LA) in cattle result from a multi-factorial, polymicrobial disease that has wide-ranging effects on productivity and profitability throughout all stages of the beef production cycle. The study of LA has drastically increased the past several years, driven largely by efforts to identify alternatives to the use of antibiotics for LA control. Although a primary, prevailing theory on LA formation has existed in the industry for decades, recent research has led to alternative theories as well as new questions about the role of breed-type specific management, behavior, feed intake patterns, and other factors on LA causation. The inability to detect LA before harvest complicates research evaluating mitigation strategies and disease etiology. Moreover, the inability to detect LA in a live animal hinders researcher efforts to understand timing of abscess development, or if, an abscess can resolve. Fortunately, the primary pathogens associated with LA have been identified which should allow researchers to develop mitigation strategies. Nonetheless, considerable research efforts are needed from both basic and applied perspectives using multi-disciplinary, collaborative approaches to successfully combat the challenges faced by the beef industry related to LA.