Maedi Visna The Accreditation Scheme
• Helps you to reduce the risk of your flock contracting
the disease.
• Allows you membership of an elite nationally recognised health
scheme with the backing of SAC Veterinary Services.
• Enables you to attend shows and sales from which
your animals would otherwise be barred.
• Allows you to export to certain countries free
from maedi visna.
• Gives you the opportunity to advertise to potential purchasers
that your flock is MV accredited.
• Gives added value to your flock by enabling you to supply
purchasers who demand MV accredited stock.
Maedi Visna - About The Scheme
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The Scheme is open nationally to flock masters who undertake to
abide by the rules and conditions of membership. MV accredited
sheep must be kept separately from non accredited sheep at all times.
Membership is ultimately at the discretion of SACVeterinary Services.
A flock can become MV accredited when it:
• Passes two qualifying blood tests between
6 and 12 months apart.
• Has certification from a vet that the holding can comply with
scheme rules and conditions.
Once MV accredited a proportion of the flock is blood tested one
year later and then every two years and the member is issued with
certificates of status for selling or moving scheme sheep. After being
accredited for 3 years, flocks that do not have non-accredited sheep
can test at 3 year intervals. Shows and sales are licensed to provide
space for MV accredited sheep.
PSGHS
For more information contact:
Premium Sheep and Goat Health Schemes
PO Box 5557
Inverness
1V2 4YT
Tel: 01463 226995
Fax: 01463 711103
Email: sghs@sac.co.uk
www.sac.ac.uk/sghs
MV Accreditation Guide, Amended May 2008, Approved Ian Pritchard
SAC is a charity registered in Scotland, No. SCO03712
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Maedi
Visna (MV)
Accreditation
Quick Reference Guide
What is it?
MV is a chronic disease of sheep caused by a retrovirus.The
name derives from two Icelandic words which describe the main
clinical signs of pneumonia and wasting.
• maedi which affects the lungs
• visna which affects the central nervous system
How Is It
Transmitted?
?
Lamb mortality and reduced growth rates due to lack of colostrum/
milk.
Increase in culling rate.
• Lambs suckling infected milk.
Clinical signs of VISNA
• Close contact and inhalation via droplets from the nose and mouth.
• Cross contamination of blood from punches and needles.
Maedi Visna - The Facts
• long incubation
period
• highly contagious
• difficult to diagnose
• no cure
• no vaccine
• fatal
Increased incidence of arthritis, premature births and reduction in
conception rates.
An outbreak on one lowland farm resulted in:
• 68% of the flock becoming infected
• 14% adult mortality rate
• A third of the potential lamb crop lost
• Cost of MV infection = £32 per ewe
THE ENTIRE FLOCK WAS SLAUGHTERED !
CAN YOU
AFFORD TO
TAKE THE
RISK?
Please fill in the this form and return it to
Premium Sheep and Goat Health Schemes
PO Box 5557, Inverness IV2 4YT
T: 01463 226995 F: 01463 711103
E: sghs@sac.co.uk
SAC Website: www.sac.ac.uk/sghs
Maedi Visna - The Disease In
Brief
10-20% adult mortality after the development of clinical signs.
Telephone /Email
Photographs Courtesy of Dr N Watt
The maedi visna
accreditation scheme is a national voluntary scheme which
exists to prevent maedi visna disease in sheep. It is run by SAC Veterinary Services and has around 3,000 members.
What Is The Potential Economic
Impact?
pneumonia
progressive paralysis
wasting
arthritis
chronic mastitis
Postcode
Clinical signs of MAEDI
•
•
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Purchasing sheep which appear healthy is no guarantee since it can
take 2-4 years for sheep to show that they have the disease by which
time 60% of the flock may already be infected.
Address
Maedi visna has been in Britain for over 25 years. The disease
was originally brought into this country with sheep imported
from the continent. A
large survey carried out
in 1996 found that 1.5%
of flocks and two in 1000
sheep in the national flock
were infected. It is likely
to be more common now
and clinical outbreaks have
been reported from all
over the country.
Maedi visna infects sheep at any age (mainly lambs but the clinical signs
of the disease are usually not seen in sheep under 3 years). After a long
incubation period the following clinical signs can appear:-
Maedi Visna - The Implications
Name
is a viral disease which occurs in most sheep producing
countries.
How Does It Show Itself ?
I would like to receive information on the MV Accreditation Scheme.
Maedi Visna (MV)
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Quick Reference Guide