Veterinary Services

• RSV frequently incriminated in outbreaks of pneumonia among weaned calves investigated throughout Scotland. .
• Nine outbreaks of sheep scab confirmed. Efficacy of treatment with an injectible avermectin questioned in one outbreak.
• Septicaemic listeriosis diagnosed as cause of deaths of 13 per cent of 200 feeding sheep fed silage for two months.
• Trends in pig respiratory diseases in Scotland between 2003 and 2007 discussed.

• RSV frequently incriminated in outbreaks of pneumonia among weaned calves investigated throughout Scotland. .
• Nine outbreaks of sheep scab confirmed. Efficacy of treatment with an injectible avermectin questioned in one outbreak.
• Septicaemic listeriosis diagnosed as cause of deaths of 13 per cent of 200 feeding sheep fed silage for two months.
• Trends in pig respiratory diseases in Scotland between 2003 and 2007 discussed.

Disease alerts for March and April

There is an inherent lapse of some six to eight weeks between the end of the month discussed in our report and its publication in the Veterinary Record. We have been asked to predict the conditions that practitioners should look out for in the coming month.

(1) Bovine and ovine abortions will be to the fore. As a consequence of the poor quality of conserved forage prepared last summer many more outbreaks of abortion due to Aspergillus species and Bacillus licheniformis are expected.

(2) Will the number of outbreaks of EAE rise from the 10-year high seen in 2007?

(3) Listeriosis in cattle and sheep.

(4) Evidence of an early tick challenge.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

The weather throughout Scotland was very unsettled. It was the wettest January on record for East Scotland and overall the wettest January since 1993. Mean temperatures were above average at 3.5°C which is 1.4°C above the 1961-1990 average. Scotland's chief statistician published estimates of Scottish farm income for 2007 that showed a rise of 11.9 per cent in real terms. A good year for the arable sector was offset by the difficulties in parts of the livestock sector. The sheep sector saw values in the store sheep category dropping by 16.2 per cent. The Scottish Government introduced tighter controls on animal movement in a bid to help block the spread of bluetongue virus in Scotland. Producers buying livestock from bluetongue restricted zones must notify the Scottish Government within three days of the animals' arrival.