299 – Sheep lameness presents a huge challenge in terms of welfare and economics (Research paper – Oliver – 2017)

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299 Research paper – Oliver – 2017 – Sheep lameness presents a huge challenge in terms of welfare and economics

In Significant Impact Groups: Pathogen management \ Managing sick animals; Diagnostics
Species targeted: Sheep;
Age: Not stated;
Summary:
A study was conducted in 2008 where 809 English sheep farmers were asked to identify six foot lesions; only 20% of farmers named all six lesions correctly. This study highlights the necessity of vets in advising and educating producers about sheep lameness. Foot lameness in sheep can be attributed to infectious or non-infectious causes. The three infectious causes of lameness covered in this article are:
• Ovine interdigital dermatitis (OID), often referred to as scald. • Foot rot. • Contagious ovine digital dermatitis (CODD). Non-infectious causes of lameness are less common and include:
• White line degeneration • Foot abscess • Toe granuloma Getting an accurate diagnosis is essential in advising on prevention, control and treatment. Often, one or more conditions are present on a farm. Lesions can be in the early or chronic phase, where they can appear grossly very different, so sufficient animals need to be examined to achieve a diagnosis.

Where to find the original material: https://www.vettimes.co.uk/app/uploads/wp-post-to-pdf-enhanced-cache/1/sheep-lameness-common-types-causes-and-control-strategies.pdf;
Country: UK

87 Biosensors for on-farm diagnosis of mastitis (Research paper, Martins, 2019)

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Significant Impact Group(s): Precision Livestock Farming & Early detection \ Sensor technology ; Pathogen management
Species targeted: Dairy; Age: Adult;
Outcome Parameter(s): Mastitis indicative markers

Summary: Bovine mastitis is an inflammation of the mammary gland caused by a large number of infectious agents with devastating consequences for the dairy industry. Management of mastitis usually means using antibiotics to treat and prevent the disease, which can be problematic because of increased antimicrobial resistance. Typical diagnostic methods are based on somatic cell counts (SCC) and plate-culture techniques. But these methods are not quick and there is quite a lot of interest in making faster solutions that could provide onsite information, which would speed up the choice of treatment.

Biosensors are tools that can convert the presence of biological particles into an electric signal. Together with microfluidics, biosensors can be used in the development of automated and portable diagnostic devices. This review describes current approaches for mastitis diagnosis and the latest outcomes in biosensors and lab-on-chip devices with the potential to become real alternatives to standard practices.

Research paper: Martins – 2019 – Biosensors for on-farm diagnosis of mastitis – https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2019.00186
Where to find the original material (in English):
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2019.00186/full;

Country: Portugal
Tags: dairy, mastitis, diagnositcs

87 Research paper – Martins – 2019 – Biosensors for on-farm diagnosis of mastitis

70 Explaining mastitis incidence in Dutch dairy farming: The influence of farmers’ attitudes and behaviour (Research paper; Jansen, 2009)

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Significant Impact Group(s): Pathogen management \ Managing sick animals \ Diagnostics
Species targeted: Dairy;
Age: Adult;
Outcome Parameter(s): Average farm bulk milk somatic cell count (BMSCC); clinical mastitis incidence; combined clinical and subclinical mastitis incidence
Summary: This study shows that mastitis incidence can be explained by farmers’ attitudes and self-reported (to a certain extent), specially farmers’ attitudes. In particular, the perceived feeling of control, the perceived effect of the average farm bulk milk somatic cell count (BMSCC) penalty level and the normative frame of reference are important in explaining the variation in mastitis incidence. Furthermore, the results suggest that BMSCC levels are better explained by attitudes and self-reported behaviour than actual clinical and subclinical mastitis incidence. It can be concluded that farmers’ attitudes are a better measure to explain differences in mastitis incidence between farms than farmers’ self-reported behavior. Therefore farmers’ attitudes should be taken into account in future research and animal health promotion. This study, therefore, provides an important investigation into the social processes applicable to mastitis incidence and emphasis on the need for effective communication strategies in mastitis control programs.
70 Research paper – Jansen – 2009 – Explaining mastitis incidence in Dutch dairy farming_ The influence of farmers’ attitudes and behaviour
Where to find the original material:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167587709002451; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2009.08.015
Country: NL

70 Research paper – Jansen – 2009 – Explaining mastitis incidence in Dutch dairy farming_ The influence of farmers’ attitudes and behaviour

69 Treatment of clinical mastitis: Using antimicrobial susceptibility profiles for treatment decisions (Research paper; Constable, 2003)

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Significant Impact Group(s): Pathogen management \ Managing sick animals \ Diagnostics
Species targeted: Dairy;
Age: Adult;
Outcome Parameter(s): Treatment of clinical mastitis
Summary: Antibiotic treatment of clinical bacterial mastitis requires several steps:(1) using an antibiotic with an appropriate spectrum of activity; (2) selecting an antibiotic that effectively reach the site of infection (milk, mammary tissue, or blood); (3) treating for an appropriate duration; and (4) avoiding adverse local or systemic effects and residues. Antibiotics are often selected based on availability of labeled drugs, clinical signs in the cow, milk culture results for previous mastitis episodes in the herd, experience of treatment outcome in the herd, treatment cost, and withdrawal times for milk and slaughter. There has been recent interest in optimizing treatment protocols to better target antibiotic administration, with substantial reliance on susceptibility testing of bacterial isolates from cows with clinical mastitis. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the role, if any, that antimicrobial susceptibility testing should play in guiding treatment of clinical mastitis.
69 Research paper – Constable – 2003 – Treatment of clinical mastitis_Using antimicrobial susceptibility profiles for treatment decisions
Where to find the original material:
https://www.vetfood.theclinics.com/article/S0749-0720(02)00068-3/abstract; https://doi.org/10.1016/S0749-0720(02)00068-3
Country: US

69 Research paper – Constable – 2003 – Treatment of clinical mastitis_Using antimicrobial susceptibility profiles for treatment decisions

Early Mastitis Detection in Robotic Milkers Reduces Antibiotic Use

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It is usual to identify mastitis on farm by observing clots, or a raised temperature and hard quarter. Often somatic cellcounts are taken, but this is often historic information after laboratory analysis , and the data is an average of all 4 quarters of the cow.

Robotic milkers, such as the GEA monobox used at the SW dairy Development Centre, measure milk conductivity, temperature and colour from each quarter. (There is now also an option to install quarter somatic cellcount detection). Data is collected at each milking, and is analysed by comparing previous data from the same cow, alerting when there is a significant change in a specific quarter. This allows a much earlier diagnosis af mastitis, which gives allows for non antibiotic treatments – such as the application of udder linament, and increasing the frequency of milking – to effect a self-cure. If, in extreme cases, it is decided that the best course of action is to use intramammery antibiotics, the earlier detection can lead to higher cure rates.

This system is much more accurate as it takes quarter information, and algorithms compare to results from the individual cow, rather than generic averages. The real-time nature of the data means diagnosis is earlier which in turn leads to a reduction in antibiotic use, both from reducing the number of cows that need antibiotisc, and having better cure rates in those that do. There is also a finacial benefit with more milk per cow being sold off farm ( less “treated” milk, and less milk reduction due to sick cows)

Paratuberculosis control requires a national plan

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Managing Sick Animals > Diagnostics > Resource > Paratuberculosis control requires a national plan

 

Paratuberculosis is a chronic, contagious bacterial disease (caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. Paratuberculosis (MAP)) of the intestinal tract which primarily affects sheep and cattle, goats, and other ruminant species. There is no known treatment for the disease. Control involves good sanitation and management practices including screening tests for new animals to identify and eliminate infected animals and ongoing surveillance of adult animals.

Implementation of regional/national control programmes are successful. They are related to growing industry concerns about the zoonotic potential of MAP, the desire to be proactive in control at both the farmer and processor levels, and/or to meet trade requirements. The interest among processors serves to take a voluntary control and/or status programme and make it mandatory for farmers.

The primary tools used for control across countries range widely, from testing options, on-farm risk assessments, incentive programmes, education and awareness campaigns and vaccination. Successful countries recommend some form of testing; faecal culture or PCR of environmental samples, bulk tank milk ELISA tests, or the use of similar methods at the cow-level. More recent developments and variations exist in the use of a combination of tests (e.g. ELISA followed by direct faecal PCR for confirmation) and/or cut-off values (e.g. test label vs. cut-off for high shedding animals). Many nations supplement these testing schemes with the recommendation to complete a herd-level risk assessment, which can be either specific to the disease or part of general biosecurity risk assessments.

Control of footrot in sheep 

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Footrot caused by Dichelobacter nodosus is a harmful disease for sheep farming. It is imperative to monitor the flock and implement various control measures against the disease.

Firstly, it is necessary to know the risk factors (humid and temperate periods, muddy areas) and to quickly detect the presence of the disease in the flock. To do this, when lameness is observed, or during hoof trimming, the identity of the animal must be recorded and the severity and intensity of the lesions scored according to scale.

A foot-lameness control plan is mainly preventive by a rigorous evaluation of purchased animals, application of quarantine, and by avoiding contact with other herds.

Moderate lesions can be controlled by external and internal hygiene measures, footbathing, foot trimming and individual antibiotic therapy. The footbath must be carried out correctly (pre-washing, liquid level and concentration of disinfectants, time spent, drying).

If the disease is severe, vaccination and antibiotic therapy will be used, after identification of the strain(s) present in the flock. Finally, culling of worst-affected animals and those with recurring cases helps to progressively eradicate the disease. When the outbreak is very large, a repopulation of the herd should be considered.

Umbilical cord healing

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The umbilical cord serves as a conduit for the blood supply between the foetus and the placenta throughout pregnancy, providing the necessary nutrients for the development of the foetus during intrauterine life. The cord ruptures during the birth process, leaving an umbilical stump that becomes a potential route for pathogen entry into the newly born calf or lamb, increasing the risk of omphalitis and septicemia.

Umbilical infection also reduces total body weight gain during the first 3 months of life. Preventive measures for umbilical infection encompass maternity pen hygiene, decreased residency of the newborn in the maternity pen, adequate colostrum management, and antiseptic umbilical cord care.

Careful and consistent umbilical cord care substantially decreases calf/lamb mortality. Appropriate antimicrobial solutions applied to umbilical cord within 30 min of birth are protective against umbilical cord infections.

Iodine is the most commonly used antiseptic compound in the dairy industry. The antiseptic properties begin to decrease approximately in 15 min after dipping, but remain evident for several hours.

Umbilical cord care, as a good practice at farm level, is very effective to promote health and welfare to newborn lambs and calves, which are less likely to need antibiotics for any possible infections.