| assessing the consequences of an incursion of a vector-borne disease. ii. spread of bluetongue in scotland and impact of vaccination. | bluetongue is a viral disease of ruminants transmitted by culicoides biting midges, which has spread across europe over the past decade. the disease arrived in south-east england in 2007, raising the possibility that it could pose a risk to the valuable scottish livestock industry. as part of an assessment of the economic consequences of a bluetongue virus incursion into scotland commissioned by scottish government, we investigated a defined set of feasible incursion scenarios under different va ... | 2010 | 21352784 |
| assessing the consequences of an incursion of a vector-borne disease i. identifying feasible incursion scenarios for bluetongue in scotland. | following the arrival of bluetongue virus serotype 8 (btv-8) in southeast england in september 2007, the scottish government commissioned research to assess the economic consequences of a btv-8 incursion to scotland. here we present the first component of the assessment, which entailed identifying feasible incursion scenarios for the virus. our analyses focused on three routes of introduction: wind-borne dispersal of infected vectors, import of infected animals and northwards spread of btv from ... | 2010 | 21352785 |
| responses of farmers to introduction in england and wales of pre-movement testing for bovine tuberculosis. | pre-movement testing (prmt) for bovine tuberculosis (btb) was introduced in england and wales in 2 phases starting in 2006. this study used questionnaires (n=800, response rate=31%) and analysis of national cattle movement records between january 2003 and february 2007 to investigate the impact of prmt on specific farm management behaviours. a majority of farmers (65%) believed they had not changed their behaviour in response to prmt; the main reported changes related to decisions regarding sell ... | 2011 | 21377746 |
| a descriptive study of the survival of holstein-friesian heifers through to third calving on english dairy farms. | a short herd lifespan severely limits opportunities for on-farm selection of breeding cows in addition to causing financial losses on dairy farms and presenting welfare issues for individual animals. this prospective study monitored survival up to third calving and reasons for culling of a cohort of 468 holstein-friesian heifers on 18 dairy farms across southern england. heifers born during 2003 and 2004 were monitored from 1 mo of age through to third calving. a longevity index was calculated a ... | 2011 | 21426972 |
| investigating transmission of mycobacterium bovis in the united kingdom in 2005 to 2008. | due to an increase in bovine tuberculosis in cattle in the united kingdom, we investigated the characteristics of mycobacterium bovis infection in humans and assessed whether extensive transmission of m. bovis between humans has occurred. a cross-sectional study linking demographic, clinical, and dna fingerprinting (using 15-locus mycobacterial interspersed repetitive-unit-variable-number tandem-repeat [miru-vntr] typing) data on cases reported between 2005 and 2008 was undertaken. a total of 12 ... | 2011 | 21430093 |
| farm-scale risk factors for bovine tuberculosis incidence in cattle herds during the randomized badger culling trial. | summarywe analysed the incidence of cattle herd breakdowns due to bovine tuberculosis (mycobacterium bovis) in relation to experimental badger culling, badger populations and farm characteristics during the randomized badger culling trial (rbct). mixed modelling and event history analysis were used to examine the individual risk factors. the interdependencies of covariates were examined using structural equation modelling. there were consistent findings among the different analyses demonstrating ... | 2011 | 21439101 |
| managing public demand for badger rehabilitation in an area of england with endemic tuberculosis. | badgers are a popular and protected species in england, despite their association with tuberculosis (mycobacterium bovis infection) in cattle. casualty badgers are commonly presented to veterinarians and wildlife rescue centres following injury, as a result of disease, or as orphans. strict policies are adopted for their rehabilitation and release, with respect to the prevention of spread of tuberculosis, these policies differ between adult badgers and badger cubs. adult badger casualties are no ... | 2011 | 21440385 |
| the association between high milk somatic cell counts in the first lactation and somatic cell counts in the second lactation. | with the advent of web-based recording and analysis systems, individual cow composite somatic cell count (scc) data are being increasingly used for decision support in mastitis control at both the individual cow and herd level. scc data from first and second lactation dairy cows (n=1912) from 12 farms were analysed using multinomial logistic regression to investigate possible associations between high scc patterns in the first lactation and the subsequent lactation. animals with three non-consec ... | 2011 | 21459636 |
| bluetongue serotype 8 vaccine coverage in northern and south-eastern england in 2008. | a postal survey of all registered cattle and sheep farmers in east anglia was carried out from july 2008 to determine bluetongue virus serotype 8 (btv-8) vaccine uptake in the region. the vaccine was available to farmers in this region from may 2008. the survey was repeated in cumbria and northumberland at the beginning of 2009. in these regions, the vaccine was not available until september 1, 2008. holding-level vaccine uptake was estimated to be 85 per cent (95 per cent confidence interval [c ... | 2011 | 21493449 |
| risk factors for transmission of foot-and-mouth disease during an outbreak in southern england in 2007. | during an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (fmd) in southern england in 2007, a case-control study was conducted to identify risk factors for infection and to investigate the relative impact of risk factors on transmission between the infected farms. seven of the eight case farms in the outbreak and 22 control farms participated. data were collected via questionnaires and subjected to comparative statistical analysis. case farms were further classified as primary or secondary according to the ... | 2011 | 21493486 |
| animal health: animal health projects benefit from rural development funding. | | 2011 | 21493526 |
| psoroptic mange in cattle confirmed in england. | | 2011 | 21498222 |
| pilot programme to help farmers learn about bvd. | | 2011 | 21511774 |
| verocytotoxin-producing and attaching and effacing activity of escherichia coli isolated from diseased farm livestock. | between may 2005 and june 2008, strategically selected isolates of escherichia coli obtained from clinical submissions to veterinary laboratories agency (vla) regional laboratories in england and wales were serogrouped and examined by pcr for verocytotoxin (vt) production and attaching and effacing (eae) genes, both of which are zoonotic determinants. vt-encoding genes were detected in 54 (5.3 per cent) of the 1022 isolates examined. only one isolate (0.1 per cent) was identified as verocytotoxi ... | 2011 | 21546408 |
| characterization of plasmids encoding cefotaximases group 1 enzymes in escherichia coli recovered from cattle in england and wales. | in the study, we examined the molecular characteristics of cattle-associated escherichia coli carrying ctx-m genes and their plasmids. between july 2006 and july 2007, 18 e. coli were collected from cattle that were found to possess a bla(ctx-m) belonging to group 1. bla(ctx-m-15/28) was the predominant type, and it was associated with plasmids of several different inc/rep types. in addition, bla(ctx-m-1) and bla(ctx-m-3) were also detected. plasmids encoding the bla(ctx-m) genes belonged to inc ... | 2011 | 21612507 |
| meticillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus with a novel meca homologue in human and bovine populations in the uk and denmark: a descriptive study. | background: animals can act as a reservoir and source for the emergence of novel meticillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa) clones in human beings. here, we report the discovery of a strain of s aureus (lga251) isolated from bulk milk that was phenotypically resistant to meticillin but tested negative for the meca gene and a preliminary investigation of the extent to which such strains are present in bovine and human populations. methods: isolates of bovine mrsa were obtained from the vet ... | 2011 | 21641281 |
| emergence of suspected type d botulism in ruminants in england and wales (2001 to 2009), associated with exposure to broiler litter. | scanning surveillance by the veterinary laboratories agency revealed the emergence of suspected botulism in ruminants in 2003, presented as flaccid paralysis. from 2003 to 2009, 168 cattle and 19 sheep incidents were recorded, with mortality between 5 and 80 per cent. all sheep incidents and 95 per cent of cattle incidents had proximity to broiler litter. from july 2006, the gut contents collected from 74 affected cattle and 10 affected sheep were tested for clostridium botulinum toxins using mi ... | 2011 | 21652657 |
| demographic consequences of increased winter births in a large aseasonally breeding mammal (bos taurus) in response to climate change. | 1.ôçéstudies examining changes in the scheduling of breeding in response to climate change have focused on species with well-defined breeding seasons. species exhibiting year-round breeding have received little attention and the magnitudes of any responses are unknown. 2.ôçéwe investigated phenological data for an enclosed feral population of cattle (bos taurus l.) in northern england exhibiting year-round breeding. this population is relatively free of human interference. 3.ôçéwe assessed wheth ... | 2011 | 21668894 |
| further consultation on proposals for a badger cull in england. | | 2011 | 21784797 |
| prevalence of johne's disease among cattle in orkney. | | 2011 | 21697192 |
| Investigation of the presence of ESBL-producing Escherichia coli in the North Wales and West Midlands areas of the UK in 2007 to 2008 using scanning surveillance. | Between November 5, 2007 and November 4, 2008, faecal samples from cattle and sheep submitted for diagnostic purposes to the Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) (now AHVLA) regional laboratories (covering North Wales and the West Midlands) were screened for the presence of Escherichia coli that produces CTX-M extended-spectrum ß-lactamase (ESBL) using the selective medium CHROMagar CTX. Samples from 113 farms were tested and eight ESBL-positive farms identified. Of th ... | 2011 | 22021063 |
| Herd-level risk factors of bovine tuberculosis in England and Wales after the 2001 foot-and-mouth disease epidemic. | We present the results of a 2005 case-control study of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) breakdowns in English and Welsh herds. The herd management, farming practices, and environmental factors of 401 matched pairs of case and control herds were investigated to provide a picture of herd-level risk factors in areas of varying bTB incidence. | 2011 | 21955576 |
| Establishing a pilot bovine viral diarrhoea virus eradication scheme in Somerset. | Beginning in April 2006, 41 farms were recruited onto a pilot Bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) eradication programme across the south of England with the majority of study herds concentrated in Somerset. Each herd was assessed and where relevant cleared of persistently infected (PI) animals. Seven farms dropped out before whole herd screening could be performed. Of the remaining 34 farms, 20 (59 per cent) were classified as infected although two of these were initially misclassified as BVDV-f ... | 2011 | 22027186 |
| [2011: a wave of chimeras in england]. | | 2011 | 21922727 |
| Bovine TB eradication programme for England. | | 2011 | 22193587 |
| Insulin research in China and the U.K. | Insulin has been extensively studied since it was discovered by Banting and Best in 1921. Early in 1934, Dorothy Crowfoot and John Desmond Bernal obtained the first X-ray diffraction photograph of an enzyme protein: pepsin. In 1935, they took another photograph of a protein hormone: insulin. The chemical structure of protein was unknown until the amino acid sequence of bovine insulin was solved by Fred Sanger and colleagues in 1955. In 1958, the chemical synthesis of bovine insulin started in Ch ... | 2011 | 21936809 |
| husbandry risk factors associated with subclinical coccidiosis in young cattle. | this paper describes an observational longitudinal study of cattle farms in england and wales, which aimed to identify management practices associated with the presence of eimeria spp. infection in young cattle. thirty cattle farms situated in england and wales were selected and one group of more than 20 young cattle aged 5-18months of age was monitored on each farm. three variables were identified as significantly associated with status in a multivariable model. the odds of finding eimeria spp. ... | 2011 | 22082508 |
| Investigation of serology for diagnosis of outbreaks of botulism in cattle. | Serology has been used to diagnose retrospectively types C and D outbreaks of botulism in cattle in Australia and this study has investigated whether the approach would be applicable in England and Wales. Three hundred sera from routine surveillance submissions in England and Wales were used as a negative control population. Some stored sera were available from a small number of clinical cases of botulism and 125 samples were collected from cohort groups of clinical cases in four new outbreaks o ... | 2011 | 21955441 |
| dr roger mcneill and public health in the highlands and islands of scotland. | roger mcneill was born in 1853 on colonsay in the inner hebrides, the son of a cattle herder. he graduated with a degree in medicine from edinburgh university, where he studied with joseph lister, among others. after working in london during a smallpox epidemic, he received a gold medal and honours for his m.d. thesis in 1881. mcneill returned to scotland as the resident medical officer at gesto hospital on the isle of skye. from there, he launched and published the first statistical research ab ... | 2011 | 22184575 |
| Bacteriophage lysis of enterococcus host strains: a tool for microbial source tracking? | This paper describes the isolation of Enterococcus host strains, for potential use as simple bacteriophage (phage)-based microbial source tracking (MST) tools. Presumptive Enterococcus host strains were isolated from cattle feces, raw municipal wastewater, agricultural runoff, and waters impacted by farms or wastewater treatment works (WWTW) in southern England, United Kingdom (UK). All enterococcal host strains (n = 390) were first screened for their ability to detect phage in samples of ra ... | 2011 | 22047499 |
| biosecurity on cattle farms: a study in north-west england. | few studies have considered in detail the range of biosecurity practices undertaken on cattle farms, particularly within the uk. in this study, 56 cattle farmers in a 100 km(2) area of north-west england were questioned regarding their on-farm biosecurity practices, including those relating to animal movements, equipment sharing and companies and contractors visiting the farms. | 2012 | 22235244 |
| spatial and temporal patterns in antimicrobial resistance of salmonella typhimurium in cattle in england and wales. | summarysalmonella is the second most commonly reported human foodborne pathogen in england and wales, and antimicrobial-resistant strains of salmonella are an increasing problem in both human and veterinary medicine. in this work we used a generalized linear spatial model to estimate the spatial and temporal patterns of antimicrobial resistance in salmonella typhimurium in england and wales. of the antimicrobials considered we found a common peak in the probability that an s. typhimurium inciden ... | 2012 | 22214772 |
| fasciola hepatica is associated with the failure to detect bovine tuberculosis in dairy cattle. | bovine tuberculosis (btb) is a significant and intractable disease of cattle caused by mycobacterium bovis. in the united kingdom, despite an aggressive eradication programme, the prevalence of btb is increasing with an unexplained, exponential rise in cases year on year. here we show in a study involving 3,026 dairy herds in england and wales that there is a significant negative association between exposure to the common, ubiquitous helminth parasite, fasciola hepatica and diagnosis of btb. the ... | 2012 | 22617293 |
| exploring the diversity of arcobacter butzleri from cattle in the uk using mlst and whole genome sequencing. | arcobacter butzleri is considered to be an emerging human foodborne pathogen. the completion of an a. butzleri genome sequence along with microarray analysis of 13 isolates in 2007 revealed a surprising amount of diversity amongst a. butzleri isolates from humans, animals and food. in order to further investigate arcobacter diversity, 792 faecal samples were collected from cattle on beef and dairy farms in the north west of england. arcobacter was isolated from 42.5% of the samples and the diver ... | 2013 | 23405126 |
| coxiella burnetii in bulk tank milk of dairy cattle in south-west england. | | 2012 | 22843608 |
| prevalence and molecular typing of cryptosporidium in dairy cattle in england and wales and examination of potential on-farm transmission routes. | an average of 70 samples were collected from 80 dairy farms in england and wales, from cattle, co-grazed sheep, wildlife and farm wastes, to investigate prevalence, potential sources and transmission routes of cryptosporidium. at least one positive sample was detected on 74 of the farms (92.5%) by ifat microscopy. the prevalence in cattle was 10.2% (95% ci 9.4-11.1%), with greater prevalences detected in calf samples, especially from those under 1 month (45.1%). young calves were also more likel ... | 2014 | 24909077 |
| public health investigation of two outbreaks of shiga toxin-producing escherichia coli o157 associated with consumption of watercress. | an increase in the number of cases of shiga toxin-producing escherichia coli (stec) o157 phage type 2 (pt2) in england in september 2013 was epidemiologically linked to watercress consumption. whole-genome sequencing (wgs) identified a phylogenetically related cluster of 22 cases (outbreak 1). the isolates comprising this cluster were not closely related to any other united kingdom strain in the public health england wgs database, suggesting a possible imported source. a second outbreak of stec ... | 2015 | 25841005 |
| measuring the growth rate of uk dairy heifers to improve future productivity. | sub-optimal heifer growth is associated with higher disease rates and reduced future performance and longevity in the dairy herd. this report describes a system for measuring heifer growth from birth to first calving that was used on commercial dairy farms in south west england, in order to gather benchmarking data to feed back to farmers. weights (n = 8443) were collected from 20 farms. there was a marked variation in individual and herd mean growth rates. overall, calves gained no weight in th ... | 2016 | 27256019 |
| the effect of subclinical ketosis on activity at estrus and reproductive performance in dairy cattle. | our aims were to investigate the influence of subclinical ketosis (sck) on physical activity at estrus using a neck accelerometer device and on future reproductive performance. two hundred three holstein-friesian cows were studied on 3dairy farms in northwest england between september 2013 and march 2014. seventeen percent (35 of 203) of the enrolled cows were affected with sck between 7 and 21d in milk, defined as a blood β-hydroxybutyrate concentration of 1.2 to 2.9mmol/l. time to event analys ... | 2016 | 26995121 |
| inbreeding and purging at the genomic level: the chillingham cattle reveal extensive, non-random snp heterozygosity. | local breeds of livestock are of conservation significance as components of global biodiversity and as reservoirs of genetic variation relevant to the future sustainability of agriculture. one such rare historic breed, the chillingham cattle of northern england, has a 350-year history of isolation and inbreeding yet shows no diminution of viability or fertility. the chillingham cattle have not been subjected to selective breeding. it has been suggested previously that the herd has minimal geneti ... | 2016 | 26559490 |
| epidemiology of bladder stone of children: precipitating events. | urological surgery evolved from the ancient practice of removing primary bladder stones from young boys. bladder stones, once ubiquitous, long ago disappeared from the developed world while pockets of disease still exist in developing countries. two epidemiological studies identified as precipitating events of bladder stone formation the practice of substitutive carbohydrate feedings to newborns. in southeast asia, masticated rice is fed to newborns in stone-endemic villages while in england, du ... | 2016 | 26559057 |
| variation in the interservice intervals of dairy cows in the united kingdom. | an understanding of the normal estrous-cycle length of the cow is important when managing and monitoring dairy-herd fertility. although the normal interovulatory interval is widely considered to be 21 d, some studies have found alternative intervals to be more prevalent; previously, most of the variation in interval length was expected to be between cows. the aim of this study was to assess the time between inseminations (interservice interval, isi) in a large number of dairy cows and to explore ... | 2015 | 25529414 |
| navigating the iceberg: reducing the number of parameters within the welfare quality(®) assessment protocol for dairy cows. | the welfare quality(®) protocols provide a multidimensional assessment of welfare, which is lengthy, and hence limited in terms of practicality. the aim of this study was to investigate potential 'iceberg indicators' which could reliably predict the overall classification as a means of reducing the length of time for an assessment and so increase the feasibility of the welfare quality(®) protocol as a multidimensional assessment of welfare. full welfare quality(®) assessments were carried out on ... | 2014 | 25159607 |
| investigating the value dairy farmers place on a reduction of lameness in their herds using a willingness to pay approach. | a survey was conducted to elicit dairy farmers' willingness to pay (wtp) to reduce the prevalence of lameness in their herds. a choice experiment questionnaire was administered using face-to-face interviews of 163 farmers in england and wales. whole herd lameness assessments by trained researchers recorded a mean lameness prevalence of nearly 24% which was substantially higher than that estimated by farmers. farmers' responses to a series of attitudinal questions showed that they strongly agreed ... | 2014 | 24268682 |
| using hormones to manage dairy cow fertility: the clinical and ethical beliefs of veterinary practitioners. | in the face of a steady decline in dairy cow fertility over several decades, using hormones to assist reproduction has become common. in the european union, hormones are prescription-only medicines, giving veterinary practitioners a central role in their deployment. this study explored the clinical and ethical beliefs of practitioners, and provides data on their current prescribing practices. during 2011, 93 practitioners working in england completed a questionnaire (95% response rate). of the 7 ... | 2013 | 23638174 |