JARACAL

Middag Manne

Wie van julle weet wat veroorsaak die misformde, waterige, opgeswelde lammers in skape en bokke.

Hulle is gewoonlik te groot vir die ooi om hulle uit te stoot en ons trek hulle maar stuk vir stuk uit.
Ons het hierdie jaar baie meer sulke gevalle as in vorige jare.

Ek luister graag.

Dankie

Adaan

hi adaan weve been having the same thing in our boergoats. .queenstown area i pulled out 3 kids this last week and the ewes ended up dying .nt surr what its caused by but its the first time ive seen it also

Schmallenberg Virus (SBV) Report - Feb 2012

An assessment of what we know about the disease, by Carole Youngs
Background
lamb-09Disease is always more terrifying when we don’t know or understand its origin or its nature, and never has this been more so than with Schmallenberg Virus. The first signs of a new disease were recognised in Germany between August and October 2011, named after the small town where it was initially identified in December. By early 2012, it had arrived in SE England, and by the end of February had spread to 83 farms in 14 counties.
By now, the short history of the disease has been well documented, seriously in the farming press and, unfortunately, sensationally in some of the mainstream and tabloid press, which can only hinder our understanding of the disease and do damage to farming.
The virus and its spread
Thankfully, it’s a truism that there’s nothing new on the planet, and scientists have identified SBV as a novel serotype of an existing virus group, about which there is a body of knowledge. It’s believed that, like the Bluetongue Virus (BTV8) in 2007, biting midges, and possibly other insects such as mosquitoes and ticks, spread the virus. There is no evidence of spread by direct contact with infected animals or the by-products of birth. Both of these assumptions are supported by the fact that the geographical spread of disease in the UK is just as would be expected of a wind-borne midge plume, rather than countrywide, as would be the case if it arrived with imported livestock.
Disease & symptoms
The disease, which is generally acute and short lasting, affects ruminants: sheep, cattle and goats. Currently, as lambing is ongoing, there are more results for sheep than other species. Once an animal is infected, the virus causes a mild fever (which in sheep may go undetected) and in cattle a decrease in milk production and diarrhoea. It is understood that the virus is active in the bloodstream for a limited time only (a matter of days). However, if this coincides with the early stage of pregnancy (the first trimester, or the first 30 days) the virus can cross the placenta and infect the developing foetus.
The result of this can include re-absorption of the foetus (ewes scanned for twins or triplets deliver one lamb), abortion, stillbirths and foetal abnormalities including ‘fused’ bent and deformed limbs, exaggerated ‘parrot mouth’, curvature of the spine with the head back, and abnormal brain development resulting in blindness, inability to feed and recumbency.
UK data is growing all the time; during the current lambing season farmers have reported lamb losses between 5-20%, with some reports much higher.
What to do if you suspect SVB in your flock or herd
It’s important that as much information about this new disease is gathered, so if you suspect a case on your farm or smallholding, contact your vet as soon as possible. Currently, there is no blood test available that will detect the disease, so place foetal material in a leak proof container, and write down as much background information as you can, as every piece of information is vital to helping develop a vaccine that will protect against this disease. The AHVLA (or SAC Laboratories in Scotland) will carry out tests free of charge, or subsidised. An unpleasant aspect of the disease is that the presence of affected, deformed lambs (eg. fused limbs, or swollen heads) may lead to lambing difficulties, in which case you should involve your vet to ensure a humane outcome.
Is there anything I can do to protect my flock/herd?
The answer is, very little for the current breeding season as any infection would have occurred last summer and autumn. However, adapting the breeding calendar for 2012 so that the disease vector (midge) activity season doesn’t coincide with the susceptible first trimester of pregnancy, may avoid the effects of SBV infection on the unborn lamb. For sheep, this would mean tupping (mating) in November or even December, delaying lambing until April or May. Fly protection measures have been suggested, but these do not effectively repel midges.
The National Sheep Association (NSA) recommends good nutrition, including optimum mineral and trace element levels, to increase the ability of the flock to cope with disease challenges.
Is there risk to human health?
There is no evidence of risk to human health, either from contact with an affected animal or from eating sheep meat, and the virology suggests that this would be unlikely. However, anyone involved in lambing, kidding or calving is advised to take sensible hygiene precautions, and pregnant women should not have contact with parturient animals due to risks of exposure to other disease causing agents.
The Future Outlook
The timescale for the development of a vaccine is subject of a great amount of speculation; at the most optimistic, an inactivated vaccine may be developed in just 6 months – but the current estimate ranges between 1-2 years. However, once infected, animals (both breeding and youngstock) are likely to develop a strong immunity to future infection, possibly lifelong, and, therefore it makes good sense for them to be retained.

References:
Dr Ruth Watkins - Virologist (retired) and smallholder
National Sheep Association
OIE – World Organisation for Animal Health
Animal Health – Veterinary Laboratories Agency
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Tripod, now that was interesting to read, maybe you should think of a column for each wk for us farmers, thanks.
Josh, all I can suggest is that you give your ewes a mineral boost as soon as possible, and maybe after that give them a lick, maxiwol or something like it, to keep the min. levels up.

Wayne wrote:Tripod, now that was interesting to read, maybe you should think of a column for each wk for us farmers, thanks.
Josh, all I can suggest is that you give your ewes a mineral boost as soon as possible, and maybe after that give them a lick, maxiwol or something like it, to keep the min. levels up.

The motto is - "Google is your friend"

I would as farmer get the State Vet involved to check if this disease has not spread to SA and if not, what other disease or deficiency could cause these abnormalities.

Hallo Tripod
Dankie vir jou plaasing, dit lyk egter asof die simptome nie dieselfde is nie- die lammers se hele liggaam is waterig- amper soos die oranje oros mannetjie op tv- en die lam kan tot 8kg weeg .
Die vel skeur maklik wanneer mens die fetus verwyder en n waterige jelly agtige vloeistof vloei uit.

Dink dit is iets anders

very interesting read .scary if you think about all the viruses developing out there when we struggle to contend with the ones we have .thanks for advice wayne so far the rest of the ewes have been lambing alright .just wish we would get some rain .things are realy drying out now