Abstract
The protective use of plasma powder from cattle and swine against experimentally induced neonatal E. coli diarrhoea in colostrum‐deprived calves was examined. Diarrhoea was induced with a strain expressing F5+ fimbriae and a strain expressing F17+ fimbriae. In all groups supplemented with bovine plasma powder, diarrhoea and fever were less severe than in the control groups. For the groups infected with the F5+ E. coli strain, a reduction in excretion of the challenge strain by 2–4 orders of magnitude and by 1–2 orders of magnitude was seen when supplemented with bovine plasma powder at a dose of 25 g/l milk and 10 g/l milk, respectively.
The bovine plasma powder showed also beneficial effects in the F17+ infected groups. No mortality, no septicaemia and no severe clinical signs were observed. Concerning the excretion of the E. coli F17+ strain in the faeces, no significant difference with the control group was found.
Swine plasma powder showed little beneficial effect on E. coli diarrhoea in calves in this study.