As the picture above demonstrates, cows, especially around calving time, are prone to prolapse. This photograph above was after a hard night's work for Dr Nikki Burns. It has been made grayscale as not to look so gory. The prolapse can be:

1. Vaginal
2. Rectal
3. Uterine
4. A combination of the above

On noticing a prolapse:

1. Walk the cow SLOWLY to the yards- this is especially important for uterine prolapses
2. Try to identify whether it is the rectum, vagina, uterus or a combination
3. Give us a call and explain the situation, including when this happened, whether she is due to calve or how long since she calved.

It makes sense that the more structures that prolapse, the more difficult it can be to replace. Similarly, the longer time that the tissues are out of the body makes it progressively harder to replace. Often the replaced tissues need suturing to keep them in place.

There are a few different ways that prolapses can be reduced- sometimes with the cow standing, or sometimes with the frog leg position demonstrated in the photo above. Once a cow has prolapsed once, she is more likely to repeat the situation next year. This is due to an inherited and anatomic problem in which some cows have a structural weakness. Neither male nor female offspring from the affected cow should be kept for breeding purposes. 

As the picture below demonstrates, sheep (and cattle) are traded around Australia, every day of the year. This creates enormous opportunities for diseases to transfer between enterprises. To avoid bringing unwanted bugs to your farm (and herd) it's important to take biosecurity precuations. Here are some simple strategies you can implement when buying and bringing sheep to your farm:

Before you buy:

1. Check the Sheep Health Statement. This is available at farmbiosecurity.com.au.
2. Check the health of the sheep while in the pen. Pick out 20 sheep, specifically looking for any that are lame or have pulled wool. Examine them for footrot and lice.
3. If you are in the market for rams, be very wary of brucellosis. This disease is still very common in sheep flocks. It is best to steer clear of saleyards to buy rams, and instead buy from brucellosis free-accredited flocks.

On introduction to your farm:

1. Drench them with a quarantine drench. 
2. Footbath them with 10% zinc sulphate. This will remove bacteria off their feet, but won't kill footrot if they are carrying it.
3. A good plan is to assume they have lice. There are several options you have here, and depending on a few variables, everyone will do this differently. The best guide for managing lice in introduced sheep is available on liceboss.com.au.

Once on farm:

1. Quarantine – keep sheep isolated until you are sure they don’t have lice or footrot. For footrot, it is difficult to tell until after a good period of warm, wet weather. For lice, it’s ideally until they are next shorn.
2. Sheep in quarantine can be moved through yards, just don’t let your main herd have access to the yards for seven days after.

Background
Whether a horse is being transported from one side of Australia to the other for a competitive event or just taken to the riding ground in an adjacent suburb, there are some common principles to keep in mind.

The issues
Horses should be carefully prepared for transport of any significant distance. Horses must be fed and watered to ensure appropriate amounts of roughage prior to departure (to provide a large intestinal reservoir of fluid and electrolytes to help prevent dehydration and assist with thermoregulation).

The vehicle in which the horse is to be transported must be thoroughly assessed for its suitability for the journey. Safe and comfortable conditions with suitable ventilation will provide the horse with a comfortable journey.

Part of the preparation should also include evaluation of the weather and road conditions that are likely to be encountered on the journey. Avoiding excessively high or low temperatures, stormy weather and flooded roads, which may become impassable and need to be avoided.

When undertaking lengthy journeys, the need for breaks in the journey or providing feed and water during the journey should be planned for. Consulting the Australian Standards and Guidelines for the transport of livestock will allow you to assess the legal minimum welfare standards and recommendations to improve the experience for your horse.

The individual circumstances of the horse, including health, age and individual transport history should be considered. For example, horses never transported previously should be trained and familiarised with transport infrastructure before undertaking long journeys.

Prior to transporting horses from disaster areas, appropriate medical assessment must be performed.

Detailed considerations
Although most adult horses can be safely transported for long trips without access to feed or water, lactating or pregnant mares and foals should have special considerations. Mares must not be transported in the final four weeks of pregnancy. Horses in poor body condition should also not be transported for long distances. Different types of horses must be segregated during the journey. 

Horses must also be thoroughly assessed for any lameness. During transport, any mild lameness may be worsened by the weight shifting and vibration of the process. This means that even a mild lameness can make the journey uncomfortable for your horse.

Good planning is vital to ensure all aspects of the transport go smoothly and that a happy, healthy horse arrives at its intended destination.

Background
After long-distance transportation when weather conditions or ventilation have not been ideal, some horses can be very susceptible to developing pneumonia. Horses’ immune systems can become compromised due to the stress of transportation and the high levels of dust inhaled along the journey.

When the immune system and lungs are compromised during long distance transport, viral pneumonia can be a significant risk. Viral infections are likely to compromise the immune system even more, and can result in bacterial pneumonia, which is a very serious disease likely to threaten the horse’s life.

The problem
Horses that are more likely to be susceptible to transport pneumonia are those with less competent or compromised immune systems. Young horses, those stressed by training or exercise, poor body condition and old horses, are all likely to be more at risk of transport pneumonia.

Bacterial pneumonia due to transport or “shipping fever” is not likely to be contagious and is caused most commonly by a streptococcus bacterium. These bacteria can multiply rapidly and cause serious clinical symptoms in 24 hours. This infection can also be complicated by the invasion of other types of bacteria. If the infection is not treated promptly, your horse can develop complications like fluid on the lungs or abscesses. Any of these infections can lead to long-term damage to the lungs, which can be irreversible and result, ultimately, in death.

Treatment
Treatment for a bacterial infection must always include antibiotics, ideally chosen after the offending bacteria has been identified and its susceptibility to particular antibiotics has also been identified. Supplementary therapies, such as drainage of the chest with tubes, nebulizer treatment with medications that dilate the airways and decrease the mucus film can also be considered. Also useful can be medications like cough syrups to promote fluid being expelled, immunomodulators that regulate the immune system, and sometimes intravenous fluid therapy and other medications to help prevent complications, such as laminitis.

Like all infections, a pinch of prevention is worth a bucket of treatment and, as mentioned in the first article, good planning for transport will minimise the likelihood of this most serious outcome.

Given the FMD situation that has arisen in Bali, and viral fragments sensationalised on the news, we’re commonly being asked the question “are there vaccines available? And when should we start?”.

Vaccination will be considered as a potential strategy on the day an FMD incursion is detected. The vaccine will not be available prior to this point, in part due to there being many strains of FMD, and typing the virus will inform which vaccine is appropriate. Additionally, there are trade implications of vaccinating animals against FMD.

Vaccination may be useful for a range of purposes during an FMD outbreak in Australia. Depending on when the disease is detected, which species it is detected in, how long it’s suspected to have been in Australia, ability to resource vaccination, animal welfare considerations, trade implications and advice from the Consultative Committee on Emergency Animal Diseases, vaccination may be used in the following manner:

• Protective vaccination: to protect groups of animals from infection or clinical signs of disease. This can include ring vaccination, targeted vaccination and buffer vaccination strategies.
• Suppressive vaccination: to control the spread of FMD in and out of an infected area by vaccinating selected groups of animals.
• Mass (blanket) vaccination: to protect large numbers of animals over a wide area from infection and clinical signs of disease.

So, the simple answer is no, you can’t vaccinate your livestock with FMD vaccines in Australia right now. In the event of an FMD incursion, vaccines will be considered and very strategically utilized in the effort to eliminate the virus from Australia and re-establishment trade for affected industries as quickly as possible.

Image attribute: Mark Stevenson

Foot and Mouth Disease- what to watch for

FMD is a highly contagious animal disease that affects all cloven-hoofed animals including cattle, sheep, goats, camelids, deer and pigs. It does
not affect horses. This disease is different to 'Hand, Foot and Mouth' disease that you may associate with  preschool- aged children. 

It is critical that all livestock owners here in Australia know what FMD looks like, and that they check their animals regularly. If you are suspicious your stock have Foot-and-Mouth Disease, you must report to the Emergency Animal Disease Watch Hotline on 1800 675 888, NSW DPI or a Local Land Services District Veterinarian.

If you are travelling overseas especially, ensure all footwear, clothing and equipment is free of mud, animal manure and mucus. It is recommended that people who have been in contact with FMD-infected animals or infected
areas DO NOT visit Australian farms or handle livestock for at least 7 days after returning to Australia.

All livestock owners should have stringent biosecurity measures in place on their property, including accurate records of livestock movement. To access free farm biosecurity advice and resources visit farmbiosecurity.com.au

Signs to watch for include: 

• Lameness
• Drooling
• Blisters, or sloughing (as on the tongue in the picture above)
  
  

Product labels have a wealth of information on them, and unknown to many, you can easily access them on the PUBCRIS website. This handy tool allows you to find detailed information about the legal use of agvet chemicals in Australia. All the veterinary products that we provide to you can be looked up in this app, along with herbicides, pesticides, dairy cleansers, etc. It has label directions, meat and milk withholding periods, specific indications for use, company details who hold the registration, etc. It contains the most up-to-date information on registered products that are available.