Welcome to the monthly bulletin from Iechyd Da. You will find useful information and updates all in one place.
BVD legislation, Testing and Practical Tips for Vet practices
As of 1st July 2024, it will become law that all Welsh holdings are required to know their BVD status, and they will be required to complete their first annual screen by the end of June 2025.
All holdings will begin as BVD non negative, as there will be no historical data transferred onto the database. We are seeking clarification on the position regarding current CHECS accredited herds. Farmers will receive notification of the requirement to carry out a BVD screen at the same time as their annual TB test. More information can be found here.
TB Skin Testing of Calves under 42 days old
All Short Interval Tests (SIT), Check Tests (Investigation & Intervention) (CT(I-I))and Check Tests (Exposure Mitigation) (CT(EM)) with a TT1 date on or after 15th June 2024, will no longer require calves under 42 days old to be tested by default. When submitting results for any of these tests, testers should use the iSam ‘Not Tested’ reason of “Not Eligible for this test’ for any bovine animals aged under 42 days at TT1 of the SIT, CT(I-I) or CT(EM) listed in the CTS download. If it is only these bovine animals that have not been tested, the TB test should be submitted as “complete” on iSam. Please read the full briefing note here.
Animal Disease Preparedness
Iechyd Da recently attended the industry advisory group on animal disease preparedness and risk, where the current situation on BTV3 was discussed. Below is an update of the current position:
There have been a significant number of reports and confirmed cases of Bluetongue Virus in the Netherlands and Germany. We understand it is BTV-3. The NL are up to 94 cases. There is no active or targeted surveillance ongoing although private vets can submit samples for testing, which probably accounts for the fact that nearly 80% of infected premises are showing clinical signs. Based on information from Dutch officials last week when they only had 49 cases, animals on 36 of those 49 farms (73%) were vaccinated, 6 animals (12%) had unknown vaccination status and 7 (15%) were not vaccinated. Clinical signs were severe but it’s too early to say whether there is increased mortality and we don’t have information on within flock prevalence. Although most cases are in the south and east of the country (where there was low levels of disease last year) two cases are in the west, closer to the coast. There have also been approximately 50 cases in Germany in the last week – presumably all naturally acquired infection and not directly linked to the autogenous vaccine breakdown issue. The risk to the UK is currently classed as low due to the recent weather and wind patterns. Discussions took place regarding the movement of animals from High risk areas into Wales, if there is a confirmed case of BTV3, along with any need for Pre and Post movement testing. High risk areas of England can request pre movement testing of animals for BTV3 prior to sale.
Btb Vaccination Update July 2024
Read the latest update here.
Dates for your diary
- 18th September 2024 – Aber TB
