Pleuritis in Cattle: Causes of Painful Breathing and Chest Infection
- See your vet immediately if a cow has painful, shallow breathing, fever, reluctance to move, or an elbow-out stance.
- Pleuritis means inflammation of the pleura, the tissues lining the lungs and chest wall. It often happens with pneumonia, so many cases are really pleuropneumonia.
- Common triggers include bovine respiratory disease bacteria such as *Mannheimia haemolytica*, *Pasteurella multocida*, *Histophilus somni*, and *Mycoplasma bovis*. In some cattle, hardware disease can extend forward and cause pleuritis.
- Diagnosis may involve a farm exam, temperature check, lung and chest auscultation, ultrasound, bloodwork, and sometimes sampling pleural fluid or deep respiratory secretions.
- Early treatment usually gives the best chance of recovery. Delayed care raises the risk of abscesses, chronic scarring, weight loss, poor milk production, and death.
What Is Pleuritis in Cattle?
Pleuritis, also called pleurisy, is inflammation of the thin membranes that cover the lungs and line the inside of the chest. When these tissues become inflamed, breathing can become very painful. Cattle may take short, shallow breaths, stand with their elbows turned out, or resist walking because chest movement hurts.
In many cattle, pleuritis does not happen by itself. It often develops along with pneumonia, which is why your vet may describe the problem as pleuropneumonia. Merck Veterinary Manual notes that major bacterial causes of bovine respiratory disease include Mannheimia haemolytica, Pasteurella multocida, Histophilus somni, and Mycoplasma bovis, and some of these infections can produce fibrinous pleuritis.
Pleuritis can affect calves, feedlot cattle, and adult dairy or beef cattle. Severity ranges from mild inflammation to heavy fibrin buildup, fluid in the chest, lung abscesses, and chronic scarring. Because breathing problems can worsen quickly, this is a condition that needs prompt veterinary attention.
Symptoms of Pleuritis in Cattle
- Rapid, shallow breathing
- Pain when breathing or moving
- Fever
- Elbows held away from the chest
- Reduced appetite or stopping feed intake
- Depression, drooped ears, or isolation from the herd
- Cough, sometimes soft or infrequent
- Nasal discharge
- Grunting or reluctance to walk
- Poor milk yield or weight gain
When to worry: any cow with labored breathing, obvious chest pain, blue or gray mucous membranes, inability to keep up with the herd, or a sudden drop in appetite should be seen by your vet right away. Pleuritis can look similar to severe pneumonia, hardware disease, or other chest problems, so a hands-on exam matters. Even if signs seem mild at first, cattle can hide illness until disease is advanced.
What Causes Pleuritis in Cattle?
The most common cause is spread of infection from the lungs into the pleural space. In North American cattle, pleuritis is often part of the bovine respiratory disease complex. Merck Veterinary Manual lists Mannheimia haemolytica, Pasteurella multocida, Histophilus somni, and Mycoplasma bovis as major bacterial causes of bacterial pneumonia in cattle. Viral infections such as BRSV can weaken airway defenses and make secondary bacterial infection more likely.
Stress plays a major role. Weaning, transport, commingling, weather swings, dust, crowding, and poor ventilation can all increase respiratory disease risk. Merck also notes that preconditioning, minimizing mixing, and vaccination are important prevention tools for bovine respiratory disease.
Not every case starts in the lungs. In some cattle, traumatic reticuloperitonitis or "hardware disease" can extend inflammation forward and cause pleuritis or even pericarditis. Merck Veterinary Manual specifically notes that severe cases of traumatic reticuloperitonitis can lead to pleuritis. Less commonly, aspiration events, penetrating wounds, or region-specific infectious diseases may be involved.
How Is Pleuritis in Cattle Diagnosed?
Your vet usually starts with history and a careful physical exam. They will look at breathing effort, posture, temperature, appetite, hydration, and herd history. Chest auscultation may reveal reduced lung sounds, abnormal friction sounds, or evidence of pneumonia. In adult cattle, standard chest radiographs are often less practical, so field diagnosis relies heavily on exam findings and ultrasound.
Merck Veterinary Manual describes transthoracic ultrasonography as a sensitive tool for pleural disease, including pleural effusion, and for lung disease that reaches the pleural surface. Ultrasound can help your vet identify pleural fluid, fibrin, lung consolidation, abscesses, or adhesions. In selected cases, your vet may collect pleural fluid for cytology and culture, or obtain deep nasopharyngeal or tracheal samples to help identify likely respiratory pathogens.
Additional testing may include CBC or chemistry work, necropsy of herd mates that died, and targeted testing for specific infectious diseases when herd history suggests it. If hardware disease is on the list, your vet may also consider abdominal or reticular evaluation and ask about magnet history, feed contamination, or recent construction exposure.
Treatment Options for Pleuritis in Cattle
Spectrum of Care means you have options. Here are treatment tiers at different price points.
Budget-Conscious Care
- Farm-call exam and temperature/respiratory assessment
- Empiric labeled antimicrobial plan selected by your vet
- NSAID or anti-inflammatory support if appropriate
- Isolation in a dry, low-stress pen with easy access to water and palatable feed
- Basic monitoring of appetite, breathing effort, manure output, and response over 24-72 hours
Recommended Standard Treatment
- Farm or clinic exam plus thoracic ultrasound
- Targeted antimicrobial treatment based on likely respiratory pathogens and herd history
- Anti-inflammatory medication and fluid/supportive care as needed
- Recheck exam to confirm breathing is improving
- Additional testing such as bloodwork or respiratory sampling when response is incomplete
Advanced / Critical Care
- Referral-level workup or intensive on-farm management
- Repeated ultrasound monitoring and more extensive lab testing
- Thoracocentesis or drainage of pleural fluid when indicated by your vet
- Aggressive supportive care for dehydration, toxemia, or severe respiratory distress
- Evaluation for complications such as lung abscesses, adhesions, chronic poor-doer status, or hardware disease
Cost estimates as of 2026-03. Actual costs vary by location, clinic, and individual case.
Questions to Ask Your Vet About Pleuritis in Cattle
Bring these questions to your vet appointment to get the most out of your visit.
- Does this look like pleuritis alone, or pleuropneumonia with lung involvement?
- Is thoracic ultrasound recommended for this cow, and what would it change about treatment?
- Which respiratory pathogens are most likely in our herd right now?
- Should we test pleural fluid, blood, or respiratory samples in this case?
- What signs would mean this cow needs referral, drainage, or euthanasia discussion?
- Could hardware disease be contributing, and does this animal need a magnet or further reticular evaluation?
- What withdrawal times, milk discard times, or residue precautions apply to the medications you choose?
- What herd-level prevention steps should we change after this case, such as ventilation, vaccination, preconditioning, or commingling practices?
How to Prevent Pleuritis in Cattle
Prevention focuses on lowering the risk of respiratory disease and catching sick cattle early. Good ventilation, dry bedding, reduced dust, clean water, and avoiding overcrowding all help protect the airways. Calves and newly arrived cattle are especially vulnerable during weather changes, transport, weaning, and mixing with unfamiliar animals.
For many herds, your vet may recommend a bovine respiratory disease prevention plan that includes vaccination, preconditioning, and careful arrival management. Merck Veterinary Manual notes that preconditioning, minimizing mixing, vaccination against major bacterial respiratory pathogens, and metaphylaxis in selected high-risk groups are major control methods for bovine respiratory disease.
Do not overlook hardware disease prevention. Merck advises avoiding baling wire, using magnets to remove metal from feed, keeping cattle away from construction debris, and giving rumen magnets to cattle at about 1 year of age to reduce traumatic reticuloperitonitis risk. Because severe hardware disease can extend to the chest and cause pleuritis, these steps can matter for respiratory health too.
Finally, train staff to spot early warning signs: reduced feed intake, fever, slower movement, and subtle breathing changes. Early veterinary evaluation is often the difference between a treatable case and a chronic poor-doer.