Scotland Goes TB Free

Like The Welsh Assembly the Scottish Government are making good use of the limited powers they have to help their farmers. On the 19^th August Scotland announced that it intends to apply to the European Commission to gain formal recognition that it is free from Bovine Tuberculosis. Part of the reason for doing this is to promote their beef export markets. Since the start of 2007 all cattle from English Counties where there is a high incidence of Tuberculosis have been both pre movement tested then tested again after sixty days from arrival on their farms in Scotland. This post movement testing has so far helped to keep the disease out of Scotland. It is not thought that Scotland has the same problems with badgers as we have here. At the moment it is not clear what extra disease control measures will be implemented. It is likely that all cattle going into Scotland, even low risk animals from the east of England, will have to be post movement tested after two months. Farms that rear cattle for Export may be subjected to more frequent tuberculin testing.

Disease Costs

I can well understand why the Scottish Government are making these changes. They have the opportunity to invest some money now to keep bovine tuberculosis out of Scotland, they do not want to get into the situation that the Welsh Assembly finds itself in where more and more of its limited budget is used up on animal disease control. I think we could do more in England with Post Movement Testing and more frequent herd tests to stop the spread of Tuberculosis to Counties that are still free of the disease. This would seem to make economic sense for the country as a whole without considerations for the individual farms. It makes little sense that some farms are still only tested every four years as there are too many ways that Tuberculosis can spread to clean farms with the movement of cattle and other animals.

Tuberculosis and the Scientist

The case of the Government Scientist who contracted Bovine Tuberculosis when working on a Badger Project is causing concern. Thirty other staff at the Food and Environment Research Agency at Woodchester in Gloucestershire have now been screened for the disease. These are the people who are going to train DEFRA Staff and landowners to vaccinate badgers with the BCG vaccine for the next five years. This unit has thirty years experience working with badgers and by now they must have stringent protocols in place to protect themselves from infection. The concern is that if trained scientists can get tuberculosis from badgers it will be difficult for inexperienced farmers who are trapping badgers to vaccinate them to keep themselves safe from this disease.

Turkeys with Swine Flu

Vets in Chile report that they have isolated the Swine Flu A/H1N1 virus from two flocks of turkeys. These birds had been exposed to the virus by contact with people who were suffering from the virus. It would appear that the disease was noticed because egg production had dropped from the affected birds. It would seem that there were no respiratory signs and none of the birds died. There is always a concern when a virus is detected in a new species as it gives it the opportunity to mix with the avian flu strains to possibly transform into a more pathogenic form. Human Swine Flu seems to have spread around the World in just a few months and it is inevitable that animals and birds will have been exposed to the virus from the people that look after them.

Controlling Ovine Abortion

Over the years there has been a significant improvement in the way that sheep are managed and each year fewer lambs are lost to disease or predators. We understand more about feeding ewes both before and after lambing to avoid oversize singles and pregnancy toxaemia for ewes that have multiple births. Inevitably more is now invested in your ewes and it is important that they can each perform to their full potential. There is nothing worse than keeping ewes for a full year only to have them slip their lambs when they should be paying you back for the care you have given them. Enzootic Abortion remains the main reason for pregnancy loss in ewes. It is a difficult disease to detect as the ewes pick up the infection from others that have aborted in the spring and show no symptoms until there lambs are due to be born the following year. Enzootic Abortion is a particular problem if you buy in adult replacements each year.

Using the Vaccine

Because this is a bacterial disease it is possible to control the losses with antibiotics as lambing approaches. This can be an expensive option and does nothing to stop the infection spreading in future years. Most of the vaccines that we use on sheep are dead vaccines that require two doses to be given for the initial course and a further injection each year to maintain levels of immunity. The enzootic abortion vaccine is different as it is a live vaccine that needs to be looked after if you are to get it to work to its full potential. It is important to keep it cold and only expose it to outside temperatures immediately before you need to use it. A freeze dried pellet is mixed with a fluid to activate the vaccine then it should be injected as soon as you can. It is better to give the dose into the muscle of the leg or neck, there is a better blood supply here and it will get to work straight away. Care should be taken with live vaccines to avoid accidental self injection as they can give us a dose of the disease. Timing is important too close to mating is not a good idea as the vaccine can affect the developing foetus and affect the pregnancy that you are trying to save. The injection should be given at least four weeks before the ewes go to the ram. Both of the enzootic abortion vaccines that we use are designed to protect ewes from infection for four years, but in practice they only need one dose to last them for the whole of their productive lives.

Cows with Fog Fever

This has been a strange year, the summer has been wet and in some ways autumn seems to have arrived early. This might cause problems with Fog Fever in suckler cows. Some cows can become sensitised to a fungus that grows on new pastures at this time of the year, it manifests its self as a severe pneumonia, fluid accumulates on the lungs and rapidly builds up until the animal’s lungs become completely waterlogged. Sometimes it is difficult to spot the early stages of Fog Fever, it can be well advanced before you realise that anything is wrong. Hereford and Hereford cross cows are the most vulnerable, keep a close eye on these types of animal particularly in the first few days when they have been moved onto better pastures. Affected animals tend to get left on their own away from the rest of the herd, it will be difficult to get then to move and they will show signs of respiratory distress if you try to drive them. Some younger cows will develop fog fever if they have lungworm larvae as this can trigger the condition.

Treatment Options

Fog Fever can be difficult to treat if it has progressed to an advanced stage. Injections are given to check the inflammatory reaction in the lungs and wormers may also be used. It is important to get affected animals away from the grass. If possible they should be housed for a while but great care is needed sometimes not to stress cows with fog fever when they are moved. Most cows are in good condition at the moment. If you have had problems with Fog Fever in the past it might be better to keep them on poorer pastures for the next two months and not worry too much if they lose some condition before the winter.    

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