Veterinary Services

• Further cases of bovine neonatal pancytopaenia
• Exposure to Maedi-Visna confirmed in a group of tups
• Liver fluke predictions for winter
• Culicoides species as a cause of skin lesions in pigs

Disease alerts

The following conditions featured in the SAC C VS report for November 2010. Given similar climatic and production conditions, they could also be important this year:

• Numerous outbreaks of infectious bovine rhinotracheitis
• Mycotic abortion in recently housed cattle
• Parasitic disease in sheep due to Trichostrongylus and Nematodirus species and Fasciola hepatica
• Streptococcus suis infections in pigs associated with serotypes 2 and 3

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

August was a cool month characterised by showers and longer outbreaks of rain. Mean temperatures were below the 1971-2000 average, provisionally making it the coolest August since 1993. As would be expected, rainfall amounts were generally above average, especially in the east and south where two to three times the normal amount of rain was experienced.

A Scottish Government report in August highlighted that the implementation of recommendation following the foot and mouth disease outbreak of 2007 placed Scotland in a strong position to deal effectively with any outbreaks of the disease in the future.