Combating Neospora

[Beefy23]

How are people on hear combating neospora? I seem to be losing 5-8 cows a year to it and it is have a real impact on my herd. The majority of the farm is on footpaths and are used by people with dogs. Anyone have any opinion in the matter?

Cheers

 

[muppet]

Sounds like fencing off your footpaths is the only option

 

[Princess Pooper]

If there are no cleansings for dogs to eat then they cannot pick it up. Farm dogs are actually often the source of the problem. The dogs don't shed it forever. Are you sure they are all fresh infections from dogs (the oocytes from their faeces can cause problems for a couple of years) or are some due to vertical transmission (ie home bred heifers born of infected dams ) or repeat offenders? We had 15% infection in our dairy herd when we first started to tackle it and culled hard and now have none. We also have footpaths and dog walkers. There is a good informative article in Farmers Guardian today.

 

[Beefy23]

If there are no cleansings for dogs to eat then they cannot pick it up. Farm dogs are actually often the source of the problem. The dogs don't shed it forever. Are you sure they are all fresh infections from dogs (the oocytes from their faeces can cause problems for a couple of years) or are some due to vertical transmission (ie home bred heifers born of infected dams ) or repeat offenders? We had 15% infection in our dairy herd when we first started to tackle it and culled hard and now have none. We also have footpaths and dog walkers. There is a good informative article in Farmers Guardian today.

All of the cows that have had it were culled. If I could afford to I would test them all to make sure no one is carrying it. I also pick up my poo when walking my farm dog , not that he is much use as a farm dog

 

[Beefy23]

Sounds like fencing off your footpaths is the only option

I have debated it but I doubt if the walkers would respect the fence

 

[Princess Pooper]

All of the cows that have had it were culled. If I could afford to I would test them all to make sure no one is carrying it. I also pick up my poo when walking my farm dog , not that he is much use as a farm dog

We blood tested every female over the course of about 3 years, either at drying off or the calves at a few days old if they were replacements and we had not tested the dam. There were a few surprises - a few who had had several calves with no abortions but their dams had had abortions so probably vertical transmission.
Do you have farming neighbours along the same path who do not pick up cleanses?

 

[Beefy23]

Is your farm full of footpaths to?The only neighbouring farmer is arable.

 

[Princess Pooper]

Is your farm full of footpaths to?The only neighbouring farmer is arable.

We have one runs almost the full length of the farm, goes straight through our farmyard. It ends on our boundary on the edge of a market town. We are a long thin farm only 2 fields wide. Another just cuts the corner of the farm.

 

[Beefy23]

We have one runs almost the full length of the farm, goes straight through our farmyard. It ends on our boundary on the edge of a market town. We are a long thin farm only 2 fields wide. Another just cuts the corner of the farm.

Have you taken to fencing them off to help reduce the problem?

 

[Princess Pooper]

No, not had a re-infection and once we had cleared out all infected blood lines ( we didn't cull them unless they aborted, but any live progeny went for beef not breeding) never had an abortion coming back as neospora. We spent a lot of time working through our bloodlines piecing it all together and there had been a lot of vertical transmission which is why I mentioned it and this is the main way it 'spreads' in a herd.

As I said at the start, dogs stop shedding it within a few weeks of being infected, but the oocysts can then survive a couple of years and still cause infection if ingested by cattle.
This article actually queries the importance of dogs...http://www.ribblevets.co.uk/page/204/Neosporosis-Factsheet.htm

For dogs to keep re-infecting they have to be picking up new infected material from somewhere - when your cows abort do you manage to find the foetus and cleansings and take it away so dogs can't get it?

 

[Beefy23]

I always take it all the the local hunt to get rid of in there waste boxes. I think I need to spend even more time hunting the bloodlines and trying to work out the problem animals

 

[Beefy23]

No, not had a re-infection and once we had cleared out all infected blood lines ( we didn't cull them unless they aborted, but any live progeny went for beef not breeding) never had an abortion coming back as neospora. We spent a lot of time working through our bloodlines piecing it all together and there had been a lot of vertical transmission which is why I mentioned it and this is the main way it 'spreads' in a herd.

As I said at the start, dogs stop shedding it within a few weeks of being infected, but the oocysts can then survive a couple of years and still cause infection if ingested by cattle.
This article actually queries the importance of dogs...http://www.ribblevets.co.uk/page/204/Neosporosis-Factsheet.htm

For dogs to keep re-infecting they have to be picking up new infected material from somewhere - when your cows abort do you manage to find the embryo and cleansings and take it away so dogs can't get it?

Cheers for the link it will be interesting bed time reading

 

[bovine]

The problem is not really dogs - as has been correctly identified.

Is this a beef herd? It makes it trickier. Why are you culling them, because they aborted?

 

[Beefy23]

The problem is not really dogs - as has been correctly identified.

Is this a beef herd? It makes it trickier. Why are you culling them, because they aborted?

Yes it's a beef herd and yes because they aborted

 

[bovine]

Really the best thing would be to go through and bleed the herd and see what your seroprevalence is (how many carriers). Best time is a month or two before calving.

What breed are they?

 

[Beefy23]

A mixture of black herefords , pure herefords sim cross ,British blue cross and a few lims. Has you had a problem with neospora as well?

 

[bovine]

No, I'm a vet not a farmer.

We know in black and white milking cows that those served to the Limousin are less likely to abort.

 

[Beefy23]

No, I'm a vet not a farmer.

We know in black and white milking cows that those served to the Limousin are less likely to abort.

As a vet apart from the blood tests what would be your advice? I'll give you a bit more details 80 spring calvers lost 8 this year all were in the same group the Bull has been on the farm for 3 year so I don't think he's the cause but he is going this year

 

[bovine]

Cattle get neospora either from a dog or from their mother. Outbreaks often related to dogs but the majority of cases are passed down from mother.

We really need to know how established the disease is in your herd to give any better advice. Getting rid of small numbers may be sensible. If lots affected then perhaps split the herd into 2. Breed replacements and terminal from specific cows and bulls.

 

[Beefy23]

Cattle get neospora either from a dog or from their mother. Outbreaks often related to dogs but the majority of cases are passed down from mother.

We really need to know how established the disease is in your herd to give any better advice. Getting rid of small numbers may be sensible. If lots affected then perhaps split the herd into 2. Breed replacements and terminal from specific cows and bulls.

I think a blanket blood test will be a good starting point as I think I need to find how established the problem is and to make sure I am not overlooking anything else