Farmers put on botulism alert

FARMERS and vets have been put on alert for botulism in cattle. But the public has been assured that risks to human health from milk or meat are remote.

The condition has been confirmed in a West Waterford herd, and the number of cases reported to the Department of Agriculture and Food from around the country has increased in recent months. This rare disease has also been reported in Northern Ireland, Britain and across Europe.

Caused by a bacterium of the Clostridia family, botulism is widely distributed in nature but only occasionally gives rise to clinical disease in animals or humans.

The organism proliferates in decaying organic material, producing the toxins that are then taken up by animals.

The recent cases have been associated with cattle coming into contact, directly or indirectly, with poultry litter that had been contaminated with decaying poultry carcases.

The Department of Agriculture and Food said that there are eight known types of the botulinum toxin, and the specific toxins dangerous to humans are not normally associated with the condition in cattle. “It is accepted that humans are resistant to the types of toxin that affect cattle, which are poorly absorbed from the gastro-intestinal tract, and are inactivated by heat treatment”.

However, as a precautionary measure, the Department advises farmers to wear gloves and wash their hands thoroughly after handling poultry litter, and to avoid unnecessary contact with it.

It requests farmers and vets to report sudden and unexplained illnesses or deaths in cattle associated with poultry litter to District Veterinary Offices or Veterinary Regional Laboratories. The Department said farmers should only accept litter from farms with adequate systems to ensure all dead carcases are removed from houses and disposed of correctly. Farmers should not chop litter, and should check lands after spreading, to ensure the pasture is carcase-free. They should spread litter on tillage land, if possible. On pasture, grass should not be grazed for at least six weeks after. Farmers should avoid spreading and stockpiling litter in warm weather, avoid spreading near waterways and should follow their local authority’s advice on recommended levels of animal manure for land spreading.