CEVA Animal Health has launched Marbokem, a Marbofloxacin-based antimicrobial for the treatment of respiratory disease in cattle which offers the advantages of a one-shot protocol and a shock-resistant vial.

Marbokem is used for the treatment of respiratory infections caused by sensitive strains of Pasteurella multocida, Mannheimia haemolytica and Histophilus somni. CEVA says Marbofloxacin's efficacy has been proven in terms of re-treatment rate, success, speed of action and MICs in comparison with many frequently used quinolones and macrolides. ^(1,2,3,4)

According to CEVA, Marbokem's one shot protocol means it's quick and economical to use, while its presentation in an ergonomic CLAS vial makes for light and shock-resistant handling, resulting in fewer breakages and reduced costs. The company says Marbokem is also very competitively priced.

For further product information, please contact CEVA Animal Health Ltd, 90 The Broadway, Chesham, Bucks, HP5 1EG, telephone 01494 781510 or visit the website at http://www.ceva.uk.com/

¹ Grandemange, E., Fournel, S., Woerhle, F. (2009) Field evaluation of the efficacy of 2 antibiotics in treating bovine respiratory infections. Poster, Journées Nationales des GTV, Nantes, France.
^2. Grobbel, M., Lübke-Becker, A., Wieler, L., Froyman R., Friederichs, S., Filios, S. (2007) Comparative quantification of the in-vitro activity of veterinary fluoroquinolones. Veterinary microbiology 124 (73-81).
^3. Roy, O., Pillet, F., Heurtin-Vallé, A., Frontczak, N. (2008) Comparative field clinical efficacy of a single intramuscular injection of marbofloxacin in the treatment of bovine respiratory disease. Poster, World Buiatrics Congress, Budapest, Hungary.
^4. Wu, C. (2004) Determination of minimum inhibitory concentrations of danofloxacin and other commonly used cattle antimicrobial agents against Mycoplasma bovis isolated from cattle with clinical disease. Le médecin vétérinaire du Québec. 34 (1-2).

Bimeda has launched Recocam, a 20mg/ml meloxicam preparation licensed for use as a single injection course in cattle, horses and pigs. 

Bimeda's Head of Technical Services, Padraig Hyland MVB said: "Meloxicam's anti-inflammatory credentials and safety profile is well proven and it remains rightly popular with large animal vets. With our manufacturing expertise it makes sense to add this widely used product to our portfolio. Our aim is to provide a comprehensive range of both established standards and new innovative products for cattle and equine vets, and this is just another step in that process."

Bimeda says Recocam has a broad range of indications including acute respiratory infections, in combination with oral re-hydration in diarrhoea therapy and acute mastitis, for non-infectious locomotor disorders and lameness in pigs and alleviation of inflammation and pain in both acute and chronic musculo-skeletal disorders and pain relief associated with equine colic. In cattle Recocam can be given by single subcutaneous or intravenous injection.

Dechra has launched Cyclofin, an injectable single-dose solution for acute bovine respiratory disease (BRD) caused by oxytetracycline-sensitive Mannheimia (Pasteurella) haemolytica and Pasteurella multocida where an anti-inflammatory and anti-pyretic effect is needed.

Cyclofin contains two active ingredients: 200 mg/ml of the anti-inflammatory flunixin-meglumine (eq. to 33.2 mg/ml flunixin meglumine)  and 300 mg/ml of the class D anti-infective, oxytetracycline (eq. to 323.5 mg/ml oxytetracycline trihydrate).

Dechra says Cylofin acts within 24-36 hours and has sustained anti-bacterial activity for five to six days following a single intramuscular injection.

Administration is deep intramuscular injection in cattle and Cyclofin has a 35-day withdrawal period and a memorable dose rate of 1 ml per 10 kg body weight.

Alana McGlade MRCVS, national sales manager at Dechra, said: “BRD is one of the most prevalent and costly diseases on farm and early administration of an effective and fast-acting NSAID/antibiotic combination treatment, such as Cyclofin, can help relieve discomfort and stress, alleviate pain and improve demeanour and food intake.”

Cyclofin is available in 100ml vials.

https://www.dechra.co.uk/products/livestock/prescription/cyclofin#Cyclofin-300mg-ml.

Scientists from the Institute for Animal Health, Pirbright, UK Met Office and the Jersey State Veterinary Service and Jersey Meteorological Department, are working together on an early-warning system to help defend cattle against the spread of 'bluetongue' disease, according to a study published today in Weather.

The team is fusing meteorological data with ecological information to anticipate when disease carrying midges are likely to be carried on the wind from the continent to the UK and Channel Islands.

Lead author Dr Christopher J. Sanders from the Institute for Animal Health said: "The bluetongue virus, BTV, represents a major and unprecedented epidemic which has spread across Western Europe since 2006. While accurate estimates of costs incurred are not yet available, it is estimated that these could be in the order of many tens of millions of pounds."

BTV is carried by small biting midges, Culicoides, one of the smallest species of biting flies found on livestock. One bite from a midge fully infected with BTV can be enough to lead to infection in cattle and sheep, which can be fatal.

Since 1998 the range of the African species of biting midge has expanded from the Mediterranean basin resulting in an overlap with the range of European species. This enabled European species of midge to pick up virus from infected animals for the first time and go on to transmit it in Southern Europe. However, the arrival of BTV in northern Europe in 2006 was independent of this northwards movement of BTV, jumping north rather than from a gradual spread, and was reliant on transmission only by European midges common and widespread in the area.

In 2006 the disease was found in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Germany; 700 km north of previous European outbreaks. In June 2007 the disease was once again reported in Germany and by October 2008 24,000 cases were reported in France alone. In September 2007, the first cases of BTV were discovered in the UK, where fortunately the outbreak was small.

The danger that the disease may again spread to the UK from across the channel is of special concern to the Channel Island of Jersey, which maintains a world renowned cattle industry, but is at heightened risk of infection if the disease becomes established along the Cherbourg peninsula or the Normandy and Brittany coastline.

The risk comes from the possibility that the tiny midges can be carried on the wind from the French coast to the Island. To monitor this threat the team set up midge light traps in farms across the island to monitor midge activity and to identify the presence of any potential vector species.

The results were then collated and analysed alongside data from the Jersey Meteorological Department, which allowed the team to pinpoint when livestock were at risk from a number of locations on the mainland. This information was fed into the UK Met Office early-warning website which has also been used on the mainland to help predict and defend against the disease.

"Environmental conditions, especially temperature, wind speed and direction have a significant impact on the biting midge in terms of activity and abundance," concluded Sanders. "Monitoring the midge population in Jersey will provide the farming community on the mainland with knowledge of when the midge season commences in the diseased areas of the near continent."

Following last week's news from Defra that sales of antibiotics for food-producing animals in the UK have dropped by 27%, comfortably beating the government target of 50mg/kg which was set following the 2016 O’Neill Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, targets for further reducing antibiotic use across the key livestock sectors have been announced by Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture (RUMA) Alliance 'Targets Task Force'.

The Targets Task Force comprises a leading veterinary surgeon and farmer from each of the beef, dairy, egg, fish, gamebird, pig, poultry meat and sheep sectors, who have been consulting with key organisations in their respective industries. The group also includes observers from regulators Food Standards Agency and Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD).

While the targets each sector has set vary according to the availability of data and scope in their sector, the targets as a whole have been described as 'positive and proactive' by the VMD. 

The headline targets for the eight sectors include a reduction in use of antibiotics in pigs by over 60% between 2015 and 2020, with minimal use of highest priority Critically Important Antibiotics (CIAs). RUMA reports that good progress has already been made in this sector, with usage falling by around 35% between 2015 and 2016.

Targets Task Force member and president of the Pig Veterinary Society Mark White said: "It's encouraging to see the response in the sector to the challenge laid down, which bodes well for achieving our ambitious 2020 goal. It is evident that the sector – steered mainly by the members of the Pig Veterinary Society, AHDB Pork and the National Pig Association – has the will and the capability to fully engage with the issue."

Next steps, he said, were to focus on eliminating routine preventative treatment where it is still happening, mainly due to lack of resource or expertise. "We can also work to improve water delivery systems so that more targeted treatment in the water can be used instead of in-feed medication."

The dairy cattle sector has committed to a 20% reduction by 2020, with a particular focus on halving use of the highest priority CIAs. The work to achieve this will be led by a newly-created Dairy Antimicrobial Stewardship Group (DASG) which includes all key organisations in the sector.

Some of the strategies to achieve these goals in dairy farming include reducing the use of antibiotic dry cow therapy and injectable products, and cutting back on group treatments such as antibiotic footbaths for lameness which remain largely unproven, instead using topical and targeted treatments.

Di Wastenage, dairy farmer from Devon, Task Force member and chair of the DASG, said the sector needed to be ambitious about what it could achieve. “While use is lower than in some sectors, there are clear areas to tackle where use can be habitual, or common disease problems go unchallenged.

"For example, eliminating BVD and Persistently Infected animals from the herd is one of the obvious places to start, as well as talking to your vet to calculate the usage levels you have at the moment. Calf rearing can produce a 'hot spot' of treatment, as can digital dermatitis. Everyone has the potential to use antibiotics more responsibly somewhere."

The gamebird sector, having undergone a comprehensive awareness-raising initiative among game rearers in 2017 to cut back on reducing the need for medicines, aims to reduce use by a quarter this year, with a further 25% reduction between 2018 and 2020. 

Three sectors – poultry meat, laying hen and fish – are either already low users of medicines or have made significant reductions over the past five years. These sectors will be focusing on maintaining use at the minimal level needed to ensure good health and welfare among their livestock, while tackling emerging challenges should they arise.

The poultry meat sector, previously described as a 'pathfinder' for the rest of the farming industry, has already reduced use by 71% between 2012, when its stewardship scheme was introduced, and 2016. 

In doing this, the poultry meat sector has also ceased all preventative treatment and use of the highest priority CIAs. It will now maintain current levels in chickens and look for further reductions in turkeys. This sector will use clinical governance to ensure CIA antibiotics are only prescribed when absolutely needed and with sign off from veterinary specialists and management.

The laying hen and fish sectors have similarly committed to continuing low use, with the laying hen sector eliminating all use of highest priority CIAs in the past two years. The development of a vaccine in the salmon sector several years ago successfully controlled one of its most challenging bacterial diseases, so the focus has turned to the health of the ‘cleaner fish’ used to provide natural control of sea lice.

The trout farming sector, with its greater number of small producers, is concentrating on reducing the need for antibiotics and improving data capture.

The beef and sheep sectors are already low users of antibiotics, but have acknowledged they each need better data, and will also commit to addressing 'hotspots' of use. Both have committed to a 10% reduction in antibiotic use by 2020, subject to securing better data.

For the beef sector, reduction in use centres around calves and youngstock, particularly in the areas of respiratory disease. There is also an emphasis on calves from dairy herds, where mixing animals from different sources can create a peak in disease pressure similar to children going to school for the first time.

In sheep, the focus areas are to reduce routine preventative antibiotic usage against abortion (miscarriage), lameness and neonatal lamb diseases such as watery mouth and joint ill. 

With initiatives proving that routine preventative use is largely avoidable through a combination of vaccination, good hygiene, quality nutrition and careful shepherding, Dr Fiona Lovatt of the Targets Task Force is optimistic about the opportunities to reduce overall use.

"In the sheep sector, we’re not high users of antibiotics. But we want to ensure that any use is totally targeted so we are challenging all inappropriate or routine preventative use.  

"Convincing farmers to change practices is tricky, and none of us want to see an increase in levels of disease, but those who have had the courage to work with their vets to change what they do are now seeing what is possible. The answer is to take a holistic approach and work closely with a keen sheep vet."

Gwyn Jones, chair of both RUMA and the Targets Task Force, said he has been overwhelmed by the positivity of the group and its willingness to be ambitious. "The members have worked very hard and have shown incredible leadership and persistence. They have also provided unprecedented support and inspiration to each other.

"I am delighted they have agreed that the group should continue to meet twice-yearly to review progress and discuss issues."

The full report with all targets for each sector can be downloaded from the RUMA website www.ruma.org.uk.

Boehringer Ingelheim has announced the introduction of a new and improved bottle for its respiratory vaccine, Bovalto Respi Intranasal (IN), which can be used in calves from 10 days of age.

Being an intranasal vaccine, Bovalto Respi IN triggers mucosal immunity in the nasal passages and throat area. It can be delivered from 10 days of age without the need for a booster and provides immunity for 12 weeks, from 10 days after vaccination.

Boehringer says it has also been shown to be effective in the face of MDA (maternally derived antibodies).

The new bottle now has a wider neck, which apparently makes for a better fit with the accompanying Respisafe applicator and nozzle. 

Brand manager Matt Yarnall said: "The Respisafe applicator ensures that vaccination is a comfortable process for both farmer and calf and the improved fit will make the job even easier.

"With an intranasal vaccine, it is important that the vaccine droplets coat the mucosa of the nasal passages, where they can begin to work. If they are too big, then the vaccine can run out of the nose, and if too small then the droplets are carried into the lungs and are wasted. The Respisafe system ensures that the optimum size of droplet is administered to the right place in an efficient and easy way.”

Bovalto Respi Intranasal protects against the two main respiratory viruses – RSV and PI3, and during its development it was tested against current strains, that are associated with causing disease in cattle¹.

Stock of the new bottles will start to enter circulation with vets from mid-July, with an expectation that the existing version will still be in circulation until early in the new year.

Reference

1. Philippe-Reversat et al. (2017) Acta vet. BRNO 86: 325-332

Poultry vet William Garton has been named as the Young Farm Vet of the Year in the National Egg & Poultry Awards organised by the magazine Poultry Business.

The award, which is sponsored by Zoetis, was given online this year at an event hosted by sports television presenter Mark Durden-Smith and Chloe Ryan, the editor of Poultry Business.

William was brought up on a sheep farm in Nottinghamshire and as a youngster bred rare breed poultry, selling eggs to local people in the village. He graduated at Nottingham University, did a poultry internship with a practice in the North West and worked there initially. Four years ago, he set up his own practice Avivets, at High Legh in Cheshire, dedicated to the poultry and game bird sector. He guest lectures at the Universities of Nottingham and Surrey and is an official veterinarian for avian exports. He sits on the RSPCA’s technical standards advisory board and was recently appointed veterinary advisor for the NFU poultry board.

Chloe Ryan said he had impressed the judges ‘with his enthusiasm for poultry veterinary knowledge and entrepreneurship. He has shown an excellent level of dedication, enriching his experience and qualifications through continuous professional development to farms and flocks as evidenced by glowing praise from a long list of clients.’

Lucy Berriman, Zoetis UK poultry national account manager, said: “Zoetis is proud to be sponsors of this new award for the industry’s poultry vets. 

"It gives hardworking individuals the chance to shine and illustrate their commitment to the poultry industry. Congratulations to Will for this fabulous achievement, and well done to the other two finalists."

The other finalists were Helena Brewer, who joined the Poultry Health Services team at Sheriff Hutton, near York, after studying at the Royal (Dick) School at Edinburgh and the Royal Veterinary College, and Henry Lamb, who has worked at Crowshall Veterinary Services in Norfolk since graduating at the Royal Veterinary College.

MSD has launched Bovilis Nasalgen-C, an intranasal live bovine coronavirus (BCoV) vaccine, in the UK.

Bovilis Nasalgen-C can be used for the active immunisation of calves from the day of birth onwards to reduce clinical signs of upper respiratory tract disease and nasal viral shedding from infection with BCoV. 

MSD says respiratory disease in UK calves is widespread and comes at a high cost from an emotional and business productivity perspective.

It is also continually highlighted as a critical area for overuse of antibiotics.

Despite all this, there is an under use of vaccination in the UK cattle sector¹.

Speaking at BCVA last week, Paul Burr MRCVS, director of Biobest Laboratories said:  “Recent UK studies show bovine coronavirus being the most prevalent virus found in routine disease screening and nasal swab samples taken during a bovine respiratory disease outbreak.

"BCoV was found in 39% of over 400 nasal swab samples taken between 2020 and 2022 from BRD affected cattle on UK farms².”

Kat Baxter-Smith, veterinary adviser with MSD Animal Health, said: “Whilst the pathogenicity of BCoV within the BRD complex remains an unknown quantity, its ubiquitous presence in the UK cattle population – and the recent human experience of coronavirus as a significant respiratory pathogen – suggests a need for a re-evaluation of BRD control by vets and farmers.

“Just as coronavirus is a pathogen associated with the common cold and Covid-19, BCoV is a proven pathogen that directly impacts the calf respiratory tract.

"Consequently, the availability of this new BRD vaccine presents veterinary professionals with another tool in their armoury to improve control of this costly disease.

“If diagnostics suggest BCoV is implicated in any BRD problem, the availability of Bovilis Nasalgen-C allows UK cattle farmers to effectively administer protection for young calves via a single 2ml intranasal dose that can quickly reach the site of action.

"This will support the development of immunity against BCoV early in life, the onset of which starts five days after administration and has a 12-week duration.”

Bovilis Nasalgen-C comes can be used on the same day with Bovilis INtranasal RSPÔ Live, which offers protection against both Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus (BRSV) and Parainfluenza-3 Virus (Pi3).

Bovilis Nasalgen-C can be stored for up to 24 hours at room temperature after reconstitution, can be given to cattle using a syringe or applicator device and is available in one, five and 20 dose packs, suitable for both small and large herds.

References:

1. MSD Animal Health. Penetration rate calculated October 2017, using Kynetec data and Defra Statistics (2017).
2. Nasal swab PCR samples from 407 farmers submitted to Biobest (2020-2022). 

Ceva Animal Health, maker of Ketofen, has published a guide and accompanying videos for farmers which promote best practice in the management of cattle lameness.

The step-by-step guide offers guidelines to help farmers improve their herd's mobility.

It highlights the importance of implementing a robust and ongoing treatment plan to improve cow comfort and reduce lameness in the short-term, which will lead to increased production and herd welfare in the longer-term. 

The guide includes advice on reviewing a whole herd by an independent RoMS (Register of Mobility Scorers) accredited mobility scorer, seeking veterinary advice or contacting a mobility mentor (someone who has been trained to deliver the ADHB Healthy Feet Programme) if lesions are identified, treating within 48 hours of identification with a combination of trim, block, topical antimicrobial spray and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID), as appropriate, and the importance of ongoing treatment, prevention and monitoring every fortnight. 

The guide also includes tips for the successful use of NSAIDs, which include the importance of using a NSAID with a zero milk withhold.

There are four lameness management videos which were produced in collaboration with James Wilson BSc (Hons) PhD, a foot health consultant from Herd Health Consultancy and include contributions from Alex Burrows, professional foot trimmer and Chair of the National Association of Cattle Foot Trimmers (NACFT), Dave Bacon, a dairy farmer from Gleadthorpe Farm in Nottinghamshire, Shannon Trinder, assistant herdsperson at Gleadthorpe Farm and Harry Walby BVetMed MRCVS, veterinary surgeon and ruminant technical advisor at Ceva Animal Health. 

They cover the benefits of regular mobility scoring, prioritising mobility and lameness prevention in heifers and maintaining lameness management success with practical and effective lameness treatment and prevention programmes.

www.wavegoodbyetopain.co.uk/pdf/step-by-step-guide.pdf.
www.wavegoodbyetopain.co.uk/training-videos.html. 

Defra has released new data showing that new outbreaks of bovine TB have fallen in the two areas that have now completed their licensed four-year badger culls.

In the Somerset cull area, TB incidence has fallen from 24% before culling started to 12% in year four of the cull, while in Gloucestershire it has fallen from 10.4% to 5.6%.

The Government says the findings are in line with expectation based on the scientific evidence from the Randomised Badger Culling Trial which underpins the approach to tackling bovine TB – and demonstrate progress is being made in delivering the 25-year TB eradication strategy in England to rid our farmers of the impacts of this terrible disease.

Defra has also announced additional measures being taken to help control the disease, including licences for badger control in 11 new areas and the opening of a new round of applications for the Badger Edge Vaccination Scheme grants.

Farming Minister George Eustace said: "Bovine TB remains one of the greatest animal health threats to the UK. There is no single measure that will provide an easy answer which is why we are committed to pursuing a wide range of interventions to protect the future of our dairy and beef industries and eradicate the disease within 20 years.

"No one wants to be culling badgers forever so the progress reported today is encouraging."

BVA President John Fishwick said: "We continue to support a comprehensive and evidence-based approach to tackling bovine TB, including the use of badger culling in a targeted, effective and humane manner. TB is a devastating disease and we welcome the positive results emerging in Somerset and Gloucestershire, where licensed culling has now been in place for four years. The recent results in Dorset, indicating a slight upward trend in the incidence of bovine TB, present some cause for concern and we would like to see further investigation of the cattle and wildlife situation in that area.

"BVA supports the principle of badger controls within the Low Risk Areas (LRAs) of England where there is a demonstrated need and where it is done safely, humanely and effectively as part of a comprehensive strategy. We are largely reassured by the greater clarity provided on the decision-making process on how and where badger controls will be introduced in the LRAs. We recognise the expertise and professional judgement of veterinary and scientific colleagues in government who have made the decision to extend the cull in this area, but we would welcome further evidence regarding the level of TB infection in the wildlife reserve in Cumbria as this becomes available.

"Halting the spread of bovine TB is essential and it is vital that we use every available tool in the toolbox to support the Government’s aim to make England TB free. We therefore welcome both the introduction of tighter cattle controls where needed and the re-commencement of the Badger Edge Vaccination Scheme, particularly if used as a ‘firebreak’ to mitigate the spread of the disease into the low risk areas. We would also like to see a commitment to funding of further research in this area."

Photo: Coatesy/Shutterstock

Defra has announced that the Bluetongue Protection Zone will be extended again on Monday 7 July, following the delivery by Intervet of almost 2 million additional doses of Bluetongue vaccine.
 
Vaccination is only permitted within the Protection Zone. In accordance with the Bluetongue vaccination plan, the Protection Zone will be extended to cover all of the East Riding of Yorkshire (including the City of Kingston upon Hull), South Yorkshire (made up of the metropolitan boroughs of Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield), Gloucestershire (including the unitary authority of South Gloucestershire) and Warwickshire. Defra will continue to roll out vaccination as vaccine is delivered, in line with the vaccination roll-out plan.
 
The additional vaccine is available for use in the existing Protection Zone from today. Livestock keepers in the areas coming into the Protection Zone will be able to obtain the vaccine from Monday. However, they are encouraged to order vaccine so that they can protect their livestock at the earliest opportunity.
 
Protection Zone restrictions will apply to those keepers coming into the extended zone. Animals can only be moved out of the Protection Zone if they are vaccinated, naturally immune or moving for slaughter, subject to meeting certain conditions. Animals will also be able to be moved between the Protection Zones in Wales and England, subject to the conditions on the transit licence.