With the end of the vector-free period and the threat of more cases of bluetongue, organisations from across all elements of the livestock sector have come together to launch a Joint campaign Against Bluetongue (JAB), with the strapline ‘don’t hesitate, vaccinate’.

The organisations involved, which represent livestock farmers, livestock markets and meat and dairy processing as well as the veterinary profession, all fully support the joint industry/Defra vaccination plan for bluetongue and are committed to working together on the campaign to achieve the mass vaccination of bluetongue susceptible animals, including goats and camelids.

JAB is now embarking on a major campaign to urge all farmers with susceptible livestock to vaccinate their animals as soon as vaccine is available and the BVA, along with our relevant specialist divisions, is committed to ensuring that vets have all the information in advance so that they are in a position to deal with their clients’ questions.

According to BVA President Nick Blayney: "Colleagues should be aware and look out for meetings being organised around the country, courtesy of the VLA and others, and led by vets where they can learn the latest information. The BVA website also carries useful and up-to-date information and links  (http://www.bva.co.uk/policy/bluetongue_jab.asp). Practices are seen as the cornerstone of vaccine delivery, proper usage and monitoring for efficacy and BVA would encourage them to offer their clients the ability to register an interest in vaccine supply in advance of its arrival. Such a forward order book will speed up the delivery of the vaccine once it is available."

BCF has launched a series of instructional videos demonstrating how to perform an ultrasound examination of the bovine reproductive tract, now available online.

The videos were developed by BCF's in-house vet, Kimberly Palgrave, in collaboration with the University of Bristol Veterinary School. They show everything from machine set up and controls, to scanning techniques and features identified in pregnant and non-pregnant cows.

One hour of CPD can be earned by completing a self-assessment quiz after watching the videos.

Kimberly said: "Following the success of the small animal series of instructional videos, we were keen to bring something similar to the bovine market. Our aim for these videos is to give vets a resource to help them either transition from manual palpation to ultrasound or improve their existing ultrasound skills and gain confidence in their technique, as well as being a useful teaching resource for veterinary students. As always, we welcome feedback and suggestions for the future."

To see the videos, visit the farm animal learning section of the BCF website www.bcftechnology.com.

The BVA has welcomed Defra Secretary of Sate Hilary Benn's announcement on the arrival of the first batch of Bovilis(r) BTv8 vaccine in the UK.

Congratulating Intervet on the speed with which the vaccine had been developed BVA President Nick Blayney said: "This news represents a crucial stage in our fight against Bluetongue. The last few months have been a particularly busy time as the end of the vector-free period approached bringing with it the threat of more cases of Bluetongue."

BTv8 is devastating in its second season and the BVA was delighted to join with organisations from across the livestock sector to launch the Joint campaign Against Bluetongue (JAB).

"Our aim has been to achieve the mass vaccination of Bluetongue susceptible animals, including goats and camelids and since the veterinary profession is the corner stone of the vaccination programme, with responsibility for vaccine delivery, proper usage and monitoring for efficacy, BVA has been in overdrive through much of March and April trying to ensure that vets were fully up to speed in advance of the arrival of the vaccine. Now that the vaccine is here, having been granted a provisional marketing authorisation for use inside Protection Zones and classified as a POM-V, we have further updated our advice to the profession. Our one-page summary sets out key considerations for vets including meeting the "under our care" prescribing requirements, movement controls, doses, off-label use, distribution and storage and communication in the hopefully unlikely event of any suspected adverse reactions."

Mr Blayney was highly complimentary of the co-operation and shared sense of purpose demonstrated by all those involved with JAB and was proud that the message - Bluetongue - Don't Hesitate - Vaccinate! Contact Your Vet Today - had emphasised the unique role of the vet in the protection of animal health and welfare.

Vets are being asked to help pig producers assess their health status and biosecurity measures, as part of BPEX's new National Pig Health Improvement Project (PHIP).

The national programme is currently running alongside existing programmes in East Anglia, Yorkshire and the East Midlands and will cover all the remaining regions. BPEX will now start to combine all programmes into the National PHIP. So all English pig producers and vets can join the industry-wide drive to improve pig health and reduce costs.

BPEX says the national Pig Health Improvement Project (PHIP) project will need the support of veterinary surgeons to:

1. encourage clients to take advantage of the free scheme
2. complete and submit surveys of disease prevalence on farms
3. complete the biosecurity audit, designed by pig vets, to help producers assess how they can improve defence against infections

BPEX regional health coordinator Helen Clarke said: "The surveys are filled in by vets during quarterly farm visits to gather information on prevalence of four key diseases - swine dysentery, PRRS, enzootic pneumonia and mange. This is then used to populate a confidential online mapping service, which PHIP members can use to keep informed of health challenges in their area.

"The biosecurity audit is a series of simple to answer questions about current biosecurity practice of a unit. This then forms the basis for biosecurity planning and discussions to help clients make improvements and review their impact."

A further benefit when producers sign up to the PHIP is free-of-charge post-mortem information from the BPEX Pig Health Scheme (BPHS). The BPHS provides producers with detailed post-mortem health reports when they submit pigs to participating abattoirs.

Clients who are:

• members of the regional programmes in Yorkshire and East Anglia will now need to register with the National PHIP to continue their membership and receive the additional benefits
• members of the East Midlands programme are already aligned with the new National project.

Practices can claim £50 per unit for completing the survey and biosecurity audits. This still needs to be claimed through specific regional systems because of current funding contracts.

Contact Helen Clarke for details:  helen.clarke@bpex.ahdb.org.uk or 07973 701369. Visit http://www.pighealth.org.uk/

The University of Bristol’s School of Veterinary Sciences has announced the launch of an online map-based tool which forecasts the risk of a Nematodirus outbreak in lambs. 

The Nematodirus risk map, which will be updated daily, is designed to help UK sheep farmers assess the risk of outbreaks of the parasite in their lambs and take action before it is too late. It includes treatment and management advice.

The online risk forecast was developed by SCOPS (Sustainable Control of Parasites in Sheep) and researchers at the University of Bristol’s School of Veterinary Sciences to predict when Nematodirus eggs will hatch and when outbreaks are likely to happen.

Researchers say that predicting when outbreaks might happen is becoming increasingly difficult due to variation in spring temperatures from year to year. Farmers can no longer rely on a standard timetable of treatments to avoid disease. As the damage is done by the larvae, faecal egg counts are of little use in detecting and controlling Nematodirus in young lambs.

The forecast takes advantage of the temperature-driven synchronised hatching of the Nematodirus larvae and uses weather data from 140 weather stations provided by the Met Office and Forecast.io. The interactive Google map allows farmers and advisers to select the nearest or most representative weather station and provides advice on how to relate the predicted risk to their particular farm and treatment options.

Cases of ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­nematodirosis and eggs detected in routine faecal worm egg counts will also be mapped anonymously as they arise to improve the forecasts and SCOPS are asking farmers, advisors and diagnostic labs to contribute to these records by emailing researcher Dr Hannah Rose at the University of Bristol’s Vet School. 

Dr Rose said: "In previous years 64 per cent of farmers and advisors surveyed changed the timing or extent of treatment – or advised treatment - after consulting the forecast, which has been running since 2013, and 93 per cent felt that their approach to control of this parasite had changed as a result of the forecast."

UK Government funding provided by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council has enabled further development of the forecast and it is hoped that even more farmers will benefit in 2016.

Picture: A Romney sheep with its lambs, courtesy Dr Eric Morgan, University of Bristol 

Yorkshire poultry vet Esme Chapman has won the Young Farm Vet of the Year Award 2024.

Esme grew up in Birmingham and spent much time in her teenage years working at the Domestic Fowl Trust caring for a range of rare breed poultry.   

She said: "I didn’t grow up on a farm, but worked with chickens as a teenager and I love them to bits.

"They are amazing animals and I’ve wanted to work with them ever since.”

After graduating at the University of Liverpool, she spent two years with Howells Veterinary Services where she worked with clients to foster improved performance under an increasing drive for sustainability.

Now with St David’s Poultry Team in Yorkshire, she helps broiler clients in reducing viral challenge on farm to increase immunocompetence and so decrease susceptibility to other challenges.

She has also just become the youngest vet ever to achieve a Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice (Poultry), which she gained at the University of Liverpool.

The Young Farm Vet of the Year Awards is sponsored by Zoetis.

From today, porcine epidemic diarrhoea (PED) is a notifiable disease in England; veterinary surgeons and pig-keepers are now legally required to inform the Animal and Plant Health Agency of any suspicion of the disease.

If a test for PED proves positive, the Government will inform AHDB Pork, so that tracing can be carried out and improved biosecurity measures put in place. 

The new measure has been introduced following co-operation between Defra APHA, AHDB Pork, the NPA and other industry bodies. Although PED is now classified as notifiable, there will be no statutory movement controls, no compulsory slaughter and no blocks on exports.

Under the new legislation in England, APHA will be legally permitted to inform AHDB Pork - which is the agreed 'appropriate organisation' - in confidence of suspect and confirmed cases. AHDB Pork will then provide biosecurity guidance to the pig unit concerned. It will also carry out tracing and alert at-risk contacts as necessary.

The aim will be to prevent spread of PED and to eliminate the disease from the pig unit. There will be no requirement to slaughter affected animals.

PED has been made lightweight notifiable following an informal consultation process with the pig industry. NPA and others called for the measure so that any outbreak can be identified as quickly as possible, spread can be prevented, and the disease can then be eliminated from the unit concerned.

AHDB Pork Chairman Meryl Ward said: "This initiative is a significant step change in partnership working between industry, Defra and the APHA to build England’s resilience to disease. 

"PED is a potentially serious disease and emerging threat to our English pig industry. A unique industry led collaboration with Government led to the development of the PEDv Contingency plan to ‘identify, contain and eliminate’.

"The regulatory change to notifiable status is a critical part of the plan and will assist in early identification of affected premises, allowing more time to take effective actions to minimise the impact on the industry and therefore increasing the opportunity to eliminate the disease. 

"Working together to share resource, knowledge and build vital expertise, the partnership has also developed a series of standard operating procedures, bio- security guidance as well as raising awareness across industry of the potential threat. 

PED remains a significant threat to British pig-keepers. According to AHDB, outbreaks of high-impact strains caused up to 100% mortality in young pigs in the United States, knocking out around 10% of pig production in 2013-2014. The disease has since spread to Ukraine. Even with milder European Union strains, piglet mortality as high as 70% has been reported.

The Scottish Government is currently consulting on making PED similarly lightweight notifiable in Scotland.

The BVA and the Pig Veterinary Society (PVS) have welcomed the announcement. John Blackwell, Senior Vice President of the British Veterinary Association, said: "From today pig-keepers will be required to contact APHA if they have any suspicion of PED in their livestock - this is a step in the right direction and a result of joined up working between the industry, the veterinary profession and policy makers. PED is a devastating disease and we hope these measures will be sufficient to protect animals and pig-keepers in England from future outbreaks. We are encouraged by current proposals to make PED notifiable in Scotland and are keen to see similar measures in place across the rest of the UK."

Dr Mandy Nevel, President of the Pig Veterinary Society, said: "The Pig Veterinary Society was actively involved in the decision to make PED notifiable in England and we fully support the decision.  Whilst we hope PED does not come into England, the legislation will facilitate rapid diagnosis, control and eradication in the event of a case occurring. We urge the rest of the UK to take similar action."

Photo: Ben Salter: Pig in a bucket

Expert speakers at Advances in Diagnostics, a meeting held in Brussels last month, have said that molecular technology will play a vital role in safeguarding the health and productivity of food animals in the future.

Dr Willie Loeffen, President of the European Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (EAVLD) said: "Technology is taking over. Laboratory diagnosis used to be 99% labour and 1% technology, nowadays the emphasis is the other way around. Technology is now an integral and indispensable part of veterinary laboratories."

Dr Loeffen used the investigation of PRRSV infection in pigs and the more recent appearance of Schmallenberg virus in Europe to highlight how modern molecular techniques could help to characterise new disease threats rapidly.

"It took four years of laborious work for us to characterise the cause of PRRS, but thanks to sequencing technology Schmallenberg virus took just a few months.

"Technological developments mean that diagnosticians now do things that they could only dream about 10 or 20 years ago."

As well as providing a means of identifying new disease threats quickly, the meeting highlighted the increasing role of diagnostic tools as an integral part of maintaining animal health.

Dr Kirk Adams, Director of Product Management at Life Technologies, the meeting sponsor, said: "Diagnostics are no longer just a way of finding out what an animal died of - they have a multitude of uses on farm. They mean that we can take a more holistic and proactive approach to animal health; in contrast to the reactive, disease-driven approach of the past.

"As just one example, better diagnostics allow a more targeted approach to treatment, and the potential to reduce the use of broad-spectrum drugs - such as certain antibiotics - and thus comply with the wishes of consumers and legislators."

Dr Adams said that modern diagnostic tools also provided the means to improve vaccination programmes and biosecurity, and were essential for disease eradication schemes and for improving herd health status, for example by identifying persistently infected, asymptomatic animals.

They also enable veterinary surgeons to monitor herd health and build up an accurate and dynamic picture of health status and risk profile - and screen for emerging disease threats.

Dr Adams added: "Veterinarians now have access to a wider range of better diagnostics than ever before. Tests are now faster, more accurate and more precise than ever before.

"The next twenty years could see the biggest change in the way we manage production animals in over a hundred years."

The meeting was also addressed by Dr Kees van Maanen, from the Netherlands Animal health Service (GD), an expert in modern diagnostic technology and its application on both local and national levels. He called for greater international co-operation to protect European animals against threats from increasing global interaction. He said: "Pathogens and insects do not respect borders: trusting each other's results requires further harmonization and transparency for diagnostic procedures between laboratories and countries.

"Rapid and accurate diagnosis contributes to disease management, but does not stop epidemics. However, it has contributed significantly to gaining insight into the epidemiology of emerging diseases and formulating appropriate measures.

"The development of modern diagnostics has given us the potential to manage animal health and control infectious diseases in production animals far more effectively in the past - both on a local level and a national or regional level. Recent experience with unexpected disease outbreaks has shown that we can now characterise and track pathogens far more quickly and accurately than ever before.

"However, we need to make sure that we keep veterinarians and farmers informed about these developments, so they know how to apply them in practice in order to make the most of them.

"Diagnostics will continue to become a more integral part of animal health management in the next decade, we just need to make sure we can apply that knowledge in the best possible way."

The University of Nottingham, with funding worth £2.2m, is to carry out a study of the most common cause of Bovine Mastitis in the UK - Streptococcus uberis (S. uberis).  If researchers can identify which parts of the bacteria enable the infection their results could lead to the production of an effective vaccine.

James Leigh, Professor of Molecular Bacteriology, who has recently joined the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, said: "We hope to uncover bacterial antigens of potential use in vaccines aimed at preventing bovine mastitis and provide a detailed understanding of how animals can fight off the disease."

S. uberis is responsible for a significant proportion of clinical mastitis worldwide - but unlike many other bacteria that cause the disease, S. uberis is also in the environment - it is found in pasture and bedding and can even colonise the cow at other body sites with no ill effect - so it is difficult to see how it can be controlled by changes to animal husbandry and milking-time hygiene.

With funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science has established research laboratories at the Institute for Animal Health (IAH). The project is being conducted in collaboration with Dr Tracey Coffey's Bovine Genomics group based at IAH and other groups at the Royal Veterinary College, the US Department of Agriculture in the UK and the University of Oxford.

Professor Leigh said: "We will use state-of-the-art molecular technology to determine the differences between strains of S. uberis that can and cannot cause disease. Proteins that are only present in the disease causing strains hold the key to determining which components are essential for infection. We will show which of these proteins are most likely to make an effective vaccine by producing strains of S. uberis which lack the ability to produce each of these proteins; if a strain lacking a particular protein is less able to cause disease then this protein is important for the disease process and becomes a candidate for vaccine development."

The team also want to identify any parts of the immune response in the dairy cow which can be altered to prevent the disease - this information could subsequently be used to develop drugs that interfere with the chemical messages that lead to inflammation and therefore reduce the level of disease.