Enteritis – inflammation of the small intestine – was the most common cause of cattle death in postmortems completed by the regional veterinary laboratories (RVL) during February, March and April 2026.

Irish Farmers Journal analysis of RVL monthly reports shows that approximately 114 cattle died from enteritis during that period.

“The high number of deaths due to enteric conditions at this time of the year is driven by the high incidence of diarrhoea due to infection in neonatal and young calves,” the report details.

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Rotavirus and cryptosporidium parvum were the most common pathogens detected in young calves during this period.

Pneumonia was the next major killer of cattle in spring 2026, with about 72 animals succumbing to the illness.

Intestinal torsion – the twisting of the bowels – was the cause of death for approximately 58 cattle during the spring, according to RVL examinations.

Twisting of the bowels is considered to be a spontaneous sporadic event. However, stress or feeding may play a part.

Navel or joint ill accounted for 34 deaths in the three-month period, which is usually caused by poor navel hygiene at calving.

Bluetongue

In February 2026, a bovine foetus was found to test positive for the bluetongue virus for the first time ever in Ireland.

The eight-month-gestation foetus was submitted to the RVL in Kilkenny.

Hydranencephaly was seen in the foetus, which is a severe congenital brain malformation where much of the cerebral hemispheres do not develop normally and are replaced by fluid-filled spaces.

Sheep

Bacteraemia or septicaemia (sepsis) was the most common cause of death in sheep from postmortems carried out by RVLs in spring 2026, with about 53 deaths.

It was followed on the list by pneumonia with approximately 30 deaths.

Overall, during the three-month period from February to April 2026, RVLs across Ireland carried out necropsy examinations on 2,756 livestock carcases, 826 foetuses and examinations took place for 4,821 diagnostic samples.