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WORKING
TOGETHER
FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE...
11
LIVESTOCK MATTERS
POST-MORTEMS
Post-mortems can be positive
for profit and performance!
Veterinary surgeon
Lee-Anne Oliver
XLVets practice
Scott Mitchell
Associates
Why bother with a PM?
Lee-Anne explains: ‘Post-mortems enable
diagnoses to be made of tyre wire disease,
coccidiosis, nematodirus, ruptured uterus,
twisted gut, lamb dysentery, poisonous plants,
acidosis, internal abscesses, fluke, Johne’s
disease, and ruptured bladders, to name but
a few examples.
‘But also, post-mortems can often lead to
other significant conditions being identified,
which might not be the cause of death but
are valuable to know. For example, revealing
a fluke infection when the cow died of
staggers. Post-mortems of cull ewes can be
particularly useful in identifying Ovine
Pulmonary Adenocarcinoma (OPA), Johne’s
disease or presence of fluke.
‘Knowing the cause of death may provide the
opportunity to treat other susceptible animals
in the herd or flock and protect their health
and performance. It may also prevent money
being wasted on administering the wrong
medicine, or identify when a change in
management is needed.
‘A high percentage of post-mortem
examinations can provide a cause of death
on ‘gross examination’ or require only limited
further testing in the vet practice’s own
laboratory. So the cost is often not that high
versus the value of information that can be
returned.
‘However, some pathogens, e.g. for pneumo-
nia or scour, will need samples to be submit-
ted to a lab for further testing to identify the
specific pathogen eg RSV or rotavirus.‘
XLVets post-mortem initiative
Lee-Anne is involved in running a new
post-mortem scheme set up by XLVets which
will ultimately help provide information for
regional disease forecasts e.g. the first case
forecasts of nematodirus or liver fluke in an
area. The database will also serve as a
learning resource for vets and their farm
clients.
Lee-Anne explains: ‘Vets upload their
post-mortem reports and these are collated
monthly and shared with all XLVets practices.
These results are provided anonymously and
just give a regional location.
‘Of the post-mortem reports submitted to date,
75% have enabled diagnoses of the cause
of death to be made on gross examination
alone.
‘All PM reports submitted to the initiative will
be stored for later use. These documents
are useful when planning vaccination
programmes and making health plans.‘
Maximising success
To maximise the chance of a successful
diagnosis, carcases need to be as fresh as
possible – less than 24hours old. For
abortion cases, the placenta is needed as
well as the foetus.
‘Many of the APHA sites have shut down
and so many farms are a long way from
government laboratories and subsidised PMs
these days,‘ says Lee-Anne. ‘So farmers
should find out what their options are, ready
for the time when quick action is needed.
‘Some deadstock centres offer a PM service
which takes the hassle out of taking a dead
beast to the nearest APHA! But as a first step,
farmers should talk with their vet. Sometimes,
if a vet is already on the farm then an initial
examination can be done promptly.
‘There is an argument that all stock that die
on a farm should have a post-mortem to build
up a disease profile. For example, when
investigating pneumonia, examining one
dead animal can provide the answer instead
of taking samples from live individuals.
Similarly, it’s also the case with ticks,
parasites, Johne's, and OPA in sheep.
Lee-Anne Oliver,
Scott Mitchell Associates
There’s a cost to having a post-mortem carried out on a dead animal. But
there’s frequently a benefit too. Here, Lee-Anne Oliver of Scott Mitchell
Associates, near Hexham, outlines some of the benefits and gives an
insight into some recent findings in a new XLVets scheme.