Veterinary surveillance blogs

Ocular disease investigation in sheep

SRUC Veterinary Services usually receives more ocular swabs for the investigation of ovine eye disease around this time of year. When investigating outbreaks, it is important to consider the main pathogens likely to be involved and which tests would be the most useful.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
13/01/2023

Navel iodine supply

There is a risk of reduced availability/high cost of strong iodine for navel dressing this spring. Lower iodine concentrations are considered to be less effective in drying and disinfecting the navel.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
12/01/2023

PCR testing for respiratory disease in cattle

SRUC Veterinary Services in conjunction with colleagues at Moredun have developed and are now using an extended multiple PCR test for respiratory pathogens in cattle.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
14/12/2022

Systemic Pasteurellosis in lambs

Systemic Pasteurellosis is caused by the bacteria Bibersteinia trehalosi and is a common cause of death in weaned lambs between September and December.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
28/11/2022

It’s not Fluke it’s Worms

Diagnoses that we make in the post mortem room can sometimes give us a skewed picture of livestock health locally and are often assumed to be the tip of the iceberg. A run of similar cases might therefore suggest quite a big iceberg!…

SRUC Veterinary Services
10/11/2022

Acorn toxicity (2022)

Oak trees are reported to have produced many more acorns this year compared to 2021. These can be attractive to livestock after a period of feed restriction or following stormy weather when large numbers are blown from the trees.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
10/11/2022

Spotlight on Connie Rafferty, post mortem support officer with SRUC Veterinary Services

Connie is a Biosciences graduate who joined the Veterinary Services team as a post mortem support officer in June 2021, at the St Boswells Disease Surveillance Centre.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
22/09/2022

Toxovax shortage

We are aware that practices have been notified of a shortage of Toxovax, which may remain unavailable until after the pre-tupping window for most farmers. In the absence of alternative vaccines, farmers may be concerned about the impact of not vaccinating on their flock productivity.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
20/09/2022

Investigation of thin ewes that fail to gain weight post weaning

Ewes that fail to gain weight for no obvious reason may have an underlying disease issue and can be useful sentinels for the presence (or absence) of iceberg diseases in a flock.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
31/08/2022

Sheep Abortions with no Diagnosis, what next?

When there has been significant reproductive loss in a flock and no diagnosed cause, various things should be considered and questions asked before deciding what, if anything, to do next.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
16/08/2022

Haemonchus diagnosed in Aberdeenshire – free testing available

Haemonchus has been diagnosed as a cause of mortality in a group of lambs in Aberdeenshire.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
12/08/2022

Grouse worm count monitoring

SRUC Veterinary Services receives numerous samples at this time of year and have been busy recently at the lab with grouse worm count monitoring. Many of the samples we receive are from grouse moors in the north of Scotland, but as the shooting season approaches this information may be useful to both vets and game keepers across the country.…

SRUC Veterinary Services
05/08/2022