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
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
Zoonotic
TB
Brucellosis
Industry
FMD
Newcastle Disease
BSE
Avian Influenza
Swine Fever
African Horse Sickness
Bluetougue
Welfare
Sheep scab
Principles of Disease
HOST
AGENT/
PATHOGEN
ENVIRONMENT
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
Ostertagia and Disease Development




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.
Number of
larvae on
grass
Weeks after turnout
Ostertagia
 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.
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
Infective L3s
burrow into
blood vessels
L3s develop to
adults in lung
Adult worms in
airways laying eggs
L1 larvae are
coughed up &
swallowed
Infective
L3 larvae
are eaten
L1 Larvae
passed in
faeces
L1 to L2 to L3 on pasture



-
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
September - December
December - April
March/April
September+
June/July
Anthelmintics/Flukicides
Anthelmintic
Brand Name
When Effective
Triclabendazole
Fasinex
From 2 weeks*
Resistance?
Nitroxynil
Trodax
From 6 weeks*
Closantel
Closamectin
From 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
Mastitis Treatment & Prevention






Regularly stripping out affected quarter
Intramammary tubes
Injection of antibiotics and anti-inflammatories
Fly control
Clean housing
Stockholm tar
Administration Of Medicines
Routes of Administration:

Injection

Intramammary: Dry-cow tubes

Intranasal: IBR vaccine

Topical: Pour-on, Spraying, Dipping

Oral: Dosing, Bolus, In feed
 Subcutaneous
 Intramuscular
 Intravenous (vet)
Important Considerations
Health and Safety
1.


Know weight of animal (to know dose rate)
Read instructions on label
2.
3.


Every medicine is different!
Note withdrawal period
Correct medicine storage
4.


5.
Protective equipment
Animal Restraining Equipment
Secure store/cabinet (or fridge where necessary)
Adhere to storage instructions
Clean equipment: Syringes/Needle(s)
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 3rd
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 Protocol
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
Veterinary Medicines

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
Required by...

Food Standards Agency

Farm Quality Assurance Scheme

Supermarkets

DARD Veterinary Service

DARD Agri-Food Inspection Branch
Storage and Use

Locked medicine cabinet

Sharps container

Record book in cabinet
Vet has
suggested
treating
Initialwith
Hexasol LA
intramuscular
injection at
1ml/10kg lwt
Sick calf
(40kg),
showing
signs of
Isolate calf,
pneumonia
dry straw bed
2/10/14
Hexasol La
100ml
3321- 5/8/15
91
Andy Vet, 14 Practice
Road, Mallusk. BT36 4TY
35
days
Hexasol
LA
300390
AF
234-5
35
4
ml
332191
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.

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.

http://www.dardni.gov.uk/responsible-use-of-antimicrobials-in-livestockleaflet.15.108_responsible_use_of_antimicrobials_in_livestock_leaflet_final_2.pdf
Health Plans

Produced in conjunction with vet

Documents routine procedures, treatments and
vaccinations

Quality assurance scheme requirement
Health Plans
Month
Mar
Apr
Routine
Treatments
Navel
disinfection
Disbudding
calves
Vaccinations
Parasites
Blackleg vacc. for
calves
Vaccinate cows
for BVD & Lepto
May
Jun
Calves - Lung
and gut worms
July
Aug
Pregnancy
diagnosis
Health Plans
Routine
Month
Treatments
Introduce creep
Sept
feed
Oct
Weighing
Nov
Weaning
Vaccinations
Pneumonia
vaccination
Feb
Fluke & Worm
treatment
Lice treatment
Fluke
treatment
Dec
Jan
Parasites
Vaccinate cows
for scour
Legislation: Disbudding & Castration
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
Slaughter of Casualty Animals



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
Emergency On-farm Slaughter





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 postmortem


o
o

No on-farm burial of farm
animals
( unless DVO approves – Very
exceptional )
1. Dispose of Carcass or
Foetus to :
- a DARD approved premises or
- 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