Characterization of Mannheimia haemolytica pleuropneumonia outbreaks in Dutch dairy cattle

Respiratory tract infections remain a major challenge in cattle production, particularly in calves, but increasingly in adult dairy cows. Over the past decade, outbreaks of fatal Mannheimia haemolytica fibrinous pleuropneumonia (FPP) emerged in dairy herds in the Netherlands, with similar occurrences reported in other countries. The objective of this case-referent study was to describe the characteristics of these outbreaks and the circumstances under which they occur. For this purpose, 50 dairy farmers who had submitted a cow with a confirmed M. haemolytica FPP necropsy diagnosis participated in a telephone survey and provided farm data for analysis. The findings at herd level were compared with the national reference population (average Dutch dairy herd) and those at cow level, with ±1,700 necropsies routinely submitted during the study period January 2019 to March 2021. Most cases were part of larger outbreaks of FPP on the submitting farm. Before the onset of clinical signs, the case cows were average performing, healthy, and otherwise unremarkable cows; age and production were average, and all were in normal to good condition and in middle to late lactation. All necropsied case cows were more than 30 d postpartum. The vast majority of case cows showed no signs of other diseases that could have triggered M. haemolytica FPP; 18% had not received any medication preceding the clinical signs of FPP, and the remaining cows had on average a medication-free period of 4 mo before they became severely ill or died. The median outbreak duration, morbidity, and mortality were respectively 30 d, 6.3%, and 1.8%. Eighty-two percent of the index case cows died, most likely because the nonspecific clinical signs were recognized too late as M. haemolytica FPP, as the median overall case-fatality risk was 33%. In 40% of the cases, the necropsy report diagnosing M. haemolytica FPP was the first the farmer knew of M. haemolytica involvement in these animals. Early recognition and confirmation of the diagnosis appeared essential to decrease the mortality risk of M. haemolytica FPP. The FPP cows originated from farms with an average milk production level per cow, but with an above-average herd size and farming intensity (kg milk/ha). Moreover, these farms were more likely to introduce cattle from other farms (48% of the case farms introduced cattle in the month preceding the onset of the outbreak), often imported animals from other countries and showed less-favorable herd-health certification statuses for infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus, bovine viral diarrhea virus, and Leptospirosa hardjo. The majority of outbreaks occurred in the winter season or after a week with increased relative humidity. At farm level, the results suggest stressors, inadequate biosecurity (purchase of cattle), and housing as risk factors for these outbreaks. Although M. haemolytica FPP appears to be a multifactorial disease, the results also seem to indicate a primary infectious disease pattern of fatally affecting healthy dairy cows at random. Further research is needed to quantify the relative importance of risk factors and identify specific virulent factors in the isolated M. haemolytica strains.