Wild animals may spread Salmonella
Wild animals may spread Salmonella
INCREASING cases of Salmonella typhimurium in dairy and beef cattle in Moray could be due to wild animals or large numbers of geese, gulls or crows on pastures.
In a letter to Vet Record, SAC vet George Gunn describes an investigation into a cluster of five S typhimurium DT170 cases in a Welcome-funded project.
Losses due to infection can be high, one unit lost eight sucker cows and three cows aborted. More than 500 dung pats from this herd were analysed and S typhimurium was identified in 10% of samples, says Mr Gunn. "This high level of infection was surprising."
There is increasing interest in salmonella infection, due to possible human risks. But only two cases have been reported in people in Scotland this year, one was due to foreign travel and the other did not live in the Moray area, he adds.
Preliminary investigations found no obvious associations between farms, other than their location. However, affected farms reported large geese, gull or crow populations on their pastures.
Follow-up work is planned to identify the source of the bacteria and discover whether birds or other wild animals spread the disease. Once known, it is hoped that practical advice can be given to reduce the risks to cattle. *