Alpharma Animal Health has launched an online webinar that discusses the current status of anaplasmosis in cattle in the U.S. The webinar is based on an expert panel that convened in late 2009 featuring Dr. Hans Coetzee and Dr. Denny Hausmann, experts with extensive experience managing the disease and incorporating new strategies for diagnosis and control. The webinar provides a continued education credit hour for veterinarians, and producers and other cattle industry stakeholders also are encouraged to participate.

Anaplasmosis is a tick-borne disease that causes loss of production and abortion in beef cattle and significant decreases in milk production in dairy cattle. Each individual case of anaplasmosis is estimated to cost about $400 per animal, and the total cost to the industry is estimated to be above $300 million in the U.S.

While producers in the Southern U.S. – where anaplasmosis is considered endemic – may be familiar with the disease, the USDA’s most recent cow-calf survey found that only 16% of producers are “fairly knowledgeable” about anaplasmosis and 47 percent had never heard of it before.

The educational webinar, entitled, “Anaplasmosis: Update on Diagnostic, Control and Treatment Approaches for Improved Disease Management,” is easily accessible from the lower right-hand corner of the Alpharma website homepage or at http://alpharmawebinar.vetlearn.com/. Topics include disease prevalence, etiology, and epidemiology; disease phases and clinical progression; diagnostic rationale, tools and procedures; and strategies for intervention and control.