Farm Newsletter September 2007

Highgate Veterinary Clinic

173 Highgate, Kendal, Cumbria, LA9 4EN
01539 721344


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Farm Newsletter -- September 2007

In this issue
Enzootic Abortion Vaccines – Which one should you choose?
Westmorland County Show
Mastitis Treatments – Should you include an Injection?
This Month: September

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Enzootic Abortion Vaccines – Which one should you choose?

There are three vaccines in the UK against enzootic abortion of the ewe (EAE) and there appears to be little evidence that any of them give better or longer protection than the others so the choice is often made on price.

But there are differences which are important. Mydiavac is a dead vaccine where as the others are live vaccines. It is therefore possible to vaccinate pregnant ewes with Mydiavac without causing abortion. In fact, Mydiavac can be used in late pregnancy as part of a strategy to reduce abortion rate even in the face of an outbreak.
Enzovax and CEVA chlamydophilia are very similar both being live vaccines made from the same strain of Chlamydia. There was a price difference but due to price reductions, this is no longer the case. The biggest difference now is whether they are licensed to be used with Toxovax. Intervet will not guarantee Toxovax’s efficacy if it is given with any abortion vaccine other than Enzovax.
In recent studies in England, of the flocks that tested for the cause of abortion, half had EAE and three quarters had toxoplasmosis. This means that theres a good chance you should be vaccinating against both diseases. In which case we strongly recommend you use Enzovax as your choice of EAE.

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Westmorland County Show

It was a pity that Kirkby Lonsdale and Grayrigg shows were victims of FMD movement restrictions but it’s good that the county show will go ahead this year with stock being present. It promises to be a busy day with entries at record levels.
We’re having a stand in the usual place (G209). Please feel welcome to come along, have a drink, a seat and a chat.

This year we’re raising money for a very local charity. Endmoor Community First Responders are volunteers that are called out regularly when anyone calls 999 with possible heart of breathing problems. As they are local, they attend a patient quicker than the ambulance and are able to administer oxygen and use a defibrillator if necessary. Money for equipment has to be raised by the team. So please give generously

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Mastitis Treatments – Should you include an Injection?

Intramammary tubes have been the backbone of mastitis treatment for a long time and new tubes often come onto the market. Despite this, their performance seems to not be as good as it used to be or is that our expectations are higher? It’s very common to now have to use six tubes to “cure” a case instead of the standard three. Even then recurrent cases are common. There is a big difference between a clinical cure i.e. the milk looks normal - and a bacterial cure with the udder no longer infected. This difference often explains the reason for recurrent cases or high cell count cows.

There has been an obvious shift in the type of bacteria we isolate from mastitis with Strep uberis becoming more common. Once established, it can cause recurrent and subclinic mastitis. The secret is to hit it hard initially. The best way to do this is to use tubes and IM injections at the same time so that parts of the udder that can’t be reached via the milk can be reached via the bloodstream.
There are various unlicensed combinations being used but one with a license does stand out as being a good idea. Cephaguard LC and Cephaguard injection used together has the same milk withdrawal as Cephaguard LC on its own (96hrs). This is a broad spectrum antibiotic that kills most mastitis causing bacteria. Using the same antibiotic is in both injection and tube is logical as there is no risk of one drug interfering with another. In addition, when including the cost of milk discarded, this combination comes out to be the cheapest overall.
So if you have a mastitis problem, speak to one of the vets about improving your treatment regime.

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This Month: September

	Keep a lookout for diarrhoea and ill thrift in calves caused by coccidiosis.
	Fluke sheep this month with a product that will kill all stages of fluke in the ewe. Consider rotating fluke drugs to reduce the chance of resistance developing.
	Look out for lungworm in all ages of cattle.