July 2008 Update
Millions of lambs lost every year…
With mating just round the corner for pedigree flocks the use of Toxovax is now an essential part of any flock health plan. Coupled with Enzovax to control EAE abortions the combination give excellent protection against the 2 major causes of abortion and new born lamb deaths. A report in a veterinary trade journal* earlier this year estimated that the UK sheep flock is losing around one in six of its lamb crop in the period leading up to, and immediately after birth. This equates to more than five million animal deaths each year!
Deaths around lambing have a huge impact on the bottom line of any farming business. Losses due to abortion and the birth of weak and sickly lambs that die soon after birth can reach £5,000 for every 100 ewes infected.
The prospects for early life of lambs are heavily influenced by the months they spend as developing foetuses. One of the main causes of abortion and early lamb losses is toxoplasmosis, and exposure of unvaccinated ewes to the toxoplasma protozoa during pregnancy can have devastating effects.
Intervet’s latest Barren EweCheck results for the 2007/2008 lambing season show that almost half of the 98 participating flocks tested positive for exposure to toxoplasmosis. While this is a slight improvement on the figures for the previous season, Barren EweCheck and FlockCheck surveys for the past eight years have shown fairly constant levels of exposure to the disease. The disease remains a constant threat to UK sheep farmers.
The most reliable method of protecting your ewes and preventing abortions, or the birth of weak or sickly lambs that rarely survive more than a few days, is by using vaccination. Toxovax® is the only vaccine available for protecting your flock. As the vaccine cannot be used during pregnancy, be sure to vaccinate before tupping. Relying on infection taking place when the ewe isn’t in-lamb is a very risky policy. To protect your entire flock, it is only necessary to vaccinate all animals once. Thereafter only replacement females need to be vaccinated. The summer months provide the ideal time to vaccinate. Contact the practice for further information.
Phew what a scorcher!
A summer heat wave may (!!) still be just around the corner, but heat stress has become a year round problem for high yielding dairy cows housed full-time. Stocking density, poor ventilation and new buildings with many roof lights have combined to create warm, humid housing – even in winter.
Heat stress is a factor of temperature and relative humidity. This is known as the Temperature Humidity Index (THI). A cow can go into heat stress when it is just 24oC at 100% humidity and while this sounds rare, even at outdoor temperatures of just 14oC, housing with poor airflow can soon add 10oC.
Whatever the direct cause, heat stressed cows can no longer regulate their body temperature. Obvious signs include panting, splashing tongues in water troughs to cool down and wet, sweaty coats.
Unfortunately, it’s the subtle signs which have the drastic consequences. Dry matter intakes drop and cows spend more time standing. This can lead to acidosis and lameness. And fertility also takes a hit, particularly as the animals most affected will be fresh calvers whose immune system is already suppressed.
Injecting Receptal at insemination can help support this fertility “hit” – if used again at day 11 after service pregnancy rates can be boosted by up to 10%. This should be of interest to anyone doing embryo transfer programmes in beef cattle as well.
Bluetongue across the Channel
6 vets from Germany, Belgium, Holland, France and Austria were asked about Bluetongue vaccination in their practices and countries. In all cases vaccination was carried out exclusively by the local vets, in most countries vaccine costs were born by the Governments, and vets charged farmers directly for time spent vaccinating, travel and disease consultation. All agreed that BTV is not a disease to experiment with control measures, and that vaccination should be carried out correctly. One direct quote from a livestock vet in Germany “I think the programme in England and Wales (voluntary, vaccination done by farmer) has a risk of not being very effective and may have disastrous consequences. It seems as if no one has learnt lessons from the BSE and FMD disasters”. Not much to report on the Scottish situation so far, if the need to vaccinate can be delayed until the winter then hopefully vaccine supply will be more manageable and we might know more about how the BTV vaccine can be used safely with other herd and flock health programmes.
24 Hour Cover
It’s difficult not to draw comparisons with rural doctors when we discuss the 24 hour emergency cover. People now want greater flexibility and choice, more personal and convenient healthcare. The onus is no longer on local GP’s to provide 24 hour cover – phone advice and A&E take care of it. Unlike your local vets, who provide all the day to day care you need plus a fully supported emergency service staffed by experienced vets that you will know personally .
With mating just round the corner for pedigree flocks the use of Toxovax is now an essential part of any flock health plan. Coupled with Enzovax to control EAE abortions the combination give excellent protection against the 2 major causes of abortion and new born lamb deaths. A report in a veterinary trade journal* earlier this year estimated that the UK sheep flock is losing around one in six of its lamb crop in the period leading up to, and immediately after birth. This equates to more than five million animal deaths each year!
Deaths around lambing have a huge impact on the bottom line of any farming business. Losses due to abortion and the birth of weak and sickly lambs that die soon after birth can reach £5,000 for every 100 ewes infected.
The prospects for early life of lambs are heavily influenced by the months they spend as developing foetuses. One of the main causes of abortion and early lamb losses is toxoplasmosis, and exposure of unvaccinated ewes to the toxoplasma protozoa during pregnancy can have devastating effects.
Intervet’s latest Barren EweCheck results for the 2007/2008 lambing season show that almost half of the 98 participating flocks tested positive for exposure to toxoplasmosis. While this is a slight improvement on the figures for the previous season, Barren EweCheck and FlockCheck surveys for the past eight years have shown fairly constant levels of exposure to the disease. The disease remains a constant threat to UK sheep farmers.
The most reliable method of protecting your ewes and preventing abortions, or the birth of weak or sickly lambs that rarely survive more than a few days, is by using vaccination. Toxovax® is the only vaccine available for protecting your flock. As the vaccine cannot be used during pregnancy, be sure to vaccinate before tupping. Relying on infection taking place when the ewe isn’t in-lamb is a very risky policy. To protect your entire flock, it is only necessary to vaccinate all animals once. Thereafter only replacement females need to be vaccinated. The summer months provide the ideal time to vaccinate. Contact the practice for further information.
Phew what a scorcher!
A summer heat wave may (!!) still be just around the corner, but heat stress has become a year round problem for high yielding dairy cows housed full-time. Stocking density, poor ventilation and new buildings with many roof lights have combined to create warm, humid housing – even in winter.
Heat stress is a factor of temperature and relative humidity. This is known as the Temperature Humidity Index (THI). A cow can go into heat stress when it is just 24oC at 100% humidity and while this sounds rare, even at outdoor temperatures of just 14oC, housing with poor airflow can soon add 10oC.
Whatever the direct cause, heat stressed cows can no longer regulate their body temperature. Obvious signs include panting, splashing tongues in water troughs to cool down and wet, sweaty coats.
Unfortunately, it’s the subtle signs which have the drastic consequences. Dry matter intakes drop and cows spend more time standing. This can lead to acidosis and lameness. And fertility also takes a hit, particularly as the animals most affected will be fresh calvers whose immune system is already suppressed.
Injecting Receptal at insemination can help support this fertility “hit” – if used again at day 11 after service pregnancy rates can be boosted by up to 10%. This should be of interest to anyone doing embryo transfer programmes in beef cattle as well.
Bluetongue across the Channel
6 vets from Germany, Belgium, Holland, France and Austria were asked about Bluetongue vaccination in their practices and countries. In all cases vaccination was carried out exclusively by the local vets, in most countries vaccine costs were born by the Governments, and vets charged farmers directly for time spent vaccinating, travel and disease consultation. All agreed that BTV is not a disease to experiment with control measures, and that vaccination should be carried out correctly. One direct quote from a livestock vet in Germany “I think the programme in England and Wales (voluntary, vaccination done by farmer) has a risk of not being very effective and may have disastrous consequences. It seems as if no one has learnt lessons from the BSE and FMD disasters”. Not much to report on the Scottish situation so far, if the need to vaccinate can be delayed until the winter then hopefully vaccine supply will be more manageable and we might know more about how the BTV vaccine can be used safely with other herd and flock health programmes.
24 Hour Cover
It’s difficult not to draw comparisons with rural doctors when we discuss the 24 hour emergency cover. People now want greater flexibility and choice, more personal and convenient healthcare. The onus is no longer on local GP’s to provide 24 hour cover – phone advice and A&E take care of it. Unlike your local vets, who provide all the day to day care you need plus a fully supported emergency service staffed by experienced vets that you will know personally .