Fallen animal collectors have noted a rise in the number of pneumonia cases after animals were housed this autumn.

John Styles who runs an animal collection service in Portlaoise said there has been a significant rise in the number of cases among calves and weanlings over the last few months.

“It’s nearly all pneumonia at the minute, much worse than last year. It’s like an epidemic and it’s no harm to highlight it,” Styles said.

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Seán Phelan who runs a collection service in Mullinavat, Co Kilkenny also noted an increase this year. “Farmers seem to be having losses where there’s no vaccination. We see pneumonia every year but there’s a few more this year than usual,” he said.

While vaccinating against pneumonia four to six weeks prior to housing is advised, vets have said that it is still not too late to vaccinate cattle.

Castleisland vet Seán O’Sullivan said that removing the hoose burden before they go into the shed is very important. “Plus vaccination, plus adequate ventilation and avoiding overstocking is key,” O’Sullivan said.

Noticing

“We’re not noticing a hell of a lot more around here because most of them are vaccinated,” the Kerry vet added.

Vet Ger Cusack in Kilmacthomas, Co Waterford told the Irish Farmers Journal that pneumonia is ever present, at every housing. “These bacteria and these viruses are in the animal anyway, they’re not new infections that suddenly appear when you house them. The key advice is to do everything you can to de-stress the animal.

“If you vaccinate, you may well get some pneumonia but you’ll have very few deaths and very few severe cases,” Cusack said.

Damien Corcoran, a vet based in Roscrea, Co Tipperary said that there is no more pneumonia around this year versus any other year.

“It’s hard to know if we’ve seen more of it or if the greater economic value of the animals involved means there’s more and more veterinary intervention.

“We probably have attended more [cases].

“However, the one promising thing that we’ve noticed is our vaccine sales are very strong and I think that farmers realise that it’s easier to prevent the problem than treat the problem,” Corcoran said.