Reports around the country point to a rise in the number of cases of redwater in the past 10 days. Redwater is a severe, life-threatening disease which affects cattle and swift treatment is needed to avoid mortality.
It is commonly transmitted by tick bites. The risk period is highest during the summer months when the ticks are most active, but it can occur anytime, so it’s important to be vigilant for signs of this disease.
Conditions over the past 10 days have been particularly bad for redwater as ideal weather for the spread of this disease is wet with temperatures over 14 degrees. In these conditions, cattle are prone to find shelter in fields and pick up ticks easily.
Putting cattle into silage ground to graze around the edges after harvesting is another way for them to pick up ticks. Bought-in cattle are more prone to redwater because these cattle may not have built-up immunity as younger cattle on the farm they came from.
Preventing bites
One of the best ways for farmers to deal with this disease is to prevent the animal being bitten in the first place. Ticks are more likely to be present in land with scrub, rushes and gorse as these are ideal habitats for ticks. Reseeding will help reduce the tick habitat, which will in turn reduce the likelihood of incidents of redwater.
If you have no option but to graze areas where ticks are present, it is best to use home-bred stock that have been exposed to these areas as young calves in their first six months of life and will have built up a certain amount of resistance to the disease. Animals over six months of age are said to be more susceptible than younger cattle to the disease.
Symptoms
In high-risk periods for redwater, farmers should carefully monitor animals for any of the following symptoms:
Red urine.Little or no appetite.Watery diarrhoea on day one of redwater, but becoming constipated after that.High temperature for 48 hours, then steadily decreases after that. So the temperature normally goes from high to normal to low.Animals acting strangely or staying away from the herd.Weakness/animals unable to stand.Anaemic animals and heart beating very loudly.If any of the above symptoms are observed, veterinary intervention should be sought immediately. If an animal is left untreated, death is likely and infected pregnant animals will abort.
Animals may be infected for two weeks before there are any signs present. Injecting animals with Imizol under the skin can act as both a preventative and a cure to redwater, according to west of Ireland vet Mark Slattery. “1ml per 100kg bodyweight should be administered to an animal that has redwater and 2.5ml per 100kg bodyweight should be given to an animal to prevent redwater," he said. "Ivermectin-based pour-on should be applied before cattle go out to grass to control ticks and then every month after that depending on the land type”.
There is a long withdrawal period of 213 days for meat and 21 days for milk with Imizol, so farmers should be aware of this.
Read more
Vet's Corner: high-risk period for tick-borne diseases
Reports around the country point to a rise in the number of cases of redwater in the past 10 days. Redwater is a severe, life-threatening disease which affects cattle and swift treatment is needed to avoid mortality.
It is commonly transmitted by tick bites. The risk period is highest during the summer months when the ticks are most active, but it can occur anytime, so it’s important to be vigilant for signs of this disease.
Conditions over the past 10 days have been particularly bad for redwater as ideal weather for the spread of this disease is wet with temperatures over 14 degrees. In these conditions, cattle are prone to find shelter in fields and pick up ticks easily.
Putting cattle into silage ground to graze around the edges after harvesting is another way for them to pick up ticks. Bought-in cattle are more prone to redwater because these cattle may not have built-up immunity as younger cattle on the farm they came from.
Preventing bites
One of the best ways for farmers to deal with this disease is to prevent the animal being bitten in the first place. Ticks are more likely to be present in land with scrub, rushes and gorse as these are ideal habitats for ticks. Reseeding will help reduce the tick habitat, which will in turn reduce the likelihood of incidents of redwater.
If you have no option but to graze areas where ticks are present, it is best to use home-bred stock that have been exposed to these areas as young calves in their first six months of life and will have built up a certain amount of resistance to the disease. Animals over six months of age are said to be more susceptible than younger cattle to the disease.
Symptoms
In high-risk periods for redwater, farmers should carefully monitor animals for any of the following symptoms:
Red urine.Little or no appetite.Watery diarrhoea on day one of redwater, but becoming constipated after that.High temperature for 48 hours, then steadily decreases after that. So the temperature normally goes from high to normal to low.Animals acting strangely or staying away from the herd.Weakness/animals unable to stand.Anaemic animals and heart beating very loudly.If any of the above symptoms are observed, veterinary intervention should be sought immediately. If an animal is left untreated, death is likely and infected pregnant animals will abort.
Animals may be infected for two weeks before there are any signs present. Injecting animals with Imizol under the skin can act as both a preventative and a cure to redwater, according to west of Ireland vet Mark Slattery. “1ml per 100kg bodyweight should be administered to an animal that has redwater and 2.5ml per 100kg bodyweight should be given to an animal to prevent redwater," he said. "Ivermectin-based pour-on should be applied before cattle go out to grass to control ticks and then every month after that depending on the land type”.
There is a long withdrawal period of 213 days for meat and 21 days for milk with Imizol, so farmers should be aware of this.
Read more
Vet's Corner: high-risk period for tick-borne diseases
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