Research Shows Advantage of Using Banamine with Conventional Therapy

Using a non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory agent in conjunction with an injectable antibiotic for bovine respiratory disease can reduce illness scores, fever, lung consolidation and death loss in calves, according to field trials conducted in major cattle areas.

Field trials involving 363 beef calves (heifers, steers and bulls not intended for breeding)–ranging from 6 to 12 months with a mean weight of 420.4 lbs –were conducted at separate locations in Colorado, Idaho and Texas. All animals showed acute clinical signs of pneumonia with an elevated rectal temperature (>or= 104°F) and respiratory rate (>or= 40 per minute).

Animals were ranked by temperature and then randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups. Group 1 received Banamine intravenously at 2 ml/cwt for 1-3 days plus an antibiotic IM for 3 days. The other group received the antibiotic only.

The cattle were then evaluated for 10 days. Treated cattle with a temperature over 104°F on day 2 or 3 received subsequent flunixin treatments. More than 60 percent of the animals required only one treatment, however.

According to independent researchers involved with the study, 15 animals in the group receiving antibiotic alone died during the course of the study, while only 8 died in the group receiving Banamine and the antibiotic. Most of the deaths occurred in one site where there was a concurrent outbreak of bovine viral diarrhea.

Moreover, the cattle treated with Banamine and the antibiotic showed statistically significant advantages in illness index scores, rectal temperature and depression.

Similar results were recorded in a study with calves in California. Researchers took 81 male Holstein calves ranging from 3 to 4 months of age with a mean weight of 188.44 lbs. The animals–all showing acute clinical signs of pneumonia–were given either an antibiotic only or Banamine intravenously at 2 ml/cwt for 1-3 days plus an antibiotic IM for 3 days. The other group received the antibiotic only.

Again, the animals in the Banamine/antibiotic group showed statistically significant improvements in respiration rate, illness index scores, rectal temperature and depression.

"The studies demonstrate Banamine’s ability to reduce fever and significantly improve some of the clinical signs of bovine respiratory disease," says Dr. Norm Stewart, director of technical services, Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health. "These can be significant steps in getting sick animals back on track and minimizing the losses from bovine respiratory disease."

In yet another study–this one in Nebraska involving 66 mixed-breed beef cattle–Banamine also significantly reduced lung consolidation in cattle suffering from BRD. According to Stewart, cattle receiving Banamine and an antibiotic showed a median lung consolidation of only 1.7%, compared to 15.3% in cattle that received an antibiotic only. Treated animals also had significantly lower rectal temperatures for the first 48 hours and more normal illness scores by day 3.

"Lung consolidation and its extent is an important consequence of BRD and is associated with reduced growth rates and increased relapse and reinfection rates," Stewart reports. "The anti-endotoxin properties of Banamine may be responsible for the significantly lower percent lung consolidation measured in treated animals."