Cattle are affected by a wide range of diseases, many of which can be life threatening. One of the worst of these is foothill abortion disease. If you are a cattle owner, you need to understand this disease, how it can affect your herd, and how to protect your cattle from infestation. It is also worth understanding how insurance can help keep you safe from loss.

The Disease And Its Effects

Foothill abortion disease or Pajaroellobacter abortibovis is spread by a bacteria that lives in a tick and is a major problem in various parts of the country. It attacks the fetuses of pregnant mother cows and causes the death of the fetus. The death toll for this disease is astronomical: it kills anywhere from 45,000 to 90,000 calves every year.

Tick control measures may be necessary in these cases as a first step in keeping them away from your cattle. Typically, insurance companies won't cover pest-related problems in your home or your yard, which makes this an expensive option.

A Vaccine Has Been Developed

This disease, which has been ravaging cattle for years, has been studied by immunologists and a vaccine has been developed. It can be injected into currently pregnant cows or those who aren't pregnant. It is estimated to be about 95 percent efficient in preventing foothill abortion disease infection.

As of yet, this vaccine has yet to become widespread. When it does, it's something that you should definitely invest in, but until then, you should protect your cattle and your financial investment by taking out some good livestock insurance.

Protect Yourself With Full Mortality Insurance

Livestock insurance covers a variety of different situations, including lightning and other related problems. Some policies will only cover specific causes of death, which makes them worthless if your calf dies from this disease and your policy doesn't cover it. Full mortality coverage will pay for any death.

However, you need to make sure that your policy covers unborn cattle or it will end up being useless. You may end up paying a little more, but it is worth it if you are a cattle breeder that plans on making money selling cattle.

Call a livestock insurance agent from a company like Inspro Insurance right away to get a better understanding of your rights and whether or not the vaccine for this disease will be covered by your insurance. If you can get insurance to pay for it, it's worth vaccinating your whole herd to keep them safe.