Failure of transfer of passive immunityClinical signs, differential diagnosis, treatment and prevention in cattle, sheep, pigs and horses.

Overview

Not a disease itself but the underlying management failure behind much of neonatal farm animal illness. Inadequate intake, absorption or quality of colostrum in the first hours of life, leaving the newborn without maternal antibody protection.

Clinical signs

Newborns are highly susceptible to septicemia, arthritis, neonatal diarrhea (colibacillosis), respiratory infections, and mortality.
Weakness, depression, dehydration, and high susceptibility to environmental pathogens.
Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS).

Predisposing factors

Inadequate or delayed colostrum intake after birth; poor colostrum quality; failure of the dam to produce colostrum (e.g., due to mastitis or agalactia); premature birth

Treatment

If detected within the first 12–24 hours of life, administer high-quality colostrum or colostrum replacer orally via stomach tube (esophageal feeder) or bottle (more than 400 mL must be given to ensure rapid entry into the abomasum in…
If detected after 24 hours (when intestinal closure has occurred and immunoglobulins can no longer be absorbed), treatment requires parenteral administration of plasma or whole-blood transfusion (intravenous or intraperitoneal route) to…
Support with intravenous fluids (glucose, balanced electrolytes) and broad-spectrum parenteral antibiotics to combat secondary septicemia.

Prevention

1. Ensure rapid and sufficient intake of high-quality colostrum within the first 2 to 6 hours of life (calves should ingest at least 100–150 mL/kg of colostrum; lambs/kids require 210–240 mL of colostrum per kg body weight within the first 24 hours, or 20% glucose via intraperitoneal route if colostrum is unavailable). 2.

Source

A Textbook of the Diseases of Cattle, Horses, Sheep, Pigs and Goat by ELSEVIER (Pages 19, 21, 50, 77); Textbook of Clinical Veterinary Medicine by Amalendu Chakrabarti (Pages 76–77, 110).

MSD Veterinary Manual — Failure of Passive Transfer of Immunity in Foals and Other Farm Animals (accessed 2026-08-11)

Condensed and attributed, never reproduced whole. Open the full entry in the app.