Anaplasmosis...A Southern Diagnosis, In Ohio?!

Alright folks, today we just finished up our third round of vaccines (out of 4) for Anaplasmosis. We had a cow that got ill in late August. We thought it was just her rumen and of course had the vet come out to check her. The vet said we just needed to get her re-hydrated and get her to eat and give a lot of boluses to get that rumen going again. Well a few days later, she was still not showing improvement and the vet came out again. The vet decided to pull blood on her (with consent) and send it to Michigan State for testing for this Anaplasmosis. We did a large IV on her, treated her with Oxytetracycline,and took more blood to check her PCV (red blood cell count). The vet called us later to tell us her PCV was 7 (about 1/4 of what it should be). He wanted to do a blood transfusion on her but we declined, due to the cost. She died 5 days later, and they confirmed it was in fact, Anaplasmosis. Our vet told us that it is much more prevalent in the South, and so we are mystified as to how we got it here in NW Ohio. Our cows dont travel anywhere except to local county fairs for open class. Anyone else seen this before? We also have had 2 more cows that have been sick (we suspect the same stuff) but have managed to pull them through since we caught them sooner. We are now treating the whole herd for it, and hope to be rid of the disease. Would love for someone to give me some more information on it if you've experienced it!

Wow, Sorry you are dealing with that. I found this piece when I searched about it. http://cattletoday.info/anaplasmosis.htm

It said that once they get it and even recover, that they are carriers and can spread it to others through needles, or other equipment. I would be disinfecting everything and maybe considering taking them all to town who are positive. I have never heard of this before until now. I guess it spreads through ticks and mosquitoes in warmer climates mainly. Hope things work out alright...

Lots of cattle in the country have anaplasmosis, there is no cure, once they have it they have it, its not a end of the world disease though. Feeding mineral with fly control and aureminacyn is about all alot of people do.  If you wanted to go to the trouble of blood testing your entire herd, you could cull the positives ones and then recheck the negatives ones again later.  But if your neighbor's got it and your cattle share a fenceline with them there is a good chance your herd will become infected again.  Horseflies, needles, ticks, are the main transmitters.  Most positive animals won't show any symptoms and will just be carriers but it will kill a few.  What kind of vaccine are you giving?  The last time we did blood test for anaplasmosis we also checked for blv (bovine leukemia virus), and blue tounge. 
Good luck!

What are you giving them for a vaccine?  I know down here in Texas I know of guys that vaccinate  their cattle with LA 200 or a cheaper generic when they do there normal vaccinations.  I have always heard that flies are the worst carriers, so I use a mineral like mentioned above and spray pemetrum on mine every chance I get.