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Cattle lungworm survey launched
The survey will remain open all year.
COWS wants to better understand treatment efficacy. 

The Control of Worms Sustainably (COWS) group has launched a new survey to discover more about the treatment of lungworm in the UK.

It follows an industry workshop last year, hosted by COWS and supported by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, where it was recognised that a standardised approach to assessing wormer efficacy was necessary.

Helen Carty, veterinary centre manager for Scotland's Rural College, explained: “In recent years, we have been aware of reports of suspected lack of efficacy of wormers to treat lungworm infections in cattle.

“But no-one is sure whether this due to growing resistance of lungworm to the wormers or is it solely down to poor administration, such as under-dosing or inappropriate timing?”

COWS hopes that the results of the survey will help them to learn more about when outbreaks of lungworm occur, the class of stock most affected, the clinical signs shown, and how well the cattle respond to treatment.

The survey will stay open throughout 2024. Veterinary surgeons can submit to it as many times as they wish to. The results will be published in 2025.

Ms Carty added: “We would like vets to supply information from lungworm outbreaks, tell us about any testing undertaken and response to treatment.

“We are not expecting to see a lot of survey forms coming in until the second half of the grazing season but want vets to be aware that the survey is available.”

The survey can be accessed here.

Image © Shutterstock

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Reporting service for dead wild birds updated

News Story 1
 The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has updated its online reporting service for dead wild birds.

The new version allows those reporting a dead bird to drop a pin on a map when reporting the location. It also includes a wider range of wild bird species groups to select from when describing the bird.

The online service, which helps APHA to monitor the spread of diseases such as avian influenza, can be accessed here. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
NI chief vet urges bluetongue vigilance

Northern Ireland's chief veterinary officer (CVO) has urged farmers to be vigilant for signs of bluetongue, after the Animal and Plant Health Agency warned there was a very high probability of further cases in Great Britain.

There have been 126 confirmed cases of bluetongue virus serotype 3 in England since November 2023, with no cases reported in Northern Ireland. The movement of live ruminants from Great Britain to Northern Ireland is currently suspended.

According to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), the virus is most likely to enter Northern Ireland through infected animals or germplasm (semen or ova) being imported.

Brian Dooher, Northern Ireland's CVO, said: "Surveillance for this disease within Northern Ireland has been increased to assist with detection at the earliest opportunity which will facilitate more effective control measures."

Farmers should report any suspicions of the disease to their private veterinary practitioner, the DAERA Helpline on 0300 200 7840 or their local DAERA Direct Veterinary Office.