Why is Local Passive Protection Important?
The importance of passive local protection is evidenced in the newborn calf where diarrhoea and other enteric infections (scours) can prove fatal. It has been widely accepted that the best source of nourishment for the infant mammal is mother’s milk. This has largely been attributed to not only the nutritional benefits of mother’s milk but also the presence of milk immunoglobulins providing local passive protection of the GI tract.