Comparison of the fecal bacterial communities in diarrheic and non-diarrheic dairy calves from multiple farms in Southeastern PA

Diarrhea is a major cause of illness and death in dairy calves, and a better understanding of the microbial communities in diarrheic calves may lead to the development of improved treatments. We compared the fecal microbiota of diarrheic and non-diarrheic calves from seven dairy farms and found that some beneficial microorganisms such as <i>Ruminococcaceae </i>and <i>Faecalibacterium </i>were lower in diarrheic calves and may have been displaced by opportunistic microorganisms such as <i>Fusobacterium </i>and <i>Sutterella, </i>which may directly or indirectly contribute to illness. This work adds to our knowledge of what constitutes a healthy fecal microbiota in neonatal calves.