Haywood Farm Vets Newsletter JULY 2024

In this issue

BVDFree - an update
Q-FEVER - could it be causing hidden fertility losses?
BARBERS POLE WORM - keep an eye out
DATES FOR YOUR DIARIES!

BVDFree - an update

You may have heard that the BVDFree England Scheme will be ending on 31st July 2024 - all online results, certificates and databases will be closed.

Many of you will have your BVDFree Test Negative herd status and certificate because you've had at least two years of tag and testing of calves and no PI's born, or at least two years of clear youngstock check tests.

HFV will continue testing for your farm as per your BVD Control Plan in your Herd Health folders, and you'll still get your certificate to share with milk buyers, for Red Tractor or at market to highlight your clear BVD status.

HFV will maintain and continue the momentum that BVDFree England has started with keeping this disease off your farms. We will keep our own database of your results, testing schedules, reminders and certificates.

ANIMAL HEALTH & WELFARE FUNDING

Don't forget you can get funding each year via the Animal Health & Welfare Review for BVD testing in beef and dairy herds:

Annual Dairy Herd Review: £372 for a vet review to include bulk milk BVD testing
Annual Beef Herd Review: £522 for a vet review to include BVD blood tests on youngstock aged 9-18 months old

In addition to this, more funding has just been announced for a "Follow Up" after each annual Vet Review:

£215 for cattle with no BVD
£837 for beef cattle where BVD is present in the herd
£1,714 for dairy cattle* where BVD is present in the herd

*the dairy herd follow up funding is coming this summer but not available just yet - we will let you know as soon as this is rolled out

Click here for more information on funding

Q-FEVER - could it be causing hidden fertility losses?

We've been having a few more conversations about Q-Fever recently - here's a reminder about the disease:

What is Q-Fever?

Q-Fever is caused by a bacteria called Coxiella burnetii which is found in the placenta of infected cattle, sheep and goats. Huge numbers of the bacteria are shed in the vaginal fluids if she aborts, or during a normal birth. This then infects other cattle as they breathe in dust that's been contaminated with birthing fluids.

There are two forms of Coxiella burnetti:

The large cell variant (LCV) which is slightly bigger and the active form which reproduces in huge numbers in the placenta
The small cell variant (SCV) which is a smaller "spore", stationary and can't reproduce but survives for a long time in the environment

What do you see with Q-Fever?

Q-Fever can cause pregnancy losses after a PD+ - this can be at any stage of pregnancy. It can also cause more held cleansings, more dirty cows and poorer than expected conception rates.

Can it infect humans?

Humans can become infected with Coxiella burnetti bacteria by breathing in dust that has been contaminated with birthing fluids from normal calvings or abortions. 40% of infected people will have flu-like symptoms (high temperature, headache, aches, fatigue) but a small number can go on to have more serious complications with their heart valves or develop pneumonia.

How do we test for Q-Fever?

There are a few different ways to test for Q-Fever:

all aborted samples that include the placenta and go to the VLA will be automatically tested for Q-Fever as part of the submission - they look for the bacteria under the microscope
we can also swab freshly aborted cows - this is a PCR test that looks for Coxiella burnetti DNA from vaginal fluids and is very sensitive
on a herd level we can either look at levels of immunity (antibodies) in the bulk tank or we can look for evidence of the bacteria itself in the bulk tank (PCR test)
we can also look for individual high antibodies in cows that have aborted, come bulling after a PD+ or you're struggling to get in calf

How many abortions are "normal" in the UK?

We'd expect cattle herds to have no more than 2 in 100 cows abort after a PD+ each year. In block calving herds this can mean there are months when you get blips as all the cows are at a similar stage of pregnancy.

Keep that "under 2%" figure in your head and get in touch if you want to know more about Q-Fever - we have some subsidised testing available for herds struggling with fertility, pregnancy losses or dirty cows after calving.

BARBERS POLE WORM - keep an eye out

We've had our first confirmed cases of Haemonchus in sheep this last week - this is caused by the "Barbers Pole" worm that lives in the abomasum and feeds on blood.

A sheep infected with adult Haemonchus worms could be losing a quarter of a litre of blood each day which means rather than showing signs of scouring, they will show signs of blood loss instead - they will become weak, pale, lose weight and if not treated can collapse and die.

Any immunity the sheep builds up to Haemonchus is very short lived so all ages can be affected, and each adult worm can produce 5000-15000 eggs per day so levels of challenge on the pasture can get out of hand very quickly.

How do we monitor for Haemonchus?

Haemonchus eggs from a worm egg count

Worm Egg Counts: Worm egg counts can be exceptionally high so this is an important part of checking for Haemonchus
Body Condition Score: Affected sheep will lose weight very quickly
Eye Colour: Blood loss is easily seen by checking the colour of the membranes around the eyes - the paler they are the worse the level of blood loss is

Using a FAMACHA chart to see how anaemic the sheep is