Orf is a viral disease found in English sheep flocks which can cause economic losses. It is a zoonosis with little epidemiological research available in the UK. In 2012, 3000 questionnaires were sent to English sheep farms in order to investigate the prevalence of orf, determine vaccination efficacy and to identify some of the potential risk factors. The usable response rate was 25.4 per cent. The usable farms (N=762 in the years 2011 and 2012) were used to model the percentage of animals affected on the farm, and the probability of a farm being found with the disease. The disease prevalence (DP) was standardised for the year and calculated as 1.88 per cent for ewes and 19.53 per cent for lambs. The disease risk ratio (RR) for the use of the vaccine was calculated as 2.04 for ewes and 0.75 for lambs, and therefore, the study found that lamb vaccination was beneficial (RR <1). Weed infestation and an increased number of orphan lambs were associated with increased cases of orf. We conclude that the DP in ewes and lambs affect each other, though the impact is higher for lambs in the presence of increasing prevalence in ewes. A short lambing season lowers the probability of a farm experiencing cases of orf. Vaccination was effective in lambs but not in ewes, though lambs benefitted when ewes were vaccinated (reduced orf prevalence in lambs born from vaccinated ewes), probably because any unvaccinated ewes may have been carriers that could spread the virus to the new-born lambs.

In developing countries, foetal wastage from slaughtered ruminants and the associated economic losses appear to be substantial. However, only a limited number of studies have comprehensively evaluated these trends. In the current study, secondary (retrospective) and primary data were collected and evaluated to estimate the prevalence of foetal wastage from cattle, sheep and goats slaughtered at an abattoir in Minna, Nigeria, over a 12-year period (January 2001-December 2012). Time-series modelling revealed substantial differences in the rate of foetal wastage amongst the slaughtered species, with more lambs having been wasted than calves or kids. Seasonal effects seem to influence rates of foetal wastage and certain months in the year appear to be associated with higher odds of foetal wastage. Improved management systems are suggested to reduce the risk of foetal losses.

Orf, a parapoxvirus, is a zoonosis causing a contagious pustular dermatitis, and has a high morbidity in sheep worldwide. Despite a vaccine being available, orf prevalence in England is estimated to be 2 per cent in ewes and 20 per cent in lambs​​. There is concern that farmers are not complying with the vaccination guidelines and therefore the objective of this study was to investigate if orf vaccine is used correctly on sheep farms in the UK and to identify barriers and motivators of sheep farmers to use the vaccine. The survey was completed by 570 respondents. The results show several areas of concern; only 27 per cent of respondents used the correct site (axilla), 37 per cent of respondents would use orf vaccine up to a week after opening a vial (shelf life is eight hours), 33 per cent of respondents would vaccinate their ewes too close to lambing and 73 per cent of respondents did not separate vaccinated and non-vaccinated animals (both leading to infection risk for non-vaccinated animals). When vaccinating, only 53 per cent of respondents were wearing gloves and 31 per cent washed their hands just before and immediately after vaccination. Results demonstrate that orf vaccination is not carried out correctly on all UK sheep farms, which is likely to affect vaccine efficacy. A concern around vaccine efficacy, the ‘hassle’ of the scratch administration, the ‘risk of making it worse’ and the zoonotic risk when vaccinating were the most common barriers for using orf vaccine, highlighting the importance of veterinary advice when prescribing orf vaccine.

The association between some risk factors and the presentation of post-partum uterine infections in dairy cattle has been established. However, this association is not comprehensive and the role of other factors has not been widely studied. Here the importance of age, parity, calving season, dystocia and retained foetal membranes (RFMs) was established as some of the potential risk factors for uterine infections. Cases studied occurred at two English dairy farms: Farm A (n= 463) and Farm B (n=361) that had calved between January and December 2009. It was found that Farm B reported a higher prevalence of uterine infections based on age, parity and calving season (24% vs. 16%). Farm A reported a higher prevalence of uterine infections based on retained foetal membranes (8.9% vs. 5%) and dystocia (11.9% vs. 6.9%). Both farms reported significant effect on age (χ 2 = 19.35, df 2, p<0.001 and χ 2 = 19.82, df 2, p<0.001), calving season (χ 2 = 9.61, df 3, p<0.02 and χ 2 = 80.06, df 3, p<0.001) and dystocia (χ 2 = 12.98, df 1, p<0.001 and χ 2 = 7.56, df 1, p<0.01) on the presentation of uterine infection while parity and RFMs were not significant. The findings of this study may be useful for helping to set up protocols in dairy herd health management that prompt livestock owners, breeders and veterinarians to take quick action to avoid the consequences caused by postpartum uterine infections. In addition, it could help in the formulation of correct post-calving health monitoring strategies within a dairy herd.

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