Retrospective analysis of illness and liver abscesses in low-risk, crossbred beef cattle

Authors: Bradford, Heather; Kuehn, Larry; Keel-Mercer, Brittney; Wells, James; Lindholm-Perry, Amanda

Submitted to: Frontiers in Veterinary Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/29/2026
Publication Date: 7/20/2026
Citation: Bradford, H.L., Kuehn, L.A., Keel, B.N., Wells, J.E., Lindholm-Perry, A.K. 2026. Retrospective analysis of illness and liver abscesses in low-risk, crossbred beef cattle. Frontiers in Veterinary Science. 13. Article 1875341. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2026.1875341.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2026.1875341

Interpretive Summary: Liver abscesses cost the beef industry millions annually and are caused by feeding high-concentrate diets. The antibiotic tylosin phosphate is the primary preventative prophylactic treatment for liver abscesses but now requires veterinarian approval. This study evaluated the relationship between liver abscesses and health events throughout the production cycle. General antibiotic treatments were not associated with differences in liver abscesses. However, steers given tulathromycin preweaning had fewer liver abscesses than steers that were not treated. In addition, heifers diagnosed with infections had fewer liver abscesses, and most were given oxytetracycline to treat pinkeye. Both antibiotics are effective against the primary bacterium that causes liver abscesses.

Technical Abstract: Background: Liver abscesses are a major economic concern in beef production, yet the relationship between therapeutic health events and liver abscess development remains poorly understood. This study evaluated how health diagnoses, therapeutic treatments, and the timing of these events across the production cycle relate to liver abscess prevalence in a large population of low risk, crossbred beef cattle. Methods: Binary liver abscess phenotypes and lifetime treatment records were analyzed for 9,527 animals using generalized linear mixed models. Health events were summarized by diagnosis, treatment type, and antibiotic class during preweaning, feedlot, and lifetime phases. Results: Although overall therapeutic antibiotic treatment was not associated with liver abscess development (p > 0.10), specific antibiotic classes showed sex-dependent relationships. Steers treated with tulathromycin preweaning or at any time had a reduced risk of liver abscesses compared with untreated steers (p = 0.02). In contrast, no effect was detected in heifers. A sex-by-oxytetracycline interaction was also identified (p = 0.01) but with no significant pairwise contrasts (p > 0.10). Heifers diagnosed with infections, primarily infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis, were less likely to have liver abscesses than heifers without infections (p = 0.03). Conclusion: These findings indicate that early-life health events, particularly preweaning antibiotic treatments, may have lasting effects on liver abscess susceptibility based on this observational study. Experimental research is needed to validate these results. The research highlights the need for mechanistic studies to clarify biological pathways and support development of non-antimicrobial prevention strategies.