April 24 2006 ~ Anthrax in Wales ".... I do hope that they vaccinated those cows."
Two cows have died of anthrax on a beef farm in south Wales. (See BBC and Guardian) The ProMed page should be read in full. Extract:
"....Firstly, while the major tenor of the government response is to calm fears, there is a suspicion of a present lack of experience. For example: "The small farm has been sealed off, with the remaining herd of suckler cows confined to their field while tests continue." Quarantine is routine for a limited period after vaccination, usually 14 to 21 days, but why not mention vaccination and exactly what tests on the suckler cows? Or are they attempting soil sampling? If the latter, I wish them good luck as it is much harder than many realise even with modern techniques. And I do hope that they vaccinated those cows.............we have a situation where livestock veterinarians are ignorant of the disease (not having seen much of it during their careers), which delays recognition. This is further exaggerated in the UK where far too many farmers are now too poor to regularly employ a veterinarian.
Read in fullApril 24 2006 ~ Anthrax survey "... the regional Defra chiefs refused to recall the files from their archives."
The comments of the moderator at ProMed about the UK's lack of experience with anthrax and the fact that " far too many farmers" in the UK are now too poor to employ vets regularly, also reveal that about 18 months ago he
"...attempted a file review of the past 100 outbreaks in the UK. We got about 25 replies and then it dried up as the regional Defra chiefs refused to recall the files from their archives."
Just as one swallow doth not a summer make, the ProMed moderator remarks drily that "Two dozen survey docs do not an hypothesis challenge..... " Read in full
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