Cattle Health: Living Without 7% Iodine

Treating the navel cord stump of newborn calves, foals, lambs, kids, and piglets has been done for many years. This practice has been recommended for the prevention of infections of the navel stump and generalized infections of the body that gain access through the navel such as joint infections. Perhaps the most often recommended antiseptic for use on the navel stump has been 7% tincture of iodine or "strong iodine tincture." If you have attempted to buy this product for the upcoming calving season, you may have found that it is either unavailable or more difficult to obtain. The reason is that, in July, the Department of Justice published the final rules that make iodine tinctures and solutions greater than 2.2% subject to regulatory control by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). This came about because iodine crystals are being used in the illegal production of methamphetamine, and they can be fairly easily extracted from iodine tinctures and solutions. In fact, some unscrupulous feed storeowners have been guilty of supplying iodine, iodine crystals, and other supplies to methamphetamine producers. (An interesting overview of this problem can be found at http://149.101.1.32/ndic/pubs1/1467/1467p.pdf published by the Department of Justice in 2002). The final regulatory announcement concerning 7% iodine tincture can be found at: http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/fed_regs/rules/2007/fr0702.htm and Dianne Shoemaker, Extension Dairy Specialist, has written a nice overview of the problem and current situation at: http://dairy.osu.edu/bdnews/v009iss03.htm#ChangesinIodine .



Some veterinarians are still supplying their clients with 7% iodine tincture. It can be obtained by veterinarians who are registered with the DEA and subject to the record keeping requirements for purchase and sale of these products. However, some veterinarians and other suppliers have chosen not to sell it because of the additional recordkeeping and storage requirements. Veterinarians and Extension professionals are being asked for alternatives to 7% iodine.



There are no antiseptics actually labeled for treating the navel stump to this author's knowledge. Although the practice has been recommended for decades, and our experience seems to suggest it is useful, published research data concerning the value of treating the navel cord in newborn farm animals, with any compound, is very, very scarce. Several years ago, researchers at the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, evaluated 7% iodine and chlorhexidine for treating the navel in newborn foals. Their conclusion was that chlorhexidine was more effective than the iodine and that iodine could injure the sensitive skin around the foal's navel. As a result of this work, many equine veterinarians recommend chlorhexidine solutions to their clients, but other veterinarians have continued to recommend iodine tincture. In the past few years, chlorhexidine solutions have been used in some settings to treat the navel stump in newborn human infants to prevent bacterial colonization and invasion. Recent work suggests that this technique may be especially useful in developing and impoverished countries where babies may be born at home and in rather unsanitary surroundings. However, a review of the available literature on treatment of infant navels with chlorhexidine suggests that most protocols call for treating the navel daily for up to seven of the first ten days of the baby's life, and that although such treatment appears to reduce infections and death in infants, more research is needed to determine the ideal concentration of chlorhexidine and frequency of treatment. (see refs 1 and 2 below)



So where does this leave us? If you want to use 7% iodine, you will need to contact your veterinarian or animal health product supplier to see if they can provide it for you. For now at least, the 2% iodine tincture is still available, and its sale is not regulated. There are no published studies comparing the effectiveness of the two on navel cord stumps, but it may be effective, especially if more than one application is used. Be aware that the "tamed" iodine products used for teat dips, application to wounds, and for skin cleansing prior to surgery are not the same as tinctures (iodine crystals in alcoholic solution), and they do not "dry" the tissue like the tinctures. There is a similar lack of information about their effectiveness on navel stumps, but they certainly are effective as skin disinfectants and are not irritating. Chlorhexidine can be acquired from your veterinarian and some animal health suppliers. The research in foals was done with a 0.5% chlorhexidine (one-half percent) solution, and various concentrations up to 4% have been used on infant navels. It is safe and not irritating to skin, but dilutions should be prepared with distilled water, not tap water, and common soaps will inactivate it. No matter what disinfectant you and your veterinarian decide to use, it should be applied soon after birth.



We should not lose sight of the fact that disinfection of the navel stump is not likely to completely compensate for animals being born in unsanitary conditions. Most disinfectants fail in the presence of heavy organic matter contamination (read dirt and manure); and the bacteria that produce diseases, such as abscessed navels, joint infections, and possibly brain and respiratory infections, when they gain access to the body through the navel stump tend to build up to very high levels in crowded and unsanitary conditions. These high levels can overwhelm natural body defenses and the benefits of an antiseptic on the navel. Animals born outside in clean, dry, sunny pastures have a low risk of developing navel and other infections in the first few weeks of life. Clean, dry, well-bedded maternity pens are also less risky for newborns.

source:www.cattlenetwork.com