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5
LIVESTOCK MATTERS
WORKING
TOGETHER
FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE...
PNEUMONI A
CALWETON
VETERINARY GROUP
Veterinary Surgeon
Miranda Josephson
XLVets Practice
Calweton Veterinary
Group
A year on from the launch of the Grassroots Pneumonia
Campaign we are approaching another housing period, and
our clients' thoughts are turning to pneumonia once more.
MIRANDA JOSEPHSON,
CALWETON VETERINARY GROUP
Therefore this season will see a return of our
Autumn Pneumonia meetings, at which farmers
are treated to a hot meal, and also a
presentation introducing the concept that
pneumonia is a complex, multi-factorial disease.
The different aspects of susceptibility to disease
are covered, in addition to how we can
influence this. The importance of history,
diagnoses, good treatment protocols and
possible vaccination strategies are discussed.
The true cost of a pneumonia outbreak is easily
illustrated through the ‘Cost Calculator’, a tool
that attendees enter their own farm data into to
reveal the full cost of an outbreak. Interestingly,
the vet bill is only a very small part of the total
cost calculated. A heavy emphasis is placed on
the importance of good ventilation - a vital part
of any successful pneumonia-control strategy -
and the undisputable fact that prevention is far
better than attempting treatment.
2011's meetings were well attended and well
received, with the vast majority of attendees
requesting visits for ventilation assessments and
an overhaul of their approach to respiratory
disease. In addition, advice was also sought
from clients with whom our services had been
discussed at routine fertility clinics, or at visits
to groups of coughing calves.
Over the course of the ventilation assessments
I carried out on 17 farms (some 60-70 sheds),
I had a brief moment of feeling 'the more
I know, the less I understand'. Happily this
was soon replaced with the recognition that
the more one practises something, the more
knowledgeable one becomes. Certainly
I found myself contacting a few of the farmers
who had early visits, a month or so down
the line, with additional information which
I felt would supplement the advice already
given. With this in mind, I feel an update
on the Grassroots Pneumonia campaign
is due.