Level II Agricultural Business Operations

 To have an awareness of notifiable and zoonotic diseases  To know how to control 2 parasitic diseases  To describe how to administer a named veterinary medicine  To be able to complete a medicine record sheet  To prepare a farm health plan

Zoonotic Diseases  A zoonosis is a disease which can be passed to humans from animals  Signs can be same or different in animals and humans  Anyone working closely with animals can be at risk  Some zoonoses are notifiable  Can you give me an example of a zoonosis?

Examples of Zoonotic Diseases

 Tuberculosis – lung infection in animals & humans  Brucellosis – abortion in cattle; life long recurring flu in humans  Leptospirosis – abortion, kidney infection in animals; flu liver & kidney infections in man  E. coli – scour & mastitis in animals; toxic diarrhoea in humans  Ringworm – skin disease in both cattle & humans

Preventing Zoonotic Diseases  Wear PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) e.g. Gloves, mask  Hand washing after handling animals  Avoid during periods of risk eg pregnant women should avoid sheep, cats, soft cheese

Notifiable Diseases  By law they must be notified to DARD directly or through PSNI or your vet  Important in terms of serious human disease, damage to the industry, serious animal welfare issue  Can you give me examples of notifiable diseases?  List available on DARD website

Notifiable Diseases ZoonoticIndustryWelfare TBFMDSheep scab BrucellosisNewcastle Disease BSEAvian Influenza Swine Fever African Horse Sickness Bluetougue

HOST ENVIRONMENT AGENT/ PATHOGEN Principles of Disease Disease is multifactorial

Parasites  A parasite lives in a close relationship with another organism, its host, and causes it harm.  A host is an organism that harbours or nourishes the parasite.  The parasite depends on its host for its life functions  Endoparasites live within the body of their host  Ectoparasites live on the outside of their host  Parasites cause economic loss and disease

Ostertagia (cattle stomach worm)  Causes Parasitic Gastro-Enteritis (PGE)  Weight loss  Diarrhoea  Life cycle=3 wks  Calves at grass  Type I & Type II

 Mid-April: few larvae on grass. Eaten & develop into adults  Early May: Thousands of eggs passed onto grass.  July: Thousands of infective larvae on grass  July - Sept (+): disease. Ostertagia and Disease Development Number of larvae on grass Weeks after turnout

 Immunity develops towards end of first season.  Adult cattle carry a small burden of worms which lay a few eggs - contaminate pasture.  A small number of infective larvae survive over winter on pasture to infect next year’s calves. Ostertagia

Type I Ostertagia (Summer)  Gastric glands are damaged – protein digestion and absorption affected, permanent scarring possible  Significant financial loss from subclinical infection  Seen from July onwards

Type II Ostertagia (Winter)  Usually seen in yearlings, late winter or spring following their first grazing season  Larvae eaten after September do not go through normal development:  Larvae remain dormant in gastric glands  Thousands of larvae simultaneously develop to adults and emerge in early spring.

Type II Ostertagia  Signs: Profuse, watery diarrhoea (bright green), rapid weight loss, death (usually seen in February / March)  Prevention: Wormer used at housing which must be effective against inhibited larvae.

 Dictyocaulus viviparus  Causes parasitic bronchitis in cattle (husk, hoose, lungworm)  Signs of infection include bronchitis and pneumonia  Affects mainly young stock in their first grazing season, but can affect older cattle  Disease most common July-September

Adult worms in airways laying eggs L1 larvae are coughed up & swallowed L1 Larvae passed in faeces L1 to L2 to L3 on pasture Infective L3 larvae are eaten Infective L3s burrow into blood vessels L3s develop to adults in lung

 Generally only first grazing calves affected as older animals tend to have developed strong immunity  Immunity lasts as long as it is consistently challenged yearly  Infection can persist from year to year by: - Overwintered L3: can survive on pasture autumn to spring; slurry in spring - Carrier animals

 Anthelmintics used should be effective against all stages of lungworm  Use as early as possible (lung damage not easily resolved)  Worming can make signs worse in some animals and can be potentially fatal - Dead larvae can block airways - Stress can cause collapse and death - Discuss with vet to recommend suitable worming product

 Lungworm vaccine (Huskvac)  Anthelmintics (early in the season, or rumen pulse boluses)  Essential to prevent the early season pasture build-up of L3 larvae, since a lot of lung damage is caused by the developing larvae. ◦ Ivermectin regimes -VERY effective, but - immunity??

Liver Fluke  Causes loss of condition, anaemia and “bottle jaw” in cattle  >30% livers condemned  Liver damage is always harmful

Liver Fluke March/April June/July September+ September - December December - April

Anthelmintics/Flukicides AnthelminticBrand NameWhen Effective TriclabendazoleFasinex From 2 weeks* Resistance? NitroxynilTrodaxFrom 6 weeks* ClosantelClosamectinFrom 5 weeks* Other Endospec, Albex, Zanil, Levafas Diamond From 12 weeks* * After housing

Anthelmintic Resistance (AR) 1.Have a worm control strategy 2.Use effective quarantine treatments 3.Test for AR on your farm 4.Administer anthelmintics effectively 5.Use anthelmintics only when necessary 6.Select appropriate anthelmintics 7.Preserve susceptible worms on farm 8.Reduce dependence on anthelmintics

Mastitis in Suckler Cows  Bacterial infection of the udder  Symptoms include swollen udder, stiffness, off feed, temperature  More common in non-lactating cows/heifers in summer  Can be spread by... o Flies in summer o Dirty bedding/housing in winter  Greater problem where calf is unable to drain the cow

 Regularly stripping out affected quarter  Intramammary tubes  Injection of antibiotics and anti-inflammatories  Fly control  Clean housing  Stockholm tar Mastitis Treatment & Prevention

Routes of Administration:  Injection  Subcutaneous  Intramuscular  Intravenous (vet)  Intramammary: Dry-cow tubes  Intranasal: IBR vaccine  Topical: Pour-on, Spraying, Dipping  Oral: Dosing, Bolus, In feed Administration Of Medicines

1. Health and Safety  Protective equipment  Animal Restraining Equipment 2. Know weight of animal (to know dose rate) 3. Read instructions on label  Every medicine is different!  Note withdrawal period 4. Correct medicine storage  Secure store/cabinet (or fridge where necessary)  Adhere to storage instructions 5. Clean equipment: Syringes/Needle(s) Important Considerations

Where do I inject?

Subcutaneous Injection 1.Ensure that the coat is clean and dry 2.With one hand, fold loose skin behind the shoulder and hold the injection with the other hand 3.When animal is calm insert the needle at a 45° angle, squeeze the barrel slowly 4.There should be no resistance. 5.Let the skin go flat, hold the insertion point with your thumb and then gently remove the needle. 6.Rub the injection site gently to disperse all the medicine.

Intramuscular Injection 1.Hold the needle in one hand 2.Prepare the skin around the injection site by tapping it with the outside of your fist, on the 3 rd tap, pierce the skin with the needle 3.Place the syringe on the needle and slowly inject the solution 4.To extract the needle hold the skin around it with your other hand and gently withdraw the needle 5.Rub the injection site gently to disperse all the medicine.

Broken needle in animal:  Record Date, Tag No. and Injection Site in vet medicines record book  When disposed of, animal must go for direct slaughter (not via another producer)  Within 7 days: Emergency slaughter certificate required from vet detailing site and occurrence date  After 7 days: Inform abattoir in writing, with details of injection site and occurrence date  Mark the injection site on the animal  If all above precautions are adhered to, the animal may be marketed as NI Farm QA Broken Needle Protocol

 Legislative requirement to record; ◦ Purchase of veterinary medicines ◦ Administration of veterinary medicines ◦ Disposal of unused veterinary medicines ◦ Disease occurrences on farm ◦ Keep record for 5 years Veterinary Medicines

 Food Standards Agency  Farm Quality Assurance Scheme  Supermarkets  DARD Veterinary Service  DARD Agri-Food Inspection Branch Required by...

 Locked medicine cabinet  Sharps container  Record book in cabinet Storage and Use

Sick calf (40kg), showing signs of pneumonia Isolate calf, dry straw bed Vet has suggested treating with Hexasol LA Initial intramuscular injection at 1ml/10kg lwt

2/10/14 Hexasol La 100ml /8/15Andy Vet, 14 Practice Road, Mallusk. BT36 4TY 35 days

Hexasol LA 2/10/ AF 2/10/146/11/ ml Andy Vet

 Antibiotics are essential for the treatment of infectious diseases in both animals and humans.  Antibiotic resistance is the ability of bacteria that are usually sensitive to a type of antibiotic to become resistant to it.  The more you use an antibiotic, the higher the risk that bacteria will develop resistance to it.  Why worry about it? - Very few new antibiotics being developed. - Important we use our existing antibiotics wisely to ensure these life-saving medicines continue to stay effective for ourselves and our animals.

 leaflet _responsible_use_of_antimicrobials_in_livestock_leaflet_final_2.pdf leaflet _responsible_use_of_antimicrobials_in_livestock_leaflet_final_2.pdf  Important we use antibiotics in the right way: - the right medicine - at the right dose - at the right time - and for the right duration to slow down the development of antibiotic resistance.

 Produced in conjunction with vet  Documents routine procedures, treatments and vaccinations  Quality assurance scheme requirement Health Plans

Month Routine Treatments VaccinationsParasites Mar Navel disinfection Blackleg vacc. for calves Apr Disbudding calves Vaccinate cows for BVD & Lepto May Jun July Calves - Lung and gut worms Aug Pregnancy diagnosis

Health Plans Month Routine Treatments VaccinationsParasites Sept Introduce creep feed OctWeighing Pneumonia vaccination Fluke & Worm treatment NovWeaningLice treatment Dec Fluke treatment Jan Vaccinate cows for scour Feb

Disbudding  By Heated Iron: o Anaesthetic required o Recommended before 2 months  By chemical cauterisation; o Must be carried out by 7 days of age (anaesthesia not required) Castration  By rubber ring (or other blood constrictors) o Must be carried out by 7 days of age  All other methods: o By 2 months of age Legislation: Disbudding & Castration

 Can be slaughtered on-farm and enter food chain if:  Injury was accidental  Factory agrees in advance (under no obligation)  Withdrawal dates of medicines and clean cattle policy still applies!  Veterinary certificate must accompany animal Slaughter of Casualty Animals

 Must be an emergency  Vet must be present at slaughter  Must be bled on farm  Body must be hygienically transported to factory within 2 hours of slaughter  Factory needs to be kept informed ◦ Official Vet (OV) must be present to do post- mortem Emergency On-farm Slaughter

 No on-farm burial of farm animals ( unless DVO approves – Very exceptional )  1. Dispose of Carcass or Foetus to : o - a DARD approved premises or o - an approved Incinerator  2. Keep Record & Receipts for two years

 Disease prevention is better than cure  Maintain herd health by controlling parasites  Biosecurity is vital for disease control  Herd health planning is essential  Veterinary medicine records required