Dairy vets will soon be receiving a DVD highlighting the economic losses due to coccidiosis in cattle, from Janssen Animal Health.

According to the company, coccidiosis is a major cause of scouring and poor growth rates in calves yet recent findings have demonstrated that a massive 61 per cent of the economic loss occurs in sub-clinically infected calves that are not showing any obvious clinical signs. Treated calves have been shown to put on 20 per cent more weight than untreated calves¹. Coccidiosis infects between 16 and 27 per cent of adult cattle who act as reservoirs of the disease^2,3,4,5. This means that most calves are likely to become exposed to the infectious form of the parasite. After the age of 6 months the majority of calves acquire immunity but if they are exposed to a massive challenge before that time due to large numbers of the coccidial oocysts or due to a stress factor, sub-clinical or clinical disease occurs.

The DVD describes the challenges involved in diagnosing coccidiosis and how to interpret faecal oocyst counts, as well as some of the characteristics of sub-clinical infection in calves.  The benefits of metaphylactic and preventative approaches to treatment with Vecoxan®, the only anticoccidial drench licensed for beef and dairy cattle at any age, indoors and out, are discussed.

Nigel Underwood from Janssen Animal Health said: "The diagnosis of non-specific scour is problematic at best but it is important that vets have coccidiosis at front of mind when considering the differential diagnosis. Prompt treatment of the whole batch of calves can stop the disease in its tracks and does not interfere with the development of future immunity. We hope this DVD will provide an update on the latest thinking and help increase recognition of this disease."

The DVD will be sent out in February and any vet with an interest in the disease who does not received one before the end of the month should call Janssen on 01494 567555 to request a copy.

Further information is available from Janssen Animal Health, 50-100 Holmers Farm Way, High Wycombe, Bucks, HP12 4EG Tel 01494 567555 Fax 01494 567556 Email: ahealth@jacgb.jnj.com

References 

1. Daugschies A., Agneessens, J., et al. The effect of a metaphylactic treatment with diclazuril (Vecoxan®) on the oocyst excretion and growth performance of calves exposed to a natural Eimeria infection (2007) Veterinary Parasitology 149, 199-206
2. Occurrence and diversity of bovine coccidia at three localities in Sotuh Africa. P.T. Matjila and B.L. Penzhorn, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria, South Africa, Veterinary Parasitology Volume 104, Issue 2 March 2002
3. Prevalence of Bovine Eimeridosis in Thracia, Turkey. M. Özkan Arslan, Erkut Tüzer. Journal of Veterinary Parasitology and Animal Sciences. 22 (1998) 161-164
4. Epidemiological factors associated to bovine coccidiosis in calves (Bos indicus) in a sub-humid tropical climate. Roger I. Rodriguez-Vivas, José L. Dominguez-Alpizar, Juan F. Torres-Acosta. Rev. Biomed. 1996; 7:211-218

As the House of Lords begins its debate on the religious slaughter of farm animals, the RSPCA is calling for all to be pre-stunned.

More than 900 million farm animals are slaughtered for meat in the UK every year. The vast majority are stunned pre-slaughter. However, the law permits the Jewish and Muslim communities to kill animals by religious methods without any form of pre-stunning.

The RSPCA says that while it recognises that religious beliefs and practices should be respected, it also believes that animals should only be slaughtered under the most humane conditions.

RSPCA Dr Julia Wrathall, head of the RSPCA's farm animal science department said: "Farm animals deserve to be treated with care and respect throughout their lives, from the time they are born right up to their final moments in the abattoir.

"We want to see all animals rendered unconscious before slaughter. Until that time we are calling for clear labelling so shoppers are armed with information that can enable them to make an informed choice about whether they buy meat from animals which have not been stunned before slaughter.

"Until there is better, universal labelling, shoppers should look for the blue and white Freedom Food label. Meat produced under this RSPCA assurance scheme comes from animals inspected to the RSPCA's farm animal welfare standards which do not permit slaughter without pre-stunning."

According to the charity, scientific research shows that slaughtering animals without pre-stunning (to render them insensible to pain and distress) can cause unnecessary suffering.

David Bowles, head of public affairs for the RSPCA, who has written a report for the House of Lords debate, added: "We know this is a subject that our supporters feel passionately about. We share their welfare concerns and that is why we have continued to campaign for religious slaughter to be discussed at the highest possible levels."

The RSPCA works with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to publish the results of the FSA's Animal Welfare Survey undertaken in abattoirs across Great Britain.

The latest survey* results shows:

• Over 40 million cattle, sheep, pigs and calves and around 900 million poultry are slaughtered each year in the UK.

• 3% of cattle, 10% of sheep and goats, and 4% of poultry in Great Britain are not stunned before slaughter.

• Most animals slaughtered for the Halal market were stunned before slaughter. None of the animals slaughtered for the Kosher market were stunned before slaughter.

The RSPCA believes mandatory labelling should be introduced so that all meat that has not been stunned is labelled and says it will press for European rules on this in 2014.

MSD Animal Health has launched Expertis Udder Health, a farm management tool for veterinary surgeons to better enable them to monitor and improve udder health in dairy cattle.

Expertis was presented to vets at the International Conference on Udder Health and Communication which took place in Utrecht this week.

Expertis Udder Health consists of a software programme together with educational and communication tools to help veterinary surgeons and farmers find the causes of mastitis more easily.

The Expertis Udder Health program consists of four steps: 1. A farm intake questionnaire about setting goals puts the farmer in a central position, and allows for careful listening in order to align with his/her objectives. 2. The data is analyzed, leading to the identification of the right focus points that are needed to identify areas for improvement. 3. These focus points are presented as fact sheets, i.e. a check list of risk factors for mastitis within the focus point. 4. The information is synthesized into an automatic summary of the actual situation, the udder health objectives and an open space to fill in the tailor-made advice to the farmer for improvement of the udder health status on his farm.

Jantijn Swinkels, DVM, Global Technical Director Pharmaceuticals within the Ruminants Business Unit at Merck Animal Health said: "The structured approach offered by Expertis Udder Health takes into account that mastitis is a multifactorial disease and covers all aspects that influence udder health. To save time, the analysis ensures that the focus is on the most important issues, which can differ greatly from farm to farm. The existing services provided within this tool can be used to optimize udder health on the farm".

Rinse Jan Boersma, MSc, Global Director Dairy Cattle at Merck Animal Health added: "We have developed Expertis to support veterinarians and farmers by improving our service level as well as to contribute to good veterinary practices by implementing preventive measures and prudent use of antibiotics."

MSD says that as a consequence of the reduced milk production, discarded milk, veterinary and treatment costs and extra labor costs, mastitis is considered the most important cause of economic loss for dairy operations. Recent data from Sweden indicates an average economic loss of €278 per case of clinical mastitis and of €60 per case of sub-clinical mastitis.*

The Expertis Udder Health program is being rolled out country to country, and will be distributed to veterinary surgeons via local MSD Animal Health representatives.

Reference

* Nielsen C, Østergaard S, Emanuelson U, Andersson H, Berglund B, Strandberg. Economic consequences of mastitis and withdrawal of milk with high somatic cell count in Swedish dairy herds. Animal 2010;4:1758-70

Norbrook has launched an Android version of its existing free iPhone app: ‘the Veterinary Excellence Tool’ (VET).

VET offers a range of functions to assist veterinary professionals and farmers including a product dosing calculator. The Android version has been developed to meet customer demand and has the same features as the Apple version which is available for both iPhones and iPads.

Norbrook highlights the following features of the app:

• A product dosing calculator that allows product dosage to be calculated in seconds
• Full and most up-to-date product listing of UK products
• A Territory Manager locator with full contact details
• A new events section
• A fluid calculator which allows users to quickly and conveniently calculate infusion rates based on factors including a patient’s weight, reason for fluid therapy and choice of product to be infused.
• A nutrition calculator which calculates daily food intake based on animal weight, calorie density of food and nutritional requirements. It also calculates the approximate energy density of food based on fat, protein and carbohydrate requirements, where this information is not readily available.

The app can be downloaded for free by searching for “Norbrook” in either app store.

For further information please contact Laura Holmes, E-Marketing Manager, laura.holmes@norbrook.co.uk or 01536 741147.

Pneumonia-induced lung damage could be costing some cattle almost 74kg a year in lost lifetime growth potential with even moderate damage resulting in animals losing 39kg over an 18 month beef finishing system.

These are the figures from a major collaborative study between Schering-Plough and Blade Farming, announced yesterday. They suggest that some producers may not be treating cattle pneumonia as effectively as they could. The project also highlights how better abattoir feedback can be used to improve cattle pneumonia management regimes on farm.

In the study, 645 commercial beef animals from 15 units were examined at slaughter for evidence of lung damage. Data on carcase weight, age and grade were also collected to allow estimated daily live weight gains (EDLWG) to be recorded.

According to project co-ordinator Paul Williams MRCVS from Schering-Plough, the research team recorded a significant level of pneumonia-induced lung damage in the slaughtered cattle.

“Nearly half the cattle (48%) examined on the slaughter line had some level of lung damage. But there was also huge variation between units, with all the cattle from one particular farm having damaged lungs,” he said.

The researchers also established that the extent of lung damage was strongly associated with reduced EDLWG. “The more lung lobes that are affected, the greater the potential daily liveweight gain loss and those cattle that had the most lung damage experienced a significant reduction in EDLWG of 202g per day throughout their entire lifetime.

“For the animals with any degree of lung damage (310 cattle), the average reduction in weight gain over 14 months was 15kg – equivalent to a financial loss of £16.90 per animal based on a live weight price of £1.10 per kg. So the overall loss for this group of animals was potentially £5,239 – money the industry simply cannot afford to lose,” Paul Williams stressed.

“In addition, those carcases with lung damage were significantly more likely to have a lower conformation grade and so receive an even lower price,” he explained.

Blade Farming managing director Richard Phelps pointed out that the study had convinced him that paying closer attention to minimising pneumonia-induced lung damage could easily make some beef producers an extra £40-£50 an animal.

“All the cattle we take look healthy, but I’ve been surprised at the level of undetected lung damage once the animals have been slaughtered. This lung scoring trial work in the abattoir is now helping us assess just how much lung damage diseases like pneumonia can cause. The feedback will be able to help producers reassess early stage rearing issues and be more vigilant. It’s not just grading issues that we are concerned about.

Blade Farming consultant veterinary surgeon Rob Drysdale from the Westpoint Veterinary Group stressed that whilst pneumonia prevention should be the number one objective for all cattle producers, having an effective disease treatment protocol in place is increasingly vital – and particularly one that prevents permanent lung damage from occurring. He said: "Pneumonia infections can quickly damage lungs and once this happens the animal will not be able to express its full genetic potential. This means that even if the affected animal survives it is likely to have damaged lungs for the rest of its life, and this will reduce productivity and growth."

T

Virbac has launched the Multimin Focus Guide, an online platform to help vets educate their farmers on the importance of injectable trace minerals in the production cycle. 

Produced in association with Farmers Guardian, information in the guide includes the role of Multimin in increasing farm margins by reducing mastitis, improving fertility, assisting growth and increasing immunity.

The Multimin Focus Guide also includes case studies that demonstrate how livestock performance can be elevated with trace minerals, which is relevant to both the dairy and beef industries. 

Sabrina Jordan, Product Manager at Virbac said: "Multimin is a unique injection that is designed to ‘top up’ trace mineral supplies at critical times of the production cycle. 

"Strategic use of Multimin supports the transition cow and is increasingly used to increase fertility in maiden heifers, particularly at second lactation.

"Multimin is particularly useful for youngstock where it helps to boost immunity and growth; and supports during times of stress such as transportation and grouping. 

"Most significantly, in areas where vets have identified deficiencies in grazing pasture, Multimin can ensure that animals are 'topped up' with the appropriate trace minerals to optimise performance.

"The aim of this online resource is to support vets in demonstrating the importance of trace minerals to improving herd efficiency and health." 

www.farmersguardian.com/bringing-herd-health-virbac-multimin-focus

The industry-led Cattle Health and Welfare Group of Great Britain (CHAWG) has published a review which identifies a practical approach to gathering antibiotic usage data on UK cattle farms.

The review outcomes, announced today at a joint conference held by the Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture Alliance (RUMA) and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD), highlight the significant benefits better data could deliver, such as improving the way antibiotics are administered strategically to tackle disease.

But CHAWG’s chair Tim Brigstocke says it’s also important that the industry is able to accurately report usage levels because of the rising levels of antibiotic-resistant bacteria which threaten human health. 

"We found that while data is already stored at every vet practice and in every farm medicine book, it currently exists in many different forms. It’s also not collected or collated, and is further complicated by multi-species approvals for many of the antibiotics.

"This means we can’t always be sure in which type of animal a medicine has been used. For example, out of 420 tonnes of animal-authorised antibiotic active substance sold in the UK in 2013, only 14 tonnes was authorised solely for use in cattle. However, 63 tonnes was authorised for multi-species use in food producing animals and within the 217 products included in this, 201 are authorised for use in cattle."

Tim says that with the support of the VMD, which requested the review and will now act as secretariat, CHAWG will set up a working group to implement the report’s recommendations.

The starting point is likely to be the survey of vets carried out by the British Cattle Veterinary Association (BCVA), which formed part of the review. This suggested vets could be using as many as 15 different software programmes to log data, so CHAWG will be working with the BCVA and individual practices to look at how standard sets of data can be anonymised and exported.

"Then we will almost certainly look at how cattle farmers can be supported in migrating records from the physical ‘medicine book’ on the farm, into a spreadsheet or existing cattle management software for anonymous aggregation on a national level.

"There are undoubtedly areas where we can improve the effectiveness of how we use these powerful medicines to improve welfare. But the antibiotic resistance debate is an emotive one and we must also demonstrate accountability to ensure the preservation of antibiotics for future use in humans and animals; any future curbs on usage should be proportionate and informed, and not compromise animal wellbeing."

Mandatory reporting in Europe could be just over the horizon and the European Medicines Agency has focused in the past year on developing a method for data collection on the usage of antibiotics in the EU pig sector. In the UK, the VMD is encouraging the livestock sectors to develop systems appropriate to their own unique circumstances and industry characteristics.

Tim said: "It’s therefore in cattle farmers’ own interests to anticipate the kind of figures it might be asked to supply in the future, and develop a way of collecting that data which suits the way the UK industry works.

"Then we can retain control over the data and the methodology, and ensure the reporting is accurate – and this in turn will help the VMD represent our case better in Europe as this debate continues.

CHAWG says that throughout this project, it will be liaising with others – such as the pig sector – to ensure learnings are shared, duplication avoided and efficiencies realised where possible. 

The CHAWG review report is available to download at www.chawg.org.uk.

New research published in Epidemiology and Infection (Cambridge University Press) reveals that direct contact between badgers and cattle is rare, suggesting that it may be rare for bovine tuberculosis (TB) to be passed on through the two species meeting each other on pasture.

For the research, which was conducted by the Royal Veterinary College and the Food and Environment Research Agency, researchers investigated direct and indirect interactions between badgers and cattle by fitting automated high-tech proximity loggers to animals and placing base stations at badger latrines located on pasture, in an area of south-west England with a high-density badger population, over a period of 12-months.

Direct interactions (within 1.4 metres) between badgers and cows at pasture were very rare, with only four out of over 500,000 animal-to-animal contacts recorded between the two species.

Indirect interactions (visits to badger latrines) were far more frequent than direct contacts, with 400 visits by badgers and 1700 visits by cattle recorded. This suggests that indirect contacts might be more important than direct in terms of disease transmission at pasture.

During the study half of the badgers tested positive for TB, however the infection status of individual badgers did not affect the frequency or duration of their visits to latrines located on pasture grazed by cattle.

Bovine tuberculosis  caused by infection with Mycobacterium bovis is endemic in cattle in parts of England and Wales and its control is hindered by the presence of infection in the European badger. While M. bovis is clearly transmitted between cattle and badgers, it is has not previously been known where, when or how often transmission occurs.

Dr Julian Drewe from the Royal Veterinary College who led the study, said: "Our findings reveal that direct contacts between badgers and cattle at pasture are surprisingly rare, despite ample opportunity for interactions to occur, suggesting that the two species may be ignoring or even actively avoiding one another. The study was conducted in an area with a high badger population, so it is likely that such direct contact will be even less frequent in areas of the country where there are fewer badgers.

"Indirect visits by both species to badger latrines were significantly more common than direct contacts between badgers and cattle, which suggests that these represent the more typical nature of interspecies contact. Future research aiming to quantify TB risk to cattle from badgers might be best to focus on indirect contacts occurring at latrines and on contacts occurring away from pasture, for example in farm buildings.

"This clearly has disease management implications, and more work is now needed in this area to look at how such contact can be limited, to reduce the number of cases of bovine TB in the future."

Intervet/Schering-Plough has announced that Estrumate^®, in both the 10ml and 20ml vial size is back in stock and available to order from your veterinary wholesaler.

The stock out situation had arisen as a result of increased demand during the early part of the year but the company is confident that there will be sufficient stock to supply the increased level of demand in the foreseeable future. Intervet/Schering-Plough would like to thank their clients for the patience and understanding.

Further information is available from Intervet/Schering-Plough Account Managers or the Veterinary Support Group (VSG) on 01908 685685.

The BVA Animal Welfare Foundation has announced the availability of an updated version of its A3 poultry poster designed to assist veterinary surgeons identify diseases in free-range birds.

Based on information compiled by Victoria Roberts, Honorary Veterinary Surgeon to The Poultry Club, the BVA says the poster provides an invaluable source of information on diseases affecting exhibition chickens, hens, ducks, geese, turkeys, ornamental waterfowl, quail, ornamental pheasants, guinea fowl and peacocks.

The poster details the symptoms of different diseases, the cause, treatment and species affected as well as sections covering common problems and some causes, common diseases by age and life expectancy for the various bird species. A separate highlighted box contains useful tips for veterinary surgeons to pass on to their clients.

Copies of the poster have been circulated to BVA members as an insert in this week’s Veterinary Record. For further copies (free of charge) please ring 020 7636 6541 and ask for the BVA AWF or email bva-awf@bva.co.uk stating your name and postal address, and quoting AWF Poultry Poster.

Ceva Animal Health, the manufacturer of Cevac Chlamydia, has published the results of a new survey which showed that 47% of farmers are not vaccinating against enzootic abortion of ewes (EAE)¹.

322 farmers took part in the survey, 83% of which had a flock of over 100 ewes.

Three quarters of them had experienced abortions in their ewes during both the 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 lambing seasons. Of those that experienced abortions during the 2019/2020 lambing season, a quarter reported that the problem occurred in more than 2% of their flock and 44% of them did not ask their vet to investigate.

Katherine Timms, Ceva Animal Health’s ruminant veterinary advisor said: “Farmers who decide not to investigate why their ewes are aborting may well experience an abortion storm during the following year’s lambing season as Chlamydophila abortus, the bacteria that causes EAE, has the ability to lay latent in ewes until the next pregnancy. 

“This means that one infected sheep shedding at lambing has the potential to infect multiple ewes that will almost certainly abort at their next lambing.  The consequences can be financially and reproductively devastating for farmers and it’s advisable that vets raise awareness of EAE testing with their clients to help prevent this from happening.  Ceva’s Assure Ewe programme offers farmers subsidised farm serology testing for Chlamydia abortus.  Aborted ewes can be tested for Chlamydia abortus, ideally from three weeks to three months after lambing.”

Of the 47% of farmers that are not vaccinating against EAE,  57% said they would consider it. Reasons not to vaccinate included farmers believing that they had closed flocks (59%) and EAE not having been diagnosed (57%). Only 20% decided not to vaccinate because of cost and 25% because they did not feel it was worthwhile.

Ceva is continuing its ‘For Flock’s Sake – Vaccinate!’ initiative during 2021 to help raise awareness of EAE and highlight the importance of vaccination. This year, Ceva is also highlighting the importance of testing aborted ewes through its ‘For Flock’s Sake Get Tested’ campaign which encourages the submission of samples to a diagnostic laboratory or blood sampling after lambing has finished.

For more information, visit www.enzooticabortion.co.uk, contact your Ceva Animal Health account manager, call Ceva on 01494 781510 or email cevauk@ceva.com.

Reference

1. Ceva and NSA survey of 322 sheep farmers. July 2020

Photo: Ewe ewe looking at?

Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health has announced that it has received marketing authorization from the European Commission for a single-shot vaccination schedule of its Porcilis PCV vaccine against porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) infections.

The new approval allows vaccination with 1 dose of 2 ml in pigs from an age of 3 weeks onwards (known as the 1 - 2 - 3 approach) in the case of low to medium levels of maternal antibodies against PCV2, and also to include reduction of mortality as an additional indication. This new single-shot application for Porcilis PCV offers additional flexibility over the currently available dosage scheme of this vaccine, which has been available in Europe since April 2009.

Intervet/Schering Plough says the major characteristics of Porcilis PCV are that: (1) it contains the Cap-2 subunit antigen coded by ORF2 and therefore induces strong immunity against PCV2 infection; (2) it is combined with XSolve, an adjuvant offering immunity until the end of the finishing period; and (3) is able to break through of all levels of maternally-derived antibodies in piglets depending on the vaccination schedule used.

The company adds that one single dose of Porcilis PCV has been demonstrated to induce both humoral and cell-mediated responses against PCV2, despite the presence of low to medium levels of maternal antibodies. According to a recent study published in Vaccine, the immunity induced by a single dose of the vaccine resulted in reductions of viremia, viral shedding and viral load in tissues in vaccinated pigs as compared to controls. Field trials have also demonstrated that vaccination of pigs at 3 weeks of age or older reduces the presence of virus load in the blood and reduces weight loss associated with PCV2 infection during the fattening period.

Infection with PCV2 is known to cause a variety of syndromes in pigs, together known as Porcine Circo Virus Disease (PCVD). Symptoms may include clinical signs such as weight loss or failure to grow, enlarged lymph nodes, difficulty in breathing, pale skin and jaundice.