Veterinary surveillance blogs

High lamb worm burdens this month

High worm burdens have been found in many of the lamb carcases received for post-mortem examination since the start of August through our Dumfries disease surveillance centre.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
16/08/2023

Haemonchus contortus - is the picture changing in your area?

Over the past ten years, SRUCVS have made a total of 46 diagnoses of haemonchosis on Scottish holdings with all DSCs seeing at least one case. Although the number of cases remain small, 46% of these diagnoses have been made in the past three years and there is a general upward trend on a yearly basis.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
04/08/2023

June case highlights

The submissions through the Aberdeen PM room remained steady throught the month of June. In cattle, bacterial pneumonia caused by the Pasteurellaceae family featured strongly, alongside abomasal bloat/rupture in calves and parasitic disease including ostertagiasis and chronic fluke. In sheep we diagnosed Nematodirus in five submissions, as well as pasteurellosis and Mannheimiosis in lambs. Several bird cases of interest are also included in our case highlights.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
04/08/2023

Sheep abortions with no diagnosis

Where there has been significant reproductive loss in a flock and no diagnosed cause, now is a good time to take stock when it comes to future health planning and when considering pre-tupping abortion vaccine programmes.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
18/07/2023

Dumfries ovine abortion diagnoses 2023

EAE, Toxoplasmosis and Campylobacter were almost inevitably the most common diagnoses with Toxoplasmosis taking the top spot this year.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
18/07/2023

Sustainable farming initiative: Sheep and cattle roundworms

As part of Scottish Governments ‘Preparing for Sustainable Farming’ initiative, farmers can claim £250 for undertaking up to two animal health interventions per year in 2023 and 2024. Two important interventions which will receive funding are the control of roundworms in sheep and cattle.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
28/06/2023

A recent case of Babesiosis in a suckler cow herd

Whilst not uncommon in some parts of the UK, until a recent case, Babesia has not previously been diagnosed at SRUC's St Boswells DSC.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
28/06/2023

Have you seen MyHerdStats on ScotEID?

MyHerdStats from ScotEID is a free programme that gives basic herd data from the national animal movement database to all cattle keepers in Scotland.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
25/05/2023

Nematodirus reminder

SRUC Veterinary Services recently diagnosed nematodirosis as the cause of death in a six-week-old lamb. This was somewhat unexpected as spring has been quite cold so far. It does highlight however how this disease can be farm, and indeed field, specific.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
09/05/2023

Late term abortions and small calves

Our St Boswells Disease Surveillance Centre is aware of five herds having problems with small calves so far this year, which are either aborted late in pregnancy, stillborn or alive.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
28/04/2023

Gastroparesis syndrome in dairy heifers

Since the second quarter of 2022 the UK Surveillance Network has reported cases of apparent gastroparesis in nine to twenty four month-old, Holstein Friesian, bulling and in-calf dairy heifers. To date the majority, or all, of the affected heifers have had the same sire.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
28/04/2023

Lamb dysentery risk

We are now entering the period where lamb dysentery risk is highest in the main April lambing flock. Risk may be higher this year for some flocks depending on Clostridial vaccine availability.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
21/04/2023