Farm
Newsletter
October 2015
Winter Is Coming!
Harvest is drawing to a close but don’t dust off your jacket and boots just yet; just
around the corner is winter and a new seasonal direction of work! But just because its
winter doesn’t mean we will leave you out in the cold. The nights are drawing in and
calving season is picking up, which we all know can be a stressful time if things don’t
run smoothly. Read on for some key information regarding Neospora and reducing its
spread and effects on herds. Also we have some quick and easy reminders to keep
pneumonia and parasites at bay.
Neospora
Neospora caninum is a single-celled parasite which is the most commonly diagnosed cause of
abortion in cattle in the UK. Cattle infected with the parasite are 3 to 7 times more likely to
abort than non-affected cattle.
Dogs are the only definitive host i.e. the animal in which the parasite multiplies and produces
oocysts (eggs). Cattle are intermediate hosts i.e. the parasite multiplies but does not produce
oocysts. Dogs can become infected by eating tissue containing the parasite, e.g. dead calves,
placenta. The parasite infects cattle via one of two routes:
Vertical transmission – Neospora passes across the placenta of an
infected cow to the calf
Horizontal transmission – the cow ingests
oocysts from dogs faeces which have contaminated the environment
e.g. in the feed or from the pasture.
The most important route of transmission is the vertical route as up to 90% of calves born to
Neospora dams are infected during pregnancy. Once a cow is infected, she remains infected for
the rest of her life. Abortions occur when a cow becomes infected during pregnancy or in a
previously infected cow who's infection becomes “reactivated” during gestation.
It is difficult to diagnose Neospora in cattle abortions. If abortion occurs early in pregnancy, the
fetus is reabsorbed and the cow returns to service. If she aborts later, the placenta and the fetus
being submitted to the laboratory for post mortem analysis provides the best chance of
diagnosis. Blood tests can be done to test for antibody levels in the dam and/or the calf,
however these are not very reliable.
There is no appropriate treatment for Neospora, and currently there is no UK licensed vaccine
either. Because of this control strategies mainly rely on biosecurity. The best ways to protect
yourselves are:
Prevent contamination by dogs of feed and water sources e.g. farm dogs, public footpaths
Screening for infected animals by selected blood testing, breeding from negative cows only
Screening bought in cattle to prevent bringing Neospora into the herd
Hygiene at calving – the rapid and responsible disposal of placentas and any dead/aborted
calves.
James Street Veterinary Centre, James Street, Louth,
LN11 0JW, www.louth-vets.co.uk
Our business is improving yours.
Pneumonia
Now that harvest is over, it is the ideal time to start preparing for winter before you
bring the cattle in. In an ideal world, you would all be able to put in brand new,
purpose built sheds with the perfect amount of ventilation and drainage; but we
appreciate that most farmers don't have the funds to put in a shiny new building, but
you can work on your existing buildings to provide better ventilation and drainage,
which will help to prevent pneumonia in your herd.
Spotting the signs early can help prevent pneumonia spreading through the shed. The
common symptoms of pneumonia are dull/depressed, reduced feed intake, increased
breathing rate, coughing , nasal discharge and high temperature; if you spot one of
your animals breathing rapidly, take it's temperature, if it is 39.5 °C or over, it is high
and that animal needs treatment
Speak to us – advice is still free! We are always here to answer your questions and
advise you about your cattle.
Practice News
As you all will have heard by now, our vet Peter left us in
May to start a new job as technical adviser for Nimrod in
Gloucestershire. He has kept in touch however, and is
getting on very well. We were joined in July by our new
vet Andrew, who is originally from Lincolnshire and keeps
a small flock of Kerry Hill sheep.
Parasite Forecast
Temperatures were average over the summer, but there was higher than average rainfall. This
means that your flock are more at risk than usual for the time of the year. The current
forecast is low risk for fluke, but autumn is the most risky period of the year, particularly for
acute fluke which often presents as sudden death in store/finishing lambs. Remember to
check withdrawals time when using flukicides as they can be very long. The current forecast
for roundworm related gut disease in cattle is high risk. Signs of this include profuse scouring
suddenly affecting a large percentage of the group. If you experience this, contact us at the
surgery and we can advise you on the best treatment. Also, this is the time of year of peak
risk of lungworm in cattle, which usually presents with coughing,
reluctance to move, and standing with their head down. Young stock are
most at risk, but adult cows previously unexposed to lungworm are also
susceptible. The best protection against lungworm in your herd is to
vaccinate, and we can also run faecal tests to identify larvae. When
treating your animals for lungworm it is important to worm all animals in
the group as soon as symptoms are seen.
James Street Veterinary Centre, James Street,
Louth, LN11 0JW, www.louth-vets.co.uk
Our business is improving yours.