SPRING 2016 AHI NEWSLETTER Animal Health Ireland, 4-5 The Archways, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim, N41 WN27 071 9671928, admin@animalhealthireland.ie www.animalhealthireland.ie 1
CONTENTS Introduction Events And Media Focus on Technical Working Group Members BVD CellCheck Johne s Disease Beef HealthCheck IBR Parasite Control Animal Health Ireland, 4-5 The Archways, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim, N41 WN27 071 9671928, admin@animalhealthireland.ie www.animalhealthireland.ie
INTRODUCTION Joe O Flaherty, CEO CEO, Animal Health Ireland This quarterly newsletter is the first opportunity to report back to our stakeholders on progress in the BVD eradication programme in 2016. I am happy to say that, as noted in David Graham s detailed report below, the results for the year to date show a significant drop in the PI prevalence relative to 2015. The prevalence of calves giving positive results to the test has fallen to 0.14%, compared to 0.33% in 2015, and 0.66% when the compulsory programme started in 2013. This represents a decrease in PI prevalence over that period of more than 75%. David s report also contains two maps, which provide a graphic representation of the progress that is being made. The picture in relation to the retaining of PIs continues to improve, with just 302 PIs remaining alive on farm more than 7 weeks after the date of the initial test. Undoubtedly, the movement restrictions applied by DAFM to farms with retained PIs has played a key role in accelerating the removal of these animals, and the notification of neighbouring farms and of vets, once fully in place, will further enhance the biosecurity measures in the programme. The fewer PIs that are alive this year as we enter the risk period for PIcreation the more quickly eradication will be achieved, and I urge all of our stakeholders to use their own communications channels to reinforce this message. I have mentioned the Targeted Advisory Service on Animal Health (TASAH) in previous editions of this newsletter, and would like to make reference to it again this quarter. The current cycle of training of private veterinary practitioners in the delivery of on-farm herd investigations has been completed, with in excess of 500 vets now having partaken in the training. At farm level, AHI is receiving requests from farmers for this service, and the reports from completed investigations are are now being provided to farmers and to the ICBF database. I would strongly encourage any farmer who has had a BVD PI identified on the farm this year to avail of this new service, which is a really important step towards clearing the infection from the herd and in ensuring that the herd remains clear of the disease into the future. Rebecca Carroll s report below shows that the Beef HealthCheck programme is gathering impetus, with the completion of the AHI information meetings for the Temporary Veterinary Inspectors working in the 18 participating meat plants around the country. Live feeds of data to the ICBF database have started in a number of plants, and the programme is well on track to reach the target of recording the liver and lung lesions of at least 75% of the national beef kill by year end. Joe O Flaherty (CEO) 3
EVENTS AND MEDIA Gráinne Dwyer Communications and Event Manager Targeted Advisory Service on Animal Health (TASAH) In October, AHI successfully secured the contract for delivery of training and services as part of the Rural Development Plan 2014-2020, which is co-funded by the Irish government and the EU. DAFM have developed a Targeted Advisory Service on Animal Health (TASAH) for farmers, which will be delivered by trained veterinary practitioners The first phase of training for veterinary practitioners focused on on-farm investigation as a result of a BVD breakdown. 25 training sessions were held in venues around the country during February and March. Since December 2015, over 500 veterinary practitioners have now been trained and investigations have commenced for farmers who request an on-farm investigation following the identification of a PI calf born into their herd in 2016. TASAH training as part of the Johne s disease programme will commence for veterinary practitioners in mid-2016. Veterinary Practitioners working on case studies as part of the TASAH BVD Training in Tralee 4
Johne s Disease VRAMP Training To meet the continued demand for V-RAMP training, we held a training session on 5th of February in Kildalton Agricultural College, Piltown, Kilkenny where 25 veterinary practitioners attended. To date 450 PVPs have been approved to conduct an on-farm Risk Assessment Management Plan as part of the Johne s Disease Pilot Programme. Two further training sessions are scheduled for April. CalfCare Farmer Events In January over 1,600 farmers attended our CalfCare series of events. These events took place in nine locations around the country and were jointly hosted by AHI and Teagasc, in conjunction with Glanbia, Aurivo, Lakeland Dairies and Dairygold. The events were supported by Volac. Topics covered at each event were colostrum management, cryptosporidiosis/coccidiosis, the feeding of calf milk replacer (CMR) compared to whole milk in disease control, and labour management at calving/calf rearing. Grainne Dwyer AHI, Ger Kirby host farmer, Billy Cronin Dairygold, John Donworth Teagasc and Una Hickey Volac at the CalfCare event in Ballyneety, Limerick. 5
John Maher Teagasc, Richi Fitzgerald Teagasc, Billy Cronin Dairygold, Rebecca Carroll AHI and Una Hickey, Volac at the CalfCare event in Kilworth, Mitchelstown. 6
FOCUS ON TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP MEMBERS Name: Aideen Kennedy Profession: Researcher, Moorepark Research Centre, Fermoy TWG Membership: Johne s Disease Technical Working Group Aideen is originally from a dairy and suckler farm in Kilkenny. She qualified as a veterinary surgeon from UCD in 2009. She worked for a number of years in bovine, equine and small animal practice in Co Meath. While there she developed a keen interest in herd health and bovine infectious diseases prompting a desire to engage in further study. In 2013, under the supervision of Dr Ríona Sayers, she commenced a PhD in Teagasc Moorepark on the diagnosis and control of Johne s disease in Irish Dairy farms. One of her key areas of interest is investigating the impact TB testing has on Johne s disease ELISA tests. Name: Conor McAloon Profession: Researcher, University College Dublin TWG Membership: Johne s Disease Technical Working Group Conor is originally from a dairy farm in Dromore, Co. Tyrone and qualified as a veterinary surgeon from UCD School of Veterinary Medicine in 2011. He worked in mixed practice in Strabane, Co. Tyrone, before returning to UCD in 2013 to begin a PhD programme on Johne s Disease (JD) in Irish dairy herds as part of the ICONMAP project. Since then he has published several peer-reviewed scientific papers on JD including the application of HACCP principles to control as well as the effect of the disease on milk production. He is currently involved in studies investigating national prevalence and risk factors for the disease, as well as the application of sociology to enhance JD interventions at herd level. Conor has completed a 3 year veterinary specialist training programme for the European College of Bovine Health Management with a primary focus on dairy herd health and production management. His interests include infectious diseases of cattle, calf health and the application of quantitative epidemiology and sociology to farm investigations and interventions. He was recently appointed as Lecturer in Bovine Health Management at the School of Veterinary Medicine, UCD. 7
PROGRAMME UPDATE BVD Programme: National BVD Eradication Programme Programme Manager: Dr David Graham Results Quarter 1 of 2016 marked the start of the fourth year of the compulsory phase of the national eradication programme. By the end of Q1 just over 1.1 million calves had been tested, representing approximately half of the anticipated calf crop for the year. At the peak of calving (weeks 6 and 7) over 145,000 samples were tested each week. Overall in 2015, 0.33% of calves born were considered to be persistently infected (PI) with BVDV, with these being located in 5.9% of 83,000 breeding herds. Results to date in 2016 show a significant drop in the PI prevalence relative to 2015, with only 0.14% of calves tested to date being found to be PI, located in 1.9% of herds that have submitted samples so far. [Click here] for up-todate results. This represents a decrease in PI prevalence since the start of the compulsory phase in 2013, when 0.66% of calves born were PI, of more than 75% (Figures 1A, B). The status of almost all animals in the 83,000 breeding herds in Ireland is now known, with the main exception being a decreasing number of animals born before the start of the compulsory programme in 2013. At the end of Q1 the number of these animals had declined to approximately 52,000, representing 0.9% of this entire population. Figure 1A. map showing distribution of PI births during 2013. Each hexagon represents an areas of approximately 10km 2 8
Figure 1B. map showing distribution of PI births during 2016 (to 29 th April). 9
Negative herd status A herd may qualify for negative herd status (NHS) by meeting the following requirements: 1. completion of a minimum of three years of tissue tag testing of calves born into the herd in each of these three years; 2. existence of a negative BVD status for every animal currently in the herd (on the basis of either direct or indirect results); 3. absence of any animal(s) deemed to be persistently infected with BVD virus from the herd in the 12 months preceding the acquisition of NHS During 2015 only herds that took part in the voluntary phase of the programme in 2012 could acquire NHS, with this being achieved by 6,151 of 83,000 breeding herds. In contrast, by the end of Q1 2016, the majority of herds (55,000; 66%) had NHS, with a further 23,000 only ineligible due to the presence of a small number of untested animals. All of these herds have received targeted communications detailing the animals that require testing to acquire NHS. While an important programme milestone for any herd, NHS also brings with it an economic benefit, with a number of laboratories that use the RTPCR test method offering testing at reduced costs to herds with NHS. PI Retention During Q1 of 2016 good progress has been made with the removal of PI animals born in previous years, with the numbers of these alive reducing from 1,092 to 302. This increased rate of removal reflected, at least in part, the introduction by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) of restrictions (on both movements in and out) for herds retaining PI animals for more than seven weeks after the date of their first test. At the end of Q1 of 2015 a total of 3,076 PI calves had been born, of which 1,889 remained alive. The comparable figures for 2016 are 1,369 born and 841 still alive. The BVD Implementation Group continues to emphasise the importance of prompt removal of all PI animals once identified, with strict isolation where the option to conduct a confirmatory re-test is applied. This is particularly important given the imminent start of the breeding season. Retention of PIs into this period creates a significant risk of creating further PIs to be born in 2017 as a result of susceptible pregnant females being infected in early pregnancy (between approximately 30 and 120 days). DAFM will shortly commence imposing restrictions on herds retaining 2016-born PI calves. In addition, it is expected that DAFM will issue letters to the neighbours of these herds informing them of the increased risk to their herds and advising them to review herd biosecurity to minimize the risk of introducing infection. 10
Biosecurity In advance of the breeding season all herds should review their biosecurity to prevent re-introduction of BVD virus through direct or indirect transmission pathways. The following is a brief summary of the main pathways by which this could happen. Herd owners are advised to identify relevant pathways for their herd in discussion with their veterinary practitioner and put in place appropriate biosecurity measures to minimise the risk from each one. Introduced animals This includes animals that have been purchased, borrowed or are returning to the herd e.g. from contract rearing or shows and sales. Animals bought from herds with NHS should pose the lowest risk. Animals of unknown status. Introduced animals whose status is not known should be tested; this is also a requirement for the maintenance of NHS. Trojan animals. The risk of purchasing a Trojan animal (a pregnant animal carrying a PI calf) is reduced by avoiding purchase from herds that have had a PI in the preceding 12 months. It is recommended that pregnant cattle are isolated until their calves are born and tested. Transiently infected (TI) animals. Any introduced animal that has had contact with a PI animal within days of entering the herd may be undergoing a transiently infection (TI) at the time of entry. TI animals shed virus at relatively low levels and for a limited period of time (less than two weeks). It is recommended that all introduced animals are quarantined for at least 28 days before being introduced into the main herd, with particular attention paid to preventing their contact with animals in the first half of pregnancy. Boundary contact and shared grazing Minimize direct contact with cattle from other herds. Again, it especially important that pregnant stock avoid such contact, particularly during the first half of pregnancy. Ideally, boundaries where contact could occur should provide a gap of at least 3m. Where this is not the case, electric fencing, or grazing management may be options to minimize contact of pregnant cattle with neighbouring herds. Movement of people and equipment between herds Contact between cattle (especially pregnant animals) and visitors should be minimized, particularly with individuals who also have a high level of contact with cattle in other herds. Where this cannot be avoided, strict hygiene should be enforced in relation to hands, boots, clothing and equipment. Herd owners must also recognise and address the risk of themselves accidentally introducing infection to their own herds, with this risk increasing as the level of contact with cattle in other herds increases. [Click here] for further details on biosecurity, including quarantine. 11
Targeted Advisory Service on Animal Health (TASAH) Following the award of a contract by DAFM to develop a Targeted Advisory Service on Animal Health (TASAH) in 2015, AHI completed an intensive round of training of 471 private veterinary practitioners during this period. The initial focus of the service is on BVD, with the intention of making an investigation funded under the Rural Development Plan by a trained veterinary practitioner available to all herds with a PI calf born in 2016. In parallel with this, significant work has been put into developing a portal on the AHI website to manage the service, [click here] for details. Farmers may use this system to request an investigation and to select the trained practitioner that they wish to conduct it. Alternatively, they can contact the AHI office by telephone (071 9671928) to request an investigation. Key actions for herdowners Q2 2016 The small number of farmers with PIs still present in their herds should remove these as quickly as possible with the goal of having none alive after the start of the breeding season. Farmers who have not had a PI present in their herd in the past 12 months but have not yet been notified that they have acquired NHS should identify and test any animals whose status is not known. All farmers should review biosecurity to avoid accidental reintroduction of infection. 12
PROGRAMME UPDATE CELLCHECK Programme: CellCheck Programme Manager: Finola McCoy 2015 commenced with a Technical Working Group meeting, the main objective of which was to progress the next module of service provider training in mastitis management. There is strong demand from the industry for further multi-disciplinary training in mastitis management to ensure the delivery of consistent messages to farmers, and strong local support networks. The TWG also explored the possibility of developing a national database of mastitis pathogens and anti-microbial sensitivity patterns identified. To progress this idea, Limerick RVL has subsequently developed and trialled a proficiency testing scheme for mastitis-causing bacterial identification, which was something that all of the commercial labs surveyed were keen to participate in. Roll-out of this PT scheme will commence in April. The CellCheck Programme Briefing Document for 2016 is also now complete, and is available to read on the AHI website [click here]. At the request of DAFM, analysis of the impact of the current seasonality coefficient has been ongoing, using the national bulk tank SCC database. Analysis of the milk recording data from 2015 shows that that the percentage of herds with a herd average SCC of 200,000 cells/ml or less increased from 53% in 2014 to 61% in 2015, and those >400,000 cells/ml have decreased from 10% to 7% in the same time period, which continues a very positive trend which has been apparent from 2011 onwards. Our network of CellCheck Regional Coordinators has expanded to include Andrew O Neill from Tipperary Coop. Enda Buckley from Carbery is also acting as the interim Regional Coordinator for the West Cork area. The team of Regional Coordinators is an invaluable resource for the CellCheck programme, increasing its organisational capacity, and will play an essential role in the coordination of CellCheck Farmer Workshops, which will be a requirement of the Dairy Knowledge Transfer measures of the RDP. 13
In February, a CellCheck Farmer Workshop was organised for the students of the WIT Level 8 Agricultural Science course. Planning is underway to provide all students of the Level 6 Advanced Certificate in Agriculture (Dairy) courses around the country with the opportunity to participate in workshops, following the success of the pilot workshops in 2015. I presented to the FVO Animal Welfare Audit Committee, on the work of AHI to date, and industry progress achieved in the area of animal health. As well as attendance as a European technical seminar on the latest science and technology in drying off cows, I have also delivered modules on mastitis control and the CellCheck programme as part of FETAC Responsible Person s Training. In association with the Agricultural Science Association, I also organised a networking breakfast in Kilkenny as a pilot exercise, to provide local service providers across all agricultural sectors with an opportunity to start building networks. The feedback and suggestions from the event were extremely positive, and hopefully can happen on a more regular basis. 14
PROGRAMME UPDATE JOHNE S DISEASE Programme: Johne s Disease Programme Manager: Dr Sam Strain Key to the successful prevention and control of infection is the transfer of knowledge to herdowners on how to prevent the introduction of infection into herds and the dissemination of infection within herds. The Veterinary Risk Assessment and Management Plans (V-RAMPs) are a key mechanism for achieving this. V-RAMPs are delivered by veterinary practitioners who have undergone a full day s training on Johne s Disease delivered by AHI. Currently, 447 veterinary practitioners have been trained to deliver V-RAMPs and a full listing of approved vets can be found on the AHI website [click here]. To date 2,630 V-RAMPs have been uploaded to the ICBF database since the beginning of the Johne s Control Programme. AHI will continue to deliver training to veterinary practitioners wishing to become approved. To facilitate this, AHI will be carrying out two further training sessions for practitioners during April. Further Johne s Disease specific training for veterinary practitioners who are already approved to carry out V-RAMPs will be offered later this year under the Targeted Advisory Service on Animal Health (TASAH). This training will include a focus on the interpretation of Johne s Disease tests as well as approaches to herd investigation. Further details of this training will be communicated to practitioners later this year. The most significant period for infection transmission is around calving and calf rearing. The most recent Johne s Disease Bulletin highlights the key risks during this period and practical measures that herdowners can take to reduce these risks. This bulletin can be accessed here click here]. The PCR test is increasingly recognised as a valuable diagnostic tool for disease investigation. It identifies the presence of the MAP organism through the detection of its DNA. Following the approval of this test by the JD TWG an updated laboratory listing incorporating PCR tests is now available on the AHI website click here]. It is important that this test is used appropriately. Herdowners and veterinary practitioners should note that this test must only be used as an ancillary test following the disclosure of a blood or milk test positive animal to clarify the infection status of such an animal. Where a blood or milk test positive animal has a negative PCR test the animal will be classified as inconclusive for at least one year after which the status of the animal will be dependent on subsequent test results. 15
PROGRAMME UPDATE Beef HealthCheck Programme: Beef HealthCheck Assistant Programme Manager: Rebecca Carroll Stakeholder s newsletter Q1 2016 Quarter 1 of 2016 has seen the completion of the final 8 Beef HealthCheck information meetings for Temporary Veterinary Inspectors in meat plants around the country. 18 meat plants are now recording or in a position to record data under the Beef HealthCheck programme and issue Beef HealthCheck reports to farmers on the findings from post mortem inspection on livers and lungs. ICBF has put in place a file loading system to facilitate the transfer of data from meat plants to the ICBF database. Animal Health Ireland met with ICBF in March to discuss the development of Beef HealthCheck reports on the ICBF website. Detailed reports for farmers and their veterinary practitioners will be available through the ICBF website later this year. This information will also be used by ICBF to develop economic breeding indices that incorporate health and disease data. The Spring edition of the Beef HealthCheck newsletter was published in March with a feature on parasite control at turnout by Maresa Sheehan, Senior Research Officer from the Kilkenny Regional Veterinary Laboratory, an article on Cryptosporidiosis in suckler calves by myself, and a discussion on what needs to be considered by farmers entering into dairy calf to beef enterprises. The article can be found on the Animal Health Ireland website [click here] and you can sign up for Animal Health Ireland newsletters by clicking on the tab on the left hand side of our home page [click here]. I continue to work with the data coming out of meat plants. During this quarter, two papers relating to the Beef HealthCheck programme were accepted for presentation at the World Buiatrics Congress to be held in Dublin from the 3 rd to the 8 th July 2016. 16
PROGRAMME UPDATE IBR Programme: IBR IBR TWG Chairman: Dr Michael Gunn The TWG met in January and March of 2016. Key activities were the completion of the report on the IBR study visit to Belgium and The Netherlands and continued preparatory work on a possible national eradication programme in Ireland. The report of the study visit has been completed and will be published shortly. In addition to providing detailed descriptions of the programmes in each country, the report also contains conclusions and recommendations for Ireland. Work regarding a possible national eradication programme is ongoing on a number of fronts. The Economics Unit in Teagasc have continued their work on estimating the costs of IBR infection in Ireland; data from a number of different research projects is being collated in order to estimate the costs of clinical and subclinical disease in both Beef and Dairy enterprises; and the prospective cost of loss of market access for live exports to some European markets due to the absence of an eradication programme in Ireland is also being assessed. The TWG have continued to work on the development of options for the eradication of IBR from the national cattle herd. This work has been informed by the findings of the study visit and also takes into account the requirements of EU Directive 2004/558. This directive describes the necessary criteria, including type and frequency of testing, for a Member State s IBR eradication programme to be formally recognised by the EU, granting it Article 9 status. This is important because Article 9 status would grant Ireland additional guarantees to protect its programme and also ensure that herds granted an IBR-free status in Ireland are recognised as such by other Member States in the context of live trade. Once developed, these options will then be subject to modelling to provide further information on their relative cost-effectiveness. The TWG is also considering further studies to fill knowledge gaps to support this work. When combined, the outputs of the work undertaken by Teagasc and the TWG will form the basis of a cost-benefit analysis of a national programme, for discussion by industry. 17
PROGRAMME UPDATE PARASITE CONTROL Programme: Parasite Control Parasite Control TWG Chairman: Dr Andrew Forbes The Parasite Control TWG are currently working on two new leaflets to add to the suite of leaflets on the Animal Health Ireland website. The first leaflet is a document to guide vets undertaking parasite control consultations on farms and the second will discuss anthelmintic resistance. There was a Parasite Control segment in the Animal Health Ireland 2016 CalfCare events which took place on farms around Ireland in January. Farmers were updated on Coccidiosis and Cryptosporidiosis, which can both cause problems on farms during the busy spring period. Please [click here]. More information can be found in the new parasite control leaflets on these topics on the Animal Health Ireland website. 18