Electrolyte and Rehydration Solutions
Oral rehydration solutions for rapid recovery from diarrhoea and dehydration in calves, lambs and adult livestock.
Calf diarrhoea kills more calves in East Africa than any other single disease. Most of those deaths are caused not by the pathogen but by the dehydration it produces.
Boehringer Ingelheim's oral electrolyte range, led by Diarlyte and Vitalyte, corrects the sodium, potassium, bicarbonate and glucose deficits caused by secretory diarrhoea in calves, lambs and piglets. Early rehydration with correctly formulated electrolytes prevents the fatal acidosis that follows fluid losses exceeding 8% of body weight. Jos•Hansen distributes these products across East Africa with calf scours management protocols for both smallholder and commercial producers.
Alkalinising formulation
The critical distinction in electrolyte formulation is alkalinising capacity. Diarlyte's bicarbonate precursor corrects the metabolic acidosis that accompanies severe dehydration, the cause of death in most calf scours fatalities. Glucose and glycine drive sodium-coupled water absorption even when enterocytes are damaged.
Separate from milk
Electrolytes must be fed separately from milk. Mixing collapses the curd formation essential for normal digestion and slows rehydration. Boehringer Ingelheim's formulations are designed for separate-feed protocols, 2 hours apart from milk. Jos•Hansen provides simple field protocols for smallholder use.
Adult livestock use
Beyond calves, oral electrolytes are used post-surgery, post-transport stress, in heat-stressed dairy cows and in adult sheep and goats with grain poisoning acidosis. A versatile electrolyte on the farm medicine shelf has multiple applications that justify standing stock.
Electrolytes save calves. Antibiotics treat pathogens.
E. coli, Salmonella, Cryptosporidium and coronavirus all cause calf scours, but they kill through dehydration and acidosis, not through primary tissue damage. The antibiotic treats the infection. The electrolyte saves the calf. A calf that is 8% dehydrated and acidotic will die without electrolyte therapy regardless of antibiotic choice. Fluid and acid-base correction must come first.
Transport stress is an overlooked electrolyte indication.
Cattle transported for more than 4 hours in East African conditions arrive dehydrated, acidotic and immunosuppressed. Pre-loading with oral electrolytes 12 hours before long transport and re-hydrating immediately on arrival reduces the immune suppression window by 30-40%, lowering bovine respiratory disease incidence in the first 14 days post-transit.
Smallholder protocols in local languages.
The vast majority of East African livestock are in smallholder systems where veterinary access is limited. Jos•Hansen provides laminated calf hydration scoring cards and mixing protocols in Swahili, Amharic and English, enabling correct electrolyte use at farm level without professional intervention for straightforward scours cases.
Technical specifications.
Product range
Diarlyte, Vitalyte (Boehringer Ingelheim)
Target species
Calves, lambs, piglets, adult cattle, sheep
Key electrolytes
Na, K, Cl, bicarbonate precursor, glucose
Alkalinising
Bicarbonate precursor, corrects metabolic acidosis
Mixing
Sachet in 2L warm water, separate from milk feed
Onset
Measurable rehydration within 1-2 hours of first feed
Time to measurable rehydration improvement after the first correctly formulated electrolyte feed
Body weight fluid loss threshold where calf mortality risk becomes critical without electrolyte intervention
Reduction in post-transport BRD incidence with pre-loading and on-arrival oral electrolyte protocol
Why Electrolyte.
Alkalinising formulation
Bicarbonate precursor corrects metabolic acidosis, the life-threatening consequence of severe dehydration in calves.
Boehringer Ingelheim quality
World's largest animal health company. Formulations backed by decades of field trial data across Africa.
Multi-species protocols
Dosed and labelled for calves, lambs, piglets and adult cattle. One product, multiple applications across the farm.
Smallholder field protocols
Laminated mixing cards in local languages enabling correct field use without professional supervision for straightforward scours cases.
Partner with Jos Hansen
Talk to our procurement and operations teams about your next infrastructure, healthcare or scientific deployment.