Two leading livestock vets are urging farmers to vaccinate their livestock this winter for clostridial diseases as more animals are outwintered and vaccine boosters missed.
Vets Joe Henry of Black Sheep Farm Health and Fiona Lovatt of Flock Health say as sheep and cattle are grazed for longer periods, and on crops such as fodder beet and swedes, the risks may be increased.
This is due to exposure to the soil where clostridial spores are often present.
Vaccine supply issues over the past year could also put stock at increased risk if vaccine boosters have been missed, they warned.
Most farmers first realise they have a problem when an animal is found dead.
Mr Henry said: "Death from clostridial diseases is still a reasonably common cause, which is frustrating when there are relatively cheap vaccines available to protect stock."
Pulpy kidney was the third most common cause of lamb death found in 2,733 lamb carcasses examined by Farm Post Mortems over a five-year period up to 2019.
In the same period, Pulpy Kidney and Lamb Dysentery were among the top seven most common diagnoses in young lambs up to seven days old submitted to Animal Plant and Health Agency (APHA) over the same time period.
Some of the most common diseases from clostridial spores in cattle are Black Disease, Blackleg, Malignant Oedema, Tetanus and Botulism.
In sheep, they include Lamb Dysentery, Tetanus, Pulpy Kidney, Black Disease, Blackleg, Struck and Braxy.
The Livestock Vaccination Guidelines, published by the National Office for Animal Health (NOAH), categorises vaccination for clostridial diseases as one of the highest priority vaccinations for beef and sheep.
This means herds and flocks should be vaccinated as a default unless appropriate justifications have been clearly identified by the vet and farmer working together.
Mr Henry added: "Vaccination has a good cost versus benefit ratio. If one cow is saved every 16 years in a 100-cow herd, the vaccine will have paid for itself.
"It's hard enough making money from suckler beef and sheep, and with single farm payments disappearing, farmers have to do everything to safeguard their stock," he stressed.
Good flock management and feeding practices are considered important factors in the control of clostridial disease, added Dr Lovatt.
"However, the ready availability of effective vaccines means that control by vaccination is widely considered as best practice," she said.
Vaccines are available that cover ten different strains, such as Covexin 10 from Zoetis.
Stock should be given two doses in their first grazing season 4-6 weeks apart, then all animals should receive an annual booster.
Mr Henry added: "Speak to your vet about timings, particularly in spring calving herds, to ensure stock is protected. By using this protocol, all stock will be protected.”
Vet Ally Ward from Zoetis says that for animals giving birth in the spring, the next few months are critical for vaccinating pregnant stock to ensure offspring receive protection.
"Giving cows and ewes a booster 2 to 8 weeks before calving and lambing will increase antibody levels in the colostrum and help to protect youngstock over the first few months of life, as well as the mother for a year."
There is no milk or meat withdrawal for Covexin 10, meaning it can be used for all types and classes of stock over two weeks of age.
