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B IOSECUR I TY FEATURE
WORKING
TOGETHER
FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE...
21
LIVESTOCK MATTERS
Veterinary surgeon
Paul Rodgers
XLVets practice
Allen & Partners
Protecting your herd
from bovine TB (bTB) with
biosecurity measures
PAUL RODGERS ,
ALLEN & PARTNERS
It can be very stressful to be farming in an area where bovine
tuberculosis (bTB) is endemic in the wildlife population and TB
tests frequently identify TB-infected cattle...
Based in Whitland, Carmarthenshire, XLVets'
Paul Rodgers of Allen and Partners has been
heavily involved in working with the Welsh
Government and making biosecurity visits to
farms in bovine TB areas. Here he offers some
advice to cattle farmers on taking precautions
against the disease.
Certainly it can be very stressful to be farming
in an area where bTB is endemic in the
wildlife population and TB tests frequently
identify TB-infected cattle. However, at farm
level, there are still a number of practical
precautions that can be taken to minimise the
risk of your cattle becoming infected.
Disease levels in a herd are influenced by
the introduction of new disease into the herd,
and by its spread within the herd. In the
case of bTB, consideration needs also to be
given to preventing the spread of this disease
from an infected herd into the local
wildlife populations.
Assessing the risks
on your farm
1. Infected farms in endemic areas
-
Maintaining a closed herd status is
likely to be unfeasible due to the need
to replace bTB reactors. However,
there are still actions which can be
taken to reduce the risk of a future
infection, e.g. by preventing badgers
from accessing feed stores.
2. Uninfected farms in or near
endemic areas
- If badgers are
present on, or around your farm, then
this is the main risk factor and as such
should be the main priority for control.
If possible, keep the herd closed.
3. Uninfected farms in areas with low
bTB incidence
- In these areas there
will either be no, few or uninfected
badgers in the area. Cattle movement
is the prime source of potential
infection. If the herd is not closed, then
adopt a robust policy for replacements.
Cattle should not be moved in from
endemic areas, or from other farms
that have introduced animals from high
risk areas. Minimising contact with
wildlife is still important to reduce the
chances of introducing TB into an
uninfected badger population.
The bTB status of your area and
individual farm dictates the main
risk factors for you:
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