Goat Health

The Dutch Ministry of Agriculture have put out this evening, a statement to say that the strain of BTV6 that has turned up on four premises “Corresponds to a vaccine strain” used in a live multivalent vaccine produced in South Africa. (Oderstepoort Laboratories)
They are in effect confident that this strain of BTV6 has resulted from the use of this vaccine.
What is not clear, and will surely be under investigation is whether the appearance of this strain in Holland is due to the illegal use of the vaccine in Holland, or whether it is the result of an imported animal which had had the vaccine, becoming a carrier. The surveillance which will now be carried out by the Dutch Authorities will over the next two to three weeks determine the likely scale of spread, and thus the likely threat to livestock next year.
Live BTV vaccines are routinely used in Africa because they give a solid and long lasting immunity. The downside is that they can “go wild” producing disease from time to time, instead of immunity!. This is not considered important in countries such as those in Africa, where there is a huge reservoir of endemic bluetongue in wildlife, and the occasional vaccination producing a rogue virus adds only an insignificant amount to that already circulating naturally!.
However, In Europe, where eradication of any given strain is the medium term goal, the use of live vaccines would, as this episode appears to demonstrate, make elimination of disease impossible, and hence we have elected only to allow the use of killled vaccines, which cannot cause disease in this way, and are safer in use as the live vaccines, but NOT the dead ones, can also cause abortion and stillbirth.
Come to Chepstow on the Racecourse (Goat Veterinary Society Meeting on November 20th - http://www.goatvetsoc.co.uk/ for programme) , and get an up to the minute update, and a chance to question the real experts!!.
Nick Clayton.

Revised charges for CAE testing (31/03/09) Latest on Bluetongue (29/10/08) Scrapie Monitoring Scheme ( 30/10/08 ) Goat identification (30/09/08) Risk assessment of drinking raw goat milk - from GVS (05/08/08) Advice note for goat keepers from BGS Hon Vets (21/07/08) Advised precautions in regard to possible TB cross infection (21/07/08) Tuberculosis in goats in the UK (19/07/08) Bluetongue Update (12 /06/08) Homeopathic Nosode (19/04/08) Collection of fallen goats for testing for scrapie (30/03/07)


Revised charges for CAE testing (31/03/09)
BGS CAE Testing by SAC
This is to notify Members that charges for CAE serology testing will be updated for 2009-2010.
Number of samples in batch 1 to 3 4 to 9 >10	Old Price 2008/9 £6.60 £5.90 £5.20	New Price 2009/10 £6.70 £6.00 £5.30
Lorna Drysdale Business Support Manager SAC Veterinary Services Allan Watt Building Bush Estate Penicuik Midlothian EH26 0QE Tel: 0131 535 3139 Fax: 0131 535 3131 Email: Lorna.Drysdale@sac.co.uk



Latest on Bluetongue ( 29/10/08 )
The Dutch Ministry of Agriculture have put out this evening, a statement to say that the strain of BTV6 that has turned up on four premises “Corresponds to a vaccine strain” used in a live multivalent vaccine produced in South Africa. (Oderstepoort Laboratories) They are in effect confident that this strain of BTV6 has resulted from the use of this vaccine. What is not clear, and will surely be under investigation is whether the appearance of this strain in Holland is due to the illegal use of the vaccine in Holland, or whether it is the result of an imported animal which had had the vaccine, becoming a carrier. The surveillance which will now be carried out by the Dutch Authorities will over the next two to three weeks determine the likely scale of spread, and thus the likely threat to livestock next year. Live BTV vaccines are routinely used in Africa because they give a solid and long lasting immunity. The downside is that they can “go wild” producing disease from time to time, instead of immunity!. This is not considered important in countries such as those in Africa, where there is a huge reservoir of endemic bluetongue in wildlife, and the occasional vaccination producing a rogue virus adds only an insignificant amount to that already circulating naturally!. However, In Europe, where eradication of any given strain is the medium term goal, the use of live vaccines would, as this episode appears to demonstrate, make elimination of disease impossible, and hence we have elected only to allow the use of killled vaccines, which cannot cause disease in this way, and are safer in use as the live vaccines, but NOT the dead ones, can also cause abortion and stillbirth. Come to Chepstow on the Racecourse (Goat Veterinary Society Meeting on November 20th - http://www.goatvetsoc.co.uk/ for programme) , and get an up to the minute update, and a chance to question the real experts!!. Nick Clayton.



Scrapie Monitoring Scheme ( 30/10/08 )
Members of the Scrapie Monitoring Scheme may have received the rules of the scheme from Defra prior to the anticipated transfer of the scheme to the SAC in January 2009. It may appear that the rules have changed but as far as I can see they have not. When reading the document, it is important to read the section that applies to Dairy Goats. Most of what is written applies to sheep. New for this year is that Males in herds which are on the SMS must not be mated to females which are not and vice versa. Annual renewals and new joiners should send their forms to their Local Animal Health Office for the remainder of 2008. Charlie Peck


Goat Identification ( 30/09/08 )
Following email was received by Charlie Peck from a member of the Defra Livestock and Livestock Products Identification Team: Subject: Electronic Identification (EID) and individual recording - conveying messages to Goat Keepers. Further to our phone conversation on Friday grateful for confirming that you will include an article in the British Goat Society (News Bulletin) on Electronic Identification (EID) and individual recording. Key Points EID is coming into force on 31 December 2009 . This will be mandatory for sheep born after this date EID is not mandatory for GOAT KEEPERS. This is because there is a derogation for Member States with a goat population of less than 160,000 to electronically identify animals should they wish to do so. However, this derogation does not exempt Member States from the need to individually record animal details. This means goats will need to be individually recorded on a holding register We are looking at ways of conveying messages about EID and individual recording to Goat keepers. Your News Bulletin will be a extremely helpful route in enabling these messages to be relayed. If there are other routes you think we should be using to get our messages across to Goat keepers (ie meetings/presentations) grateful if you provide relevant details. Look forward to hearing from you Many thanks Naheed Sarwar Livestock and Livestock Products Identification Team Tel: 020 7238 4633 GTN 238 4633 Fax: 020 7238 6214 Area 5E, 9 Milbank, Defra, c/o Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR

Note from Charlie: I asked for derogation about three years ago and fortunately we have got it. This does not prevent anyone from using electronic identification if they want to but it would have to be a Defra approved device with Defra numbering (ear tag or rumen bolus). For Defra read the devolved administrations as well. Individual numbers need to be recorded on movement forms as well.



Risk assessment of drinking raw goat milk - from GVS ( 05/08/08 )
Raw milk is that which is not pasteurised before being consumed, either as milk, or as products such as cheese or yoghurt which are made from it. Pasteurisation kills over 99.99% of all bacteria. The process involves heating milk to a temperature of 72 degrees centigrade for 15 seconds and then rapidly cooling it again.. It can thus be mimicked by bringing milk to the boil, which will achieve the same result, and makes home consumed milk as safe to drink as that which has been pasteurised, and in particular guarantees freedom from viable TB bacteria. THE LIKELY RISK SCENARIOS A known infected herd where lesions of TB have been found at post mortem. Risk level. VERY HIGH for contracting TB. A herd where reactors have been found, but negative for visible lesions on post mortem Risk level MEDIUM TO HIGH. Although no lesions were found, you may still have culture positive animals, the cultures only being declared negative if nothing grows after 8 weeks. These animals can be infectious and while the milk itself is unlikely to be a danger per se, it could be contaminated during milking from handling the animal. These herds should in any case be retested after 60 days A herd which has bought in goats from another source known to have TB. Risk level, HIGH until the goats have been tested and found negative. Best practice is to test PRE purchase, and retest not less than 60 days later to allow early infected animals to become detectable.. A herd, members of which have been to shows, or had other similar contact with goats from infected herds. Risk level. probably LOW, BUT not minimal, and testing would be advised. Herds which have had contact with known infected cattle or other species. Risk level MEDIUM to HIGH. These goats must be tested. Herds which are in known TB “Hotspot” areas for either badgers or cattle, but with no known direct contact with either. Risk level, LOW, but still worth testing the goats. That is PROBABLY how the present outbreak started, but to put the risk in perspective, 1 instance in 50 years does not point to an overall high risk. Herds which have no contact with other possibly infected goats, and which are outside known infected areas. Risk level MINIMAL. It would be very surprising if such goats were found to carry TB, but it is just not QUITE impossible. RISK LEVEL OF CONTACT for picking up TB So far, TB has been picked up in a number of herds. At present, all of these are direct tracings from known sources of infection. The next stage is the “Onward tracing” from those herds, of herds into which they may have sold animals. The next concern is shows and other similar gatherings. There is at present no known evidence that this outbreak of TB has been spread through contact at shows. However, it is plainly a theoretical risk, and whether that is translated into an actual risk will depend upon how the goats were housed, in particularly whether potentially infected goats were housed so that they could contact others. That is a line of tracing yet to be undertaken, so it is difficult to quantify what the riskmight be. THE LAW Under the dairy hygeine regulations, all animals producing raw milk for sale, need to be tested for TB. Some clarification is needed as to how this will be applied in goats, but plainly ALL herds producing raw milk/products, will need to be tested as a matter of course to maintain confidence in the product.. This risk assessment is produced by the Goat Veterinary Society in good faith, but can only be taken as a guide. In the current situation, we recommend that all producers of raw milk for consumption, whether at home or for sale, should have their goats tested. We also must stress that testing is not a guarantee that an individual goat is producing milk that is safe to drink, as the test does not pick out all infected animals due to the cyclical production of the antibodies upon which the accuracy of the test depends. POLICY TB in goats has been extremely rare in goats for the last 50 years. DEFRA, in conjunction with the BGS and the GVS is seeking to stamp out this outbreak if at all possible. It has however to be said that the circumstances which are assumed to have led to this outbreak, are unlikely not be repeated, in particular as TB in cattle has become so much more widespread in cattle over the last ten years. The GVS and the BGS welcome the actions being taken by DEFRA, and support them, and are actively contributing to disease control through membership of an ad hoc group which has been set up to contain the current outbreak. DEFRA have stressed how helpful goatkeepers have been in assisting them, and indeed, eradication can only be achieved with that help. It would be a concern if any goatkeeper tried to ignore the facts, and thus helped prolong the outbreak to the detriment of others, and in particular, of goat welfare. Nick Clayton (GVS).

Advice notes for goat keepers - from BGS Hon. Vets. (21/07/08)
Following the recent outbreak of TB in goats, the British Goat Society and its members have some important decisions to make to ensure that the disease is controlled during the present outbreak and to prevent the reintroduction of the disease in future years. The Goat Veterinary Society, together with DEFRA and the Welsh Assembly Government veterinary surgeons, have produced a `Question and Answer' document that all goatkeepers should read. Although not definitely confirmed, present indications are that the bacterium involved in the current outbreak is Mycobacterium bovis , the cause of TB in cattle. How goats became infected has not been determined, but the initial incident was identified in an area in which the level of TB in cattle is high. Other possible routes of entry are via contact with infected wildlife such as badgers or deer. The outbreak was first discovered in west Wales , in an area where M. bovis in cattle is endemic. Testing and tracing of possible infected goats and animals in contact with them have been carried out by veterinary surgeons from the Welsh Assembly Government and DEFRA, following the protocol that is standard for cattle. Hopefully, most of the infected goats have already been detected, but until tracing and testing is completed, the situation remains unclear and even then the possibility will still remain that undetected carrier goats exist in show herds. The present strain of tuberculosis appears to be very aggressive in goats, and although at present, disease appears to have been confined to the Golden Guernsey breed, other breeds are likely to be susceptible. The organism locally (in West Wales ) does not cause more severe disease in cattle – so it may well be that we are faced with a greater susceptibility to disease in goats (rather than a more aggressive organism), and this is of concern. This year Veterinary surgeons from the Welsh Assembly Government and DEFRA have advised that the safest course of action would be to have goats tested: Before being shown Before being moved to a new home Before being taken to taken for mating, particularly if being boarded Before accepting goats for mating or boarding Show secretaries should carry out a risk assessment to determine the risk at their own shows. The degree of risk will depend on the possible contact of exhibitors' herds with animals known to have TB and/or the attendance at shows last year or this year where infected goats may have been present, e.g. the Breed Shows. Some shows in high risk areas have already been cancelled; other shows, such as the Royal Welsh, have asked for exhibitors' goats to be tested before attending the show. Sensible penning at shows will also reduce the risk of disease transmission. Wherever possible back-to-back penning of different herds should be avoided, so that there is no direct nose-to nose contact and stealing of other herds' fodder and green food. Any goat with respiratory disease, with or without wasting, should be examined by a veterinary surgeon and tested for TB if the clinical signs are at all suspicious. Any goat that dies or is culled because of respiratory signs/wasting should be sent for a post mortem examination at a Veterinary Investigation Centre. Any bought-in goat(s) should be quarantined for at least 6 weeks and then preferably retested before mixing with the herd. Next year Any decision on what to do next year is wholly dependent on what happens over the next few months – hopefully, measures currently being taken will eradicate infection. There is however a high level of TB infection in cattle in certain parts of England and Wales, with concomitant infection of wildlife, which means that there is an ongoing risk of TB being reintroduced into goats, particularly where goats are grazing outdoors in areas of endemic infection. Veterinary authorities from England , Wales and Scotland have been clear that it is up to goatkeepers to agree on testing and control procedures necessary to prevent the reintroduction and spread of TB within the national herd. The focus of official testing will be on herds selling unpasteurised milk or milk products. Testing of other herds will be at the expense of the owner. Goatkeepers and the BGS need to decide on what, if any, TB testing should be routinely carried out. This could depend on what part of the country animals are from and how they are kept. For instance, premovement testing is compulsory for cattle from areas where TB is endemic, as is testing if animals are being moved directly from one show to another. On the other hand, goats that are not grazed outside in the eastern parts of England are unlikely to become infected. The BGS could ask for all goats to be tested annually before the start of the show season, with TB testing carried out at the same time as routine CAE testing, with an additional visit from the veterinary surgeon 3 days later to `read' the test. Although skin testing appears to be accurately identifying animals with infection, the nature of the disease means that not every infected animal will be picked up at any one test, so a single test minimises risk, but does not eliminate it. In addition shows could ask for animals to be tested just before individual shows and it would be sensible for goats to be tested before moving to a new home. Any testing regime is going to be an additional financial burden on goatkeepers at a time of rising fuel and feed costs and the requirement to vaccinate against bluetongue, but the risk from TB is unlikely to be reduced in the near future and testing is likely to be a necessary burden if the problems of 2008 are not going to be repeated in future years. The discussion on future policy needs to take place soon, so that consensus can be reached before the start of 2009. John Matthews, David Harwood (Honorary Veterinary Surgeons, British Goat Society)


Advised precautions in regard to possible TB cross infection (21/07/08)
Show organisers should try to arrange penning with the aim of avoiding physical contact with goats from other herds. The centre pens could be arranged in blocks, allocationg one block per exhibitor. The outside pens pose less of a problem but a spare pen should be allocated to ensure no physical contact between herds. Exhibitors Don't allow physical contact between your goats and ones from a different herd. This is most likely to occur when goats are gathering to go into the ring and when leaving it. Stand far enough away from the next exhibitor when in the ring so that no physical contact can take place. Don't feed milk to kids which has been through the communal weighing bucket. Don't use milk from another herd either. If no milk is available, give warm water in their bottle or bucket but don't use water that has been heated in a communal urn. Be aware that there are risks to human health in drinking unpasteurised milk from an infected animal. If shows ask that goats be tested for TB prior to the show, we must comply. Hopefully this will only occur in high risk areas. Transmission of TB at a show has not been confirmed as far as I am aware but there is a risk that it could happen. Charlie Peck I hope that all members will be supportive and have understanding for those people who have lost their goats or are awaiting test results. They are not responsible for this situation but they are behaving in a very responsible way. As you will see from Nick Claytons report, Defra have acknowleged the help they have been given in tracing animals which might be at risk.



Bluetongue Update: (12/06/08)
Email received by the BGS Office Dear all Please find attached, the link to the Defra Bluetongue movements pages http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/notifiable/bluetongue/movements/index.htm . I wish to draw your attention to the following change to the Bluetongue movement licences: New conditions for the movement of pregnant animals, which means that animals must be naturally immune or vaccinated before insemination. They may then use the existing movement conditions for exiting zones. This is in response to recent amendments to EU legislation with regard to controlling trans-placental transmission of disease. Regards *Myrtle O'Keefe* *Emergency Response Capability Team* *Food and Farming Group* Nobel House, Area 5A 17 Smith Square London SW1P 3JR Tel: 020 7238 6201





This is to notify Members that charges for CAE AGID testing will rise by inflation from 1st April 2008. The prices are still highly discounted due to the large number of samples submitted.
Liz Coats pp Barti Synge SAC Veterinary Services Allan Watt Building, Bush Estate, Penicuik, Midlothian, EH26 0QE Tel: 0131 535 3039. E.mail: Liz.Coats@sac.co.uk.



Homeopathic Nosode (19/04/08)
Tim Garry has been using a homeopathic nosode in his cattle's water trough for some time & it has been successful in warding off flies. The nosode has now been adapted to include midges as well & so could be useful in helping prevent the spread of Bluetongue. The nosode can be purchased from Crossgates Bioenergetics Ltd. Phone No. 0845 1308236. Information from Sue Gow of the British Alpine Breed Society. This should not be seen as a substitute for vaccination. Charlie Peck (19/04/08)


Collection of fallen goats for testing for scrapie (30/03/07)
URGENT
Letter from Defra - March 2007
The European Commission is currently reviewing EU wide surveillance for sheep and goats in the light of the two years of intensive testing which has not led to the detection of any additional BSE cases. In response to this review, and the likely reduction in surveillance levels, we are making some significant changes to our collection policy for fallen goats (see para. 3) Latest EU proposal - a) abattoir survey to be suspended for 2007 b) fallen goat survey to be reduced to 500 per annum. At the Stakeholder meeting last November, we informed the group that would need to review our collection policy for fallen goats in the light of the high numbers collected (2,486 in 2006) and the expected reduction in the testing requirements. We also stressed that we would be unable to collect all fallen goats over 18 months during 2007. So far in 2007, the UK has already met it's requirements and tested 501 fallen goats (up to 3rd March 2007 ) with no scrapie positives. New Collection Policy We are proposing to continue collecting all eligible goats repoted to the TSE Surveillance Helpline until 31st March 2007 . After this date, a quota will be imposed and only 30 fallen goats per month will be collected and disposed of free of charge. Fallen goats notified to the Helpline outside of this quota will have to be disposed of by alternative means (e.g. National Fallen Stock Company / local Animal By-Products premises). Goat keepers will still be required to notify the TSE Surveillance Helpline on 0800 525890 of any fallen goats aged over 18 months as this will remain a legal requirement. We are aware that the industry will not welcome the new policy. However, the free collection service was only introduced to ensure we were able to meet our EU testing obligations. We are certainly grateful for the support the industry has given us over the past two years. Publicity - Defra will notify goat farmers via an article in the next edition of the Farming Link in April 2007. 2006 survey - 3894 samples submitted of which 2487 * were tested. Target number for testing - 1000. 2007 survey - 650 samples submitted of which 501 * were tested. Target - 500 * not all samples were testable. Tel no. for the National Fallen Stock Company: 0845 0548888 The Defra Helpline told me there will be no collection of fallen stock on the above scheme between 1st & 16th April 2007 . It is a pity that they gave us so little notice ! Particular note should be made that it will still be a legal requirement to notify deaths of those over 18 months old. Charlie Peck. (30/3/07)