Cattle

Making the most of testing for calf respiratory disease

Investigation of respiratory disease should not solely be a ‘pathogen hunt’ but encompass a wider review of predisposing factors in the group of animals.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
14/11/2023

Louping ill: Vaccine support sought

Louping ill virus is a flavivirus, transmitted by Ixodes ricinus ticks, and is commonly found in the Highlands, Perthshire and Argyll & Bute in Scotland. SRUC makes ten to 25 diagnoses of louping ill in flocks of sheep every year, and around five diagnoses in cattle annually.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
08/11/2023

Look out for Lungworm

We have seen confirmed cases of lungworm last month across all of Scotland, including Aberdeenshire. This may be as a result of the hot dry weather earlier this year followed by warm and wet weather.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
02/11/2023

September case highlights

Parasitic disease dominated the diagnoses made in Aberdeen in September with lungworm and Ostertagiasis diagnosed in cattle and gastrointestinal parasites in sheep causing ill thrift and death.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
31/10/2023

Acorn toxicity

Acorns and oak leaves contain phenols and tannins, such as gallic acid and pyrogallol, which when ingested in excess will bind and precipitate proteins leading to renal failure in cattle and sheep.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
26/10/2023

Bluetongue and Epizootic haemorrhagic disease update

Bluetongue and Epizootic Haemorrhagic Disease are viral diseases circulating in Europe that are a risk to UK cattle and sheep, with both being notifiable in the UK. Both of these viruses are species of the Orbivirus genus and are transmitted between animals by midges.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
20/10/2023

Making the most of testing in calf respiratory disease

One of the interventions included in the Scottish Government's ‘Preparing for Sustainable Farming’ initiative is to carry out a calf respiratory investigation, and provide a written prevention and control plan, including biosecurity measures.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
18/10/2023

August case highlights

August was another steady month in the Aberdeen PM room, with the predominant submission being thin or dying lambs with parasitic gastroenteritis.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
04/10/2023

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

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