Veterinary Services

• Scour and abortions due to Salmonella Dublin in cattle in south west Scotland
• Outbreaks of pneumonia in dairy and beef calves and adult dairy cows
• Flukicide resistance suspected in two flocks in the west of Scotland
• Septicaemia in pigs due to Streptococcus suis serotype 1/14

Disease alerts

The following conditions featured in the SAC VS Report for February 2008.  Given similar climatic conditions they could also be important this year.

• Bovine abortions due to Bacillus licheniformis, listeriosis or fungi and associated with feeding poorly conserved fodders.
• Chronic fasciolosis incidents in sheep increased 150 percent compared to 2007.
• Plant poisoning in sheep that broke into gardens seeking feed.
• Yew tree poisoning in young horses.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Mean temperatures for the month were 0.5 degrees Celsius above the thirty year average. It was also drier and sunnier than average, precipitation being 89 percent and hours of sunshine 108 percent of the thirty year average, respectively.

The long-awaited compulsory bluetongue vaccination programme got underway.  The Scottish Government and the livestock industry hosted a series of 12 road shows across Scotland to help farmers comply. Ten million cattle and sheep will be vaccinated by April 30, 2009.

SAC organised Scotland’s Animal Health and Welfare Conference 2008 at the end of the month. The two-day meeting considered how improvements in animal health through disease control, highlighted conflicts in maintaining welfare-friendly systems and tackled environmental concerns. The impact of climate change on Scottish livestock was debated in an interactive session.