Dyfed Farm Vets delivers programme to improve the testing and treatment of calf respiratory campaign
CVS’ Dyfed Farm Vets is delivering a project to improve the use of diagnostic testing of respiratory disease in calves to better manage herds, guide appropriate treatments and reduce the unnecessary use of antibiotics.
Within just one year it has increased the use of nasopharyngeal swabbing by vets on farm by 55%. Similar increases in serology testing for respiratory pathogens were also seen.
Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD), or pneumonia, is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in young cattle. It costs the UK cattle industry £50 million a year[1]. With the high cost of BRD on farms, as well as its obvious effects on animal welfare, there is an industry wide push to reduce its incidence.
Heathy animals are more productive and will achieve higher outputs such as daily live weight gain, lower age at first calving, higher milk yields, and feed conversion rates. Reducing disease incidence will also have a positive impact on animal welfare.
BRD is caused by a complex interaction between viruses, bacteria and mycoplasma pathogens, many of which live harmlessly in the respiratory tract of healthy cattle as commensals. The disease is usually triggered during or following a stressful period by a viral infection and a subsequent infection of the airways with opportunistic bacteria. This combination of stress factors and infectious agents makes young cattle especially vulnerable[2].
Dyfed Farm Vets hopes to reduce the level of BRD through increased use of nasopharyngeal swabbing, serology testing and resulting tailored farm management protocols.
Since September 2022, 10 vets within the practice have submitted either nasal swabs or serology samples from 15 farms for respiratory pathogen investigations. Sample collection method has been determined on a case-by-case basis depending on the type of enterprise, age of animals and sourcing policy.
A resulting mixture of agents have been identified from the samples collected at CVS Labs. These have included; Mycoplasma (47%), IBR (13%), P13 (47%), Histophilus (20%), RSV (47%), Mannheimia (33%), BVD (33%), and Pasteurella (47%) being identified across the two sampling methods. Interestingly, the majority of the nasopharyngeal (PCR) results showed mixed infections involving bacterial, viral and mycoplasma pathogens whereas the serology testing showed only viral and mycoplasma pathogens to be present. This could be due to the presence of commensal (usually bacterial) pathogens in the nasopharyngeal region or due to case selection. All of these agents have the potential to cause BRD, whether acting in isolation or in conjunction with other agents as demonstrated by these results.
The results of each farm’s respiratory pathogen tests have been presented to each farmer and discussions held on taking a more preventative approach. These have included conversations on biosecurity, immunity, housing, environmental management, vaccination and treatment protocols. Through this process, Dyfed Farm Vets have gained greater understanding of problems specific to each client enabling the production of bespoke action plans.
The respiratory pathogen results have also enabled Dyfed Farm Vets to target the right vaccine to the right farm to cover the key risk periods for those animals. There has been a 60% uptake in vaccination following respiratory testing on farm. All vaccinations have been timed in relation to peaks in clinical cases and pre-stress periods - such as weaning, group movements or transport – ensured covering animals against the correct pathogen effectively. Taking this preventative herd health measure has resulted in significantly fewer antibiotics being required to treat respiratory infection and disease in the past year.
Harriet Spittle, a vet at Dyfed Farm Vets, said:
“Many of our clients have calves on farm, whether homebred or bought in. So to safeguard their herds and income we wanted to do more to effectively prevent bovine respiratory disease. The new nasopharyngeal swabbing and serology testing programme we’ve introduced over the last year has given us significant data. We’re now using this to help farmers to successfully implement a range of ‘on farm’ measures to help prevent and vaccinate against BRD – and to reduce antibiotic use.”
CVS Farm is taking a ‘One Health’ approach to clinical improvement and developing practical projects to address related challenges, such as antimicrobial resistance and improving animal welfare. Every practice has appointed a vet to be a Practice Quality Improvement Lead, who collaboratively; brainstorms how to overcome challenges; develops ideas for clinical improvement; identifies the resources and technology needed to implement each project; and advocates for programme delivery within a practice’s team.
CVS Group operates across small animal, farm animal, equine, laboratories and crematoria, with over 500 veterinary practices and referral centres in the UK and Australia. In the last five years the company has invested nearly £80 million in its sites, facilities and equipment, in addition to industry leading training and support, to give the best possible care to animals. For further information on CVS visit www.cvsukltd.co.uk .
[1] https://ahdb.org.uk/knowledge-library/brp-better-management-of-bovine-respiratory-disease
[2] https://www.lls.nsw.gov.au/help-and-advice/livestock-health-and-production/diagnosing-livestock-diseases/bovine-respiratory-disease