Salmonella warning for farmers as the calving season approaches

WITH the calving season approaching, dairy and suckler farmers have been reminded about the dangers of the highly contagious disease, salmonella, to both animal and human health.

Salmonella results in clinical disease in one in seven herds every year. It causes abortions in dairy and suckler herds, usually from the seventh month of pregnancy, as well as diarrhoea in calves, which is regularly fatal.

The two strains of the disease that affect cattle, Salmonella Dublin and Salmonella Typhimurium, can also be contracted by humans leading to serious illness. Families consuming unpasteurised milk are at particular risk of picking up the disease.

Maureen Prendergast, veterinary specialist with Intervet-Schering Plough, said salmonella is one of the easiest diseases to introduce to a herd and the most difficult to eradicate. Infected animals shed the bacterium in their milk and faeces for up to six months and it can survive in the soil for up to a year. Bought-in animals can spread the disease.

She said farmers should seek urgent veterinary advice where salmonella infection is suspected. Vaccination, combined with good hygiene and care in buying-in animals will prevent the disease in animals and protect human health. “Farmers should talk to their vet about the best vaccination strategy for their herds.”

In relation to humans, she said that Salmonella Typhimurium is the second most common cause of salmonella infection in humans.

While infection with Salmonella Dublin is less common, it can be life-threatening. The fatality rate in the elderly from this form of salmonella is as high as 15%, she said.