A DOZEN THINGS YOU MUST KNOW ABOUT BOVINE BRUCELLOSIS

Brucellosis is not a simple disease and can destroy the productivity of your herd. Here are a dozen things that you must to know about this disease.

Brucellosis is a Controlled Animal Disease in terms of the Animal Diseases Act, 1984 (Act No. 35 of 1984) and there is no treatment to cure it in cattle or wildlife.
It is a herd disease. Thus, if one animal in the herd is infected the whole herd must be considered as potentially infected.
It is compulsory by law to vaccinate all heifers against brucellosis with a registered vaccine (see table 2 of the Animal Diseases Regulations). The available vaccines are S19 (OBP) or RB51 (MSD). Vaccination helps protect your herd from disease, reduces the spread of the disease and decreases the number of abortions.
The S19 vaccine may only be administered once, in heifer calves between 4 and 8 months of age. If S19 is used at an older age the animal may persistently test positive on blood tests, causing confusion about the animal’s disease status. The RB51 vaccine may be administered to non-pregnant heifers and cows at any age as it will not cause positive blood test results. Do not vaccinate bulls with S19 or RB51 as they may become sterile.
Pregnant heifers and cows infected with brucellosis may abort, resulting in reduced production in terms of number of calves weaned, total milk yield and prolonged calving intervals.
Cows and heifers infected with brucellosis often look healthy, which is misleading! If these animals remain in the herd, they continue to silently spread the infection, which will cause severe economic and production losses.
The most important mode of transmission is when an infected animal calves normally or has an abortion, as this process releases millions of bacteria into the environment that can easily infect other animals.
Heifers that were born from infected cows often test negative before they have calved and only test positive after their first calf is born. Newly bought-in heifers pose a high risk and should ideally be kept separate from the rest of the herd until they have calved and have tested negative for brucellosis.
People can become infected with brucellosis by drinking unpasteurised milk, slaughtering an infected cow and handling infected birth material and aborted foetuses (calves). Human symptoms are flu-like with fever, headache and body aches. If a diagnosis is not made and appropriate treatment taken, it can become a chronic illness that continuously relapses. Meat from infected animals that are identified as positive and are slaughtered at certified abattoirs is safe for human consumption.
Brucella bacteria can also be spread through run-off water from infected neighbouring farms. Predators such as roaming dogs, jackals and crows may carry infected material (aborted foetus and afterbirths) between farms. Flies that feed on infected material may spread the bacteria mechanically when sitting on the mucous membranes of animals.
Owners are responsible for the health of their animals and may be prosecuted under the Animal Diseases Act, 1984 (Act No. 35 of 1984) and the Consumer Protection Act, 2008 (Act No. 68 of 2008) if they propagate the spreading of brucellosis.
The only person who can protect your cattle or wildlife herd against brucellosis is YOU! When you are buying cattle or wildlife, insist on vaccination records and recent negative herd tests of the farm of origin. The seller must be able to declare that the cattle or game are vaccinated and the herd of origin tested negative for brucellosis. The seller should be able to provide proof of regular negative herd tests results. It is always advisable to isolate any cattle or game bought into the herd for biosecurity reasons; to test for different diseases, to get vaccinations up to date and to treat against internal and external parasites.

For further information, please contact your state or private veterinarian.

Compiled by the Brucellosis steering committee of the National Animal Health Forum

accinate, Educate, Test (VET)

September 2016

‘N DOSYN DINGE WAT JY MOET WEET VAN BEESBRUSELLOSE

Brusellose is nie ‘n enkelvoudige siekte nie en kan die produktiwiteit van jou kudde stadigaan wegkalwe. Hier volg een dosyn belangrike dinge wat jy van die siekte moet weet:

Dit is ‘n gekontroleerde dieresiekte volgens die Dieresiektewet, 1984 (Wet Nr. 35 van 1984). Dit is ‘n kroniese siekte waarvoor daar geen behandeling in beeste of wild is nie.
Dit is ‘n kuddesiekte – as een dier besmet is, moet die hele kudde as potensieël besmet beskou word.
Dit is verpligtend deur die Wet om alle verse eenmalig tussen ouderdom 4-8 maande teen brusellose te ent, met S19 of met RB51 (Tabel 2 van die Dieresiekte Regulasies). Inenting help om die kudde teen siekte te beskerm, verminder die verspreiding en die aantal aborsies.
S19 entstof mag slegs in verskalwers tussen die ouderdom van 4-8 maande gebruik word – indien dit op ‘n latere ouderdom gebruik word, mag die dier aanhoudend positief toets in bloedtoetse wat verwarring van die ware siekte status veroorsaak. RB51 entstof mag in nie-dragtige koeie van enige ouderdom gebruik word, aangesien dit nie positiewe toetsresultate sal lewer nie. Bulle moet nie met S19 of RB51 ingeënt word nie aangesien hulle steriel mag raak.
Besmette verse en koeie mag aborteer, hulle melkproduksie mag daal en hul aanwasproduksie mag daal weens verlengde tussenkalf periodes, nageboortes wat vassit en baarmoederinfeksies.
Koeie en verse wat besmet is met brusellose lyk dikwels gesond, wat misleidend is! Indien hierdie diere in die kudde bly, hou hulle aan om die besmetting stilweg te versprei en dit veroorsaak ekonomiese- en produksieverliese.
Die belangrikste metode van oordraging is wanneer besmette koeie normaalweg kalf of aborteer, aangesien hierdie prosesse miljoene bakterieë in die omgewing vrylaat, wat maklik ander diere kan besmet.
Verse wat gebore is uit besmette koeie toets dikwels negatief voordat hulle kalf en toets eers positief na hul eerste kalwing. Nuutaangekoopte verse hou ‘n hoë risiko in en behoort apart van die res van die kudde gehou te word totdat hulle gekalf het en getoets kan word vir brusellose.
Mense kan besmet word met brusellose deur ongepasteuriseerde melk te drink, ‘n positiewe koei te slag en deur besmette kalwingsmateriaal en geaborteerde fetusse (kalwers) te hanteer. Algemene simptome by mense is grieperig met koors, hoofpyne en liggaamspyne. Indien geen behandeling ontvang word nie, kan dit ‘n kroniese siekte word wat herhalend toeslaan. Vleis van besmette diere, wat by goedgekeurde abattoirs geslag word, is veilig vir menslike gebruik.
Brucella bakterieë kan ook versprei deur afloopwater van besmette naburige plase. Roofdiere soos rondloperhonde, jakkalse en kraaie kan ook besmette geaborteerde fetusse en nageboortes na ander plase toe verplaas. Vlieë wat op besmette materiaal voed, mag die bakterieë meganies versprei wanneer hulle op die slymvliese van diere sit.
Eienaars is verantwoordelik vir hul diere se gesondheid en mag onder die Wet van Dieresiektes, 1984 (Wet Nr. 35 van 1984) en die Verbruikers Beskermingswet, 2008 (Wet Nr. 68 van 2008) vervolg word indien hulle die verspreiding van brusellose besmetting propageer.
Die enigste persoon wat jou kudde teen brusellose kan beskerm, is JY! Wanneer jy beeste of wild inkoop, moet jy aandring op inentingrekords en onlangse kuddetoetse van die plaas van oorsprong. Die verkoper moet in staat wees om te bewys dat die diere ingeënt en die kudde van oorsprong negatief getoets het vir brusellose. Verder behoort die verkoper ook bewys te kan lewer van gereelde negatiewe kuddetoetse. Dit is altyd aan te beveel dat enige diere wat in die kudde ingebring word, eers geїsoleer word vir biosekuriteitsredes – om te toets vir verskeie siektes, om inentings toe te dien en om te behandel teen interne en eksterne parasiete.