Farmers are being warned about a large increase in the number of blackleg cases reported across the country.

The Department’s regional veterinary laboratories have noted a jump in clostridial disease cases, common in cattle and sheep, referred to them for post mortem.

Ten cases were recorded in July and eight in the first week of August. Tipperary vet John Berkery said he knew of a case of the disease in Clare, where neighbouring farmers both lost two cows in one day.

“One farmer was vaccinating but not properly; only doing it once with no booster. The other man wasn’t vaccinating at all and never had a problem before.”

The Department of Agriculture is advising that vaccinating livestock against the disease is the best way to prevent an outbreak.

However, Berkery and another Munster-based vet who spoke to the Irish Farmers Journal agree there is a shortage of the vaccine at present and supply has not been consistently sufficient over the last year.

“What advice can you give when stocking densities are what they are?” Berkery asked.

“The right advice is to vaccinate but it’s unfortunate that we’re in a position where we can’t guarantee that farmers will have access to the vaccine.”

The organism that causes the disease can remain active in soil spores for decades, often causing cases on the same farm generations apart.

East Galway vet Conor Geraghty believes there is no longer a shortage of vaccines and said it’s important that farmers administer the vaccine correctly and consistently.

“Any young, first and second grazing season stock, should be vaccinated. If the vaccine is used correctly, it is highly effective. It’s a big shock for us to see eight or 10 animals dead in a field. One of those animals would’ve paid for a lifetime of vaccines.”

Blackleg is a common disease of cattle worldwide, causing acute muscle damage and usually seen as either sudden death, or death after a short illness.

The disease is caused by the consumption of clostridial spores from soil, which remain dormant in muscle until bruising, torn muscles, or certain unknown metabolic factors cause the conditions in the local tissues that allow the spores to germinate, and cause the disease, normally with fatal consequences.

There has been more outbreaks of blackleg in the west compared to the east or south of the country.

Significant increases

Knackeries in the west have reported significant increases in fallen animals due to blackleg this year.

Farmers who wouldn’t have had blackleg in 20 years are now seeing it making a come-back, a knackery operator who covers the west, told the Irish Farmers Journal.

It has been particularly common in this year’s calves, he explained.