Medical authorities are grappling with the Australian public’s indifference and exhaustion towards vaccination. The Covid threat is far from most people’s minds, and further boosters seem to be an idea of the past. Even flu vaccine rates have fallen as communities try to forget the pains of the worst of our Covid past.

This attitude may also be affecting the thinking of many horse owners who have had personal experience with the Hendra virus, vaguely remember some negative publicity about the Hendra vaccine and neglect to keep their horses protected against Hendra. The most southern case of Hendra virus (near Newcastle, NSW) has made the news on 19th July 2023.

Vaccines aim to prevent and reduce infection
Vaccines, by their nature, are a preventative tool to control disease and have been incredibly successful in minimising or even eradicating some of the main health scourges to humankind. The success of vaccines against Smallpox and Polio are prime examples. Moreover, the most successful vaccine programs are not purely voluntary but structured and organised to ensure optimal timing and participation. Structured vaccination programs benefit the public, who will quickly forget what is needed to prevent a disease like whooping cough, for example, when the vaccine programs that contain it have ensured it is largely unseen. It is important to note that no cases of Hendra virus have been detected in horses vaccinated for Hendra virus. 

Hendra Vaccine
Tragically, four of the seven people infected with Hendra died, along with over 100 horses. The fact that a vaccine against Hendra exists at all is a minor miracle of chance and coincidence involving some incredibly dedicated researchers. A highly effective vaccine has been developed to protect lives.

The Hendra threat, like COVID19, has not disappeared, and history is littered with disease outbreaks when the protection afforded by vaccines wanes due to public apathy. We must maintain vaccination against Hendra in all at-risk horses to protect those horses and the people who care for them, including veterinarians.

Assess the risks and take protective measures
The Hendra vaccine has been used effectively in Australia for about 10 years, and the number of Hendra outbreaks has fallen dramatically. However, there was a case on the news last week, and others last year in Mackay near where the first case occurred before Hendra was “discovered” later in the Brisbane racing stables.

Other things that you can do to reduce the risk of Hendra virus includes: 

- do not feed your horses under trees where bats feed or roost

- consider fencing off trees that are known to be inhabited by bats

- ensure your horse(s) are up to date with Hendra vaccination

- isolate sick horses from people and animals

- consider personal protective equipment (PPE) if your horse is sick

- be aware of the signs of Hendra virus in horses: this can be vague, like colic, nasal discharge, and neurological signs

Have a conversation with your vet about your horse’s Hendra risk. Ensure that your Hendra protection is appropriate. It’s something that all horse owners need to consider. The Hendra virus risk is largely due to bats moving into areas where people keep horses. The bat’s traditional environment is changing due to human activity. Human encroachment on bat habitat continues, and with humans come horses, so the risk of Hendra virus remains.

It's common to see calf scours (diarrhoea) outbreaks in beef herds, especially during rainy periods. To help you prevent these outbreaks, here are some useful tips:

Preventing an outbreak of scours:

• Target a tight joining period: Ideally, aim for a joining period of less than eight weeks.
  
• Rotate calving paddocks annually: Use a new calving paddock each year, and ensure the paddock has some pasture cover. Once used for calving, avoid using the same paddock again for at least 18 months.
  
• Manage the calving area: Avoid manure build-up by regularly moving hay and grain feeders. Provide multiple water troughs. Only introduce cows into the calving paddock two weeks before the expected start of calving to decrease the faecal load on the pasture.
  
• Maximise colostrum intake: Adequate colostrum intake boosts calves' immunity. Address calving problems promptly is important, as they can cause calves to miss out on colostrum. Corrective measures are needed when dystocia exceeds 10% in heifers and 2% in cows. If you have a cow or heifer without a calf to feed, milk her and freeze the colostrum in case you need it in the future.

Treating a Scouring Calf:

• Provide free access to water: Ensure calves can easily reach water troughs. Ideally, the trough height should be around 70cm.
  
• Consider electrolytes: If possible, provide electrolytes to scouring calves. Alternatively, bring them into a hospital pen for treatment. The hospital pen should be dry, draught-free and warm.
  
• Administer anti-inflammatories: Help relieve pain in calves, allowing them to continue drinking and maintain their fluid intake.
  
• Use antibiotics selectively: Some cases of scours require antibiotic treatment. Please consult us to determine the need for antibiotics in your situation. Faecal tests may be performed, checking for some infections and parasites. 

For more advice on preventing and treating scours outbreaks, please consult with one of our veterinary experts today!

It's common to have parasites in livestock, but raising alpacas and camelids makes parasite control more tricky than for sheep and cattle. Part of the problem is that there are very few drugs tested for use on camelids, and even fewer that have active drug registration in these species. 

Barbers Pole worm is a round worm that attacks the gastrointestinal system, and can also lead to significant anaemia as blood is taken by the worms, and leaked into the gut. The worm has a very fast life cycle, with a single female able to pass 5000-10000 eggs per day! Simple maths can easily tell how a little problem can become a big one. These parasites can exist in temperatures ranging from 10-30 degrees Celsius, so it is still a problem in our district, although there may be arrested (slowed) development and progression over winter months. 

Resistance to worming products has happened with some strains of Barbers Pole Worm, and varies from property to property, and sometimes from animal to animal. Pregnancy and lactation, as well as stress from movement or other illnesses, can make individual animals more prone to Barbers Pole worm infections, and other parasites. Llamas seem to be more at risk than alpacas. 

Quarantine procedures and appropriate use of medications are two ways that you can be strategic about managing risks and worm burdens in your stock. Take note and make action early if you notice ill thrift or unwell animals. Post mortems can be conducted on farm or in clinic if you have unexpected losses. 

For more advice on diagnosing and treating Barber's Pole worm outbreaks, please consult with one of our veterinarians!

The decision to wean calves at a younger and lighter age can significantly impact the efficiency and profitability of your beef production. Consider the following benefits:

1. Instant feed bill savings: Weaning calves earlier allows for an immediate 40% reduction in feed expenses. You can optimise feed utilisation and allocate resources more efficiently by transitioning calves to high-energy-density feed instead of feeding cows for milk production.
2. Improved reproductive performance: Weaning calves at a younger age reduces the stress on cows and enables them to cycle faster, leading to improved reproductive performance. Better performance can result in more efficient breeding, shorter calving intervals, and increased overall herd productivity.
3. Enhanced weight gain: Younger calves have a higher capacity for efficient feed conversion. Weaning them earlier onto a high-quality diet promotes better weight gain and reduces the cost associated with it.
   
4. Increased cow longevity: By weaning calves earlier, cows can benefit from a period of recovery and rejuvenation before the next breeding season, which helps to extend their longevity.
5. Better feed utilisation: Weaning calves younger and lighter allows for improved management of your feed resources. By directly feeding young stock rather than diverting resources to milk production, you can optimise feed allocation and potentially increase the carrying capacity of your pastures.
6. Disease control: Weaning calves earlier allows you to drench for parasites while in the yards and get them onto a sound animal health plan.

We're available for a chat if you have more questions about weaning. Contact a member of our friendly vet team today!

Bladder worm is the name of a tapeworm that lives and breeds in dogs (both domesticated and foxes). It spreads to sheep as they graze in pastures contaminated with infected dog faeces.

How do animals contract bladder worms?

• Dogs & foxes are the definitive hosts, and they become infected from eating raw offal containing cysts.
• The tapeworm then takes up residence in the infected animal's intestine. It produces eggs that are passed out in faeces, contaminating pastures.
• Goats, cattle, sheep and pigs are intermediate hosts. They become infested when they graze on pastures contaminated with tapeworm eggs.
• Once ingested, the eggs hatch and the larvae migrate through the liver to the liver surface (and onto other organs), forming cysts.

What are the health consequences of bladder worms?
It's important to note that sheep usually have no production or health consequences due to bladder worms. However, sometimes production losses occur. On rare occasions, the parasite causes sudden death due to severe liver damage with a secondary bacterial infection. Parasites migrating through the liver could trigger black disease (clostridial disease). However, the latter generally only occurs in unvaccinated sheep. This is a good reason to check that vaccinations are part of your regular preventative health plan. 

What happens to animals with cysts at the abattoir?

• Where individual cysts are detected, workers will trim the infected liver.
• The abattoir will condemn the carcass when multiple cysts are present, or the line is significantly affected.

Treatment and prevention strategies

There is no treatment for bladder worms in livestock. Farmers must break the lifecycle using optimal management strategy:

• Worm your dogs: Worm all dogs on the property regularly with a praziquantel product (including all dogs visiting the property with contractors, family, friends, etc.). For farm dogs eating offal, dog and cat worming should happen every 4-6weeks to minimise this lifecycle. 
  
• Secure dogs at night, and don't allow them to eat sheep or goat meat: Feed commercial dry dog food to your dogs, and prevent them from scavenging or roaming.
  
• Dispose of carcases thoughtfully: Clean up and dispose of dead animals. Consider burying, burning or disposing of meat in a fenced (dog-proof) offal pit.

You can find more information on best-practise bladder worm management in the National Sheep Health Monitoring Program.

Wherever you find horses, you'll probably find strangles. Strangles can occur in all types and ages of horses but are most often seen in young, naïve groups of horses previously unexposed to this disease. In such outbreaks, it is common that about 3% of horses would die due to the disease. Depending on the protection in the population, including vaccination and past exposure, between 20-80% of horses can be clinically affected. The control management of this disease in a population of horses can be very challenging.

Signs
The disease is a bacterial upper respiratory tract infection caused by Streptococcus equi subspecies equi (S.equi). The bacteria infect mucous membranes of the mouth and nose, then the neck lymph nodes. These lymph nodes often swell and restrict the horse's airway and can form abscesses and rupture.
Horses will show signs from 3-14 days after exposure. Horses can then exhibit lethargy, fever, nasal discharge, swollen lymph nodes and reluctance to eat. Abscesses in the lymph nodes can rupture and discharge. Most horses recover quite quickly. However, a small number of horses can develop more long-term symptoms, including chronic infection of the guttural pouches, abscesses in the lymph nodes of the chest and abdomen (bastard strangles) and some other rarer complications.

Treatment
Treatment will vary depending on the stage of the condition at the time of diagnosis. If diagnosed early, for example, when the horse shows the first signs of fever, antibiotic treatment can be used to prevent the more severe signs of the disease, including abscess formation. However, once lymph nodes have swollen, antibiotic therapy is often of limited value, and the disease is often left to run its course with supportive therapies.
There are varying schools of thought about antibiotic treatment. There is some evidence that early antibiotic treatment will only delay the onset of severe clinical symptoms and may even predispose the horse to get bastard strangles or other serious complications. However, generally, this therapy is effective and safe if antibiotics are given early enough at the correct dose and time.

Prevention
An inactivated vaccine against strangles is available. Although vaccination with this vaccine does not provide complete protection from the diseases, it will still decrease symptoms' severity and help control outbreaks. To ensure optimal protection, we recommend foals receive three vaccinations at two-week intervals starting at 12 weeks old. Yearly boosters are necessary, and we recommend mares receive boosters two to six weeks before foaling. The yearly booster for your adult horse can be the 2-in-1 vaccine which also protects your horse from Tetanus, which can also be life threatening in horses. 
In addition to vaccination, biosecurity measures such as isolating affected horses, strict hygiene procedures and quarantining new arrivals will also assist in managing strangles outbreaks.

Combatting drench resistance in livestock, particularly beef cattle, is becoming increasingly important in the agricultural industry. Researchers are investigating various strategies to slow down resistance development to address this issue. One promising approach is the use of combination drenches, which contain multiple active ingredients. A recent study in southern NSW aimed to compare the effectiveness of single-active macrocyclic lactone (ML) drenches with combination drenches in beef herds.

The study detected resistance to single active ML drenches in all nine herds tested. Specifically, the study observed resistance in Cooperia and Haemonchus on nine farms. Testing also found Ostertagia and Trichostrongylus resistance on two farms. In contrast, all tests showed highly successful outcomes when using ML combination anthelmintics. The test results showed efficacy rates ranged from 99% to 100% across all beef herds.

These findings strongly indicate that employing combination drenches is a superior strategy for effective worm control in cattle herds compared to using single active drenches. By incorporating multiple active ingredients, you can significantly enhance your drench program's effectiveness and slow down resistance development.

The study's results reinforce previous findings, highlighting the prevalence of ML resistance in cattle gastrointestinal nematodes in Australia. We recommend a proactive approach by integrating combination drenches into your worm management strategy to safeguard your herd and ensure effective worm control. Faecal egg count reduction tests, where you check that the wormer has been effective by checking for faecal egg counts after worming, can be an important part of this strategy. 

Remember, staying ahead of anthelmintic resistance is crucial for the long-term success of your beef operation. Implementing proactive measures, such as using combination anthelmintics, will help you protect your animals, maintain productivity, and ensure the sustainability of your farm.

Artificial insemination (AI) has emerged as a valuable tool in modern commercial beef operations, offering many benefits to farmers. By leveraging AI, cattle breeders can access superior genetics, improve reproductive efficiency, enhance herd management, and achieve greater profitability. The advantages of artificial insemination in commercial beef herds include:

1. Genetic Advancement:
AI enables access to genetics that are not readily available through natural mating. Farmers can select sires based on desired traits such as growth rates, carcass quality, disease resistance, and temperament.

2. Increased Reproductive Efficiency:
Producers can maximise pregnancy rates through fixed-time insemination protocols, reducing the time and cost associated with maintaining and managing bulls.

3. Herd Management Flexibility:
With AI, farmers have flexibility in managing their breeding program. You can synchronise the breeding cycle, ensuring a concentrated calving period that aligns with market demands and fits in with other operational needs on the farm.

4. Disease Prevention and Biosecurity:
AI minimises the risk of disease transmission compared to natural mating. AI reduces the potential spread of sexually transmitted diseases and reproductive disorders. This biosecurity advantage is particularly significant in preventing the introduction and dissemination of conditions such as pestivirus, trichomoniasis, or vibriosis.

5. Enhanced Marketability and Quality:
AI allows producers to produce uniform, high-quality offspring with desirable traits. Thus, resulting in consistency and predictability, improving marketability and allowing for value-added opportunities. Producers can select sires known for superior carcass characteristics, resulting in a more uniform and desirable end product.

6. No bull!

Not having a bull on site can mean less demand for fencing, safer OH&S and less risk having an expensive testosterone fuelled beast on site. This also means that you don't need to find the bull feed or other preventative healh measures across the other 10.5months of the year.