In general, “health” can be defined as the absence of disease. But just like how every person is different when it comes to health, so is every animal.
A person is usually considered healthy when they are functioning at their highest possible standard of health. This can refer to physical, mental, or even social well-being. Pets—and production animals like cows, pigs, chickens, and more—have a similar set of general standards that can indicate how healthy they are. Any deviation from these standards could be called a health issue.
While every animal has its own health standards, there are some issues that are common among many species.
Among pets, the top 10 reported health issues typically encountered in veterinary medicine include joint injuries, cancer, eating foreign objects, lameness, gastrointestinal problems, tooth problems, allergies, urinary tract infections, ear infections, and obesity.
Production animals also face potential health issues at all stages of life, which producers are trained to spot. As they build their immune systems, young animals are often impacted by diseases, parasites, and viruses. Infection can be an issue for milking cows, especially a condition called mastitis. Proper nutrition is a concern across all production animals. There are even some viruses that can hop between humans and production animals, such as avian influenza, some coronaviruses, some noroviruses, and others.
By knowing the signs of pathogens and weakened immunity, producers and their veterinarians work together to keep the animals healthy and strong.