Abortion: Death of an unborn fetus.

Abscess: An infected area of tissue, characterized by swelling, redness, and pus.

Alpha toxin: Highly destructive poison produced by Clostridium perfringens Type A.

Antibody: A protein produced by the immune system to trap and inactivate antigens.

Antigen: Any type of substance – for example, viruses, bacteria, pollen, poison – that triggers an immune response. Antigens can be many things but most often the word refers to viruses and bacteria that are found in nature and in vaccines.

Beef Quality Assurance (BQA): A series of procedures recommended by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association to help promote cattle management practices that can enhance the quality of beef.

Clostridial: Refers to diseases caused by bacteria of the Clostridium family.

Clostridium perfringens: The clostridial bacteria most often associated with intestinal infection in calves. C. perfringens comes in four types: A, B, C, and D, classified by the types of toxins they produce. As a species, C. perfringens is one of the most prolific producers of toxin.

Colostrum: The antibody rich “first milk” a cow produces for her newborn calf. Colostrum contains essential proteins, vitamins and fats for nourishment, and the antibodies critical to protecting the calf during its first weeks of life. Calves must receive colostrum within the first 6 to 12 hours after birth.

Concentrated: Opposite of diluted. A concentrated vaccine will have an especially high amount of antigen in it, which stimulates a strong, protective immune response.

Coronavirus: A virus that causes scours in calves primarily from three days to three weeks of age. Death loss is more likely when calves are infected with coronavirus than with other viruses. Coronavirus Types 1 and 3 are the most common.

Cross protection: In some circumstances, antibodies produced in response to one antigen will also protect against a different antigen. A good example is the cross protection against C. perfringens Type B that is provided by the combination of Types C and D in GUARDIAN vaccine.

K99 E. coli: The protective antigen on the pili of E. coli bacteria. It is the K99 antigen that stimulates immune protection to many different E. coli strains. E. coli scours is profuse, watery, and may contain blood.

Maternal: Refers to mother. Maternal antibodies, for instance, are those passed from the cow to calf in colostrum. This is called transfer of immunity or maternal transfer.

Mortality: Death loss.

Neonatal diarrhea: More commonly called calf scours.

Pathogen: Any type of organism that can cause disease.

Pili: Hair-like filamentous structure projecting from the cell wall of some species of bacteria. Within the E. coli pili is the K99 antigen.

Pregnancy examination: Procedure to determine whether a cow or heifer is pregnant. This is typically performed at around six months gestation.

Prevalence: How common something is in an area. Prevalence of calf scours pathogens is usually determined by local diagnostic laboratories.

Preventive management: Taking care to ensure that sound nutrition, environmental hygiene, vaccination, calving assistance, and attention to colostrum consumption are utilized to help limit a calf’s exposure to pathogens during and after birth.

Reactivity: The potential of a vaccine to cause lumps and bumps at the site of injection, or systemic body-wide reations such as anaphylaxis, abortion or death.

Regimen: The steps in a program. An example of a vaccination regimen would be “2 cc SC 12 weeks precalving, with 2 cc SC 3 to 6 weeks later.”

Rotavirus: A virus that causes scours in calves primarily from one to two weeks of age. It is widespread in the environment. Rotavirus serotypes G6 and G10 are the most common.

Serotype: A classification of organisms based on their reaction to laboratory procedures.

Shedding: The release of infectious organisms into the environment by infected animals. Shedding can occur through urine, feces, nasal discharges, coughing, and even normal respiration.

Subcutaneous: Beneath the skin. This is the BQA-preferred route for injections. Another route is intramuscular, into the muscle (not BQA preferred).

Subunit: A technology that harvests only the K99 pili portion of E. coli to produce vaccine. Use of subunit vaccine – such as GUARDIAN – greatly reduces the risk of reactivity.

Systemic reactions: Vaccination reactions that are system (or body) wide. Minor systemic reactions are fever, slight depression, loss of appetite. Serious systemic reactions can include abortions, shock, and death.

Transfer of immunity: The process of producing antibodies in one animal and transferring to another.

Whole cell technology: Using inactivated whole cells to produce vaccines. Gram negative vaccines such as E. coli bacterins include cell wall molecules that are endotoxins. Endotoxins can cause severe systemic reactions.