Salmonella in sewage effluent and the relationship to animal and human disease in the north of Scotland.

During the period July 1982 to December 1984, the presence of salmonella organisms was investigated at weekly intervals in the sewage system and abattoir effluent of a town in the north of Scotland. Three hundred and fifteen isolations, representing 37 different serotypes, were made which included 20 different Salmonella typhimurium phage types and four different S enteritidis phage types. Ten of the serotypes were isolated from livestock in the district during the survey as well as in the periods immediately before and after the survey. There were seven recorded incidents of human infection, involving four salmonella serotypes, only three of which were isolated concurrently from sewage.

Copper poisoning in sheep from North Ronaldsay maintained on a diet of terrestrial herbage.

Copper toxicity occurred in North Ronaldsay sheep fed on a diet of terrestrial herbage relatively high in molybdenum. Five sheep were taken from the island of North Ronaldsay, Orkney to the veterinary investigation centre at Thurso and fed solely on the herbage of the laboratory paddocks, supplemented in winter by hay made from these paddocks. The level of copper, molybdenum, zinc and total sulphur in the terrestrial herbage was analysed, together with the seaweeds which form the major part of the diet on North Ronaldsay. Serum copper, vitamin B12 and serum aspartate aminotransferase levels were obtained. Four of the five sheep died on this diet of terrestrial herbage and had liver copper levels of 1379, 1723, 2279 and 2281 mg/kg. The susceptibility of the North Ronaldsay breed of Orkney sheep to copper poisoning when first introduced to a diet of purely terrestrial herbage is demonstrated by the high liver copper levels of the four dead sheep compared to the normal serum copper levels and unimpaired health of two other breeds of sheep and a north country Cheviot cross North Ronaldsay ram.

A survey of sheep losses and their causes on commercial farms in the north of Scotland.

A three year survey on sheep deaths and their causes was conducted on 10 commercial farms in the north of Scotland. Diseases and other trauma associated with the perinatal period accounted for 56.81% of all ewe deaths, while pneumonia, parasitic gastroenteritis, torsion of the bowel and haemorrhagic enteritis (redgut) accounted for a further 21.7%. No one disease condition predominated in the rams and hoggs. In lambs, most deaths occurred between birth and four days old (77.86%). Causes came in the form of starvation and exposure (34.2%), stillbirths (18.2%), lambing injuries (11.06%), infectious conditions (8.0%), dystocia (7.6%) and abortion (5.2%). The overall death rate among the lambs was 14.2%.

The association of non-clotting of cow's milk with scour in the single suckled beef calf.

An apparent correlation between the clotting ability of cows milk and the prevalence of scour in suckling calves was investigated. Fifty-eight per cent of the milk samples of mothers of scouring single suckled calves showed impaired clotting ability. While the cause of this remains unknown there appears to be a link with diet. The poor clotting ability is probably a contributory factor in the aetiology of scour in the suckler calf, as the abnormality has only been seen in the milk from mothers of scouring calves.

The possible involvement of seagulls (Larus sp) in the transmission of salmonella in dairy cattle.

A series of infections in a herd of dairy cows by different salmonella serotypes over a seven year period is described. The source of infection appeared to be the private water supply contaminated by seagulls.