Producers Urged To Remain Vigilant During Winter

Dr Faffa Malan and Dr Frans Jooste advise livestock and small-stock producers not to neglect animal health during the winter months. Sabrina Dean reports.

- Sabrina Dean

Recently, Farmer’s Weekly spoke to two veterinarians about winter disease trends, and preparations for the coming spring. Both expressed concern over an apparent shortage of the Brucella ovis vaccine.

Chairperson of the Ruminant Veterinary Association of SA (RuVasa), Dr Faffa Malan, who is also on the management committee of the National Animal Health Forum (NAHF), said that the vaccine was usually administered to ram lambs at weaning.

He explained that the vaccine shortage was worrisome, as it could not be administered to animals at a later stage in life, as late administration would result in the adult animal testing positive for the disease. “It’s a huge problem for the guys with ram lambs. There is nothing we can do [to get hold of the vaccine]; it’s a mess,” he said.

Malan said that the NAHF was conducting surveys to determine the extent of the shortages.

Northern Cape veterinarian and small-stock reproductive expert, Dr Frans Jooste, explained that lambs born in autumn were now due to receive the vaccine. “[But] we are struggling to get hold of it at the moment,” he said.