Iain Richards

Benzimidazole resistance in Nematodirus battus

doi: 10.1136/vr.d3584 was obtained in the donor animal, resulting in low faecal egg counts (36 epg at the time of treatment). The animal was treated at the mrdr with fenbendazole. N battus eggs were again detected 10 days after treatment (24 epg), indicating the likely presence of resistance. sufficient material was obtained from the donor animal to infect 10 lambs for a controlled efficacy test. The trial was conducted according to the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology anthelmintic efficacy guidelines (Wood and others 1995). It was decided to conduct this trial in young lambs, so the results are only now becoming available. Individual worm count estimations indicate 0 per cent reduction in the worm burden of the fenbendazoletreated animals compared with the untreated control animals, confirming the suspicion of benzimidazole resistance. Although this resistance was detected to fenbendazole, if it is similar to anthelmintic resistance seen in other gastrointestinal parasites, sideresistance to all benzimidazoles could be expected to occur. The identification of a benzimidazoleresistant isolate of N battus is a worrying development due to heavy reliance on this anthelmintic class in the treatment of this parasite, but the results should be kept in perspective. Without knowing how widespread the problem may be, we would strongly advise that treatment of N battus is monitored and any potential inefficacies investigated. The case described here has been reported to the Veterinary medicines directorate under the suspected Adverse reaction surveillance scheme and the sustainable control of Parasites in sheep committee has been kept informed of the situation.

Erosion at the AHVLA

I HAVE recently had the pleasure and privilege of working at the AHVLA Penrith regional laboratory. This confirmed my already high opinion of the vets in the labs, but also made me appreciate the high professional standards of the rest of the staff who perform many of the highly demanding and complex tests. What saddens me is that this high standard (repeated across the country) is gradually being …

Responsible use of antimicrobials during lambing season

With the advent of the 2018 lambing season, we would like to remind all vets who have sheep farmer clients that, in any flock, it is not appropriate for all neonatal lambs to be treated with an antibiotic from the start of the new lambing season. In individual flocks and with close veterinary supervision, it may be appropriate to use targeted control measures …

One Health approach to controlling disease

Eds Susan Cork, David Hall and Karen Liljebjelke 398 pages, paperback, £39.99. 5M Publishing. 2016. ISBN 978 1 91045 555 5 ![Graphic][1] THE term One Health is one frequently applied to any situation or disease that has aspects relating to human or animal populations. While this is broadly correct, it underplays the real purpose of One Health, which is to engender a broad interdisciplinary approach to problem solving. In this new publication, the editors have collated a number of examples where a true One Health approach has been taken to controlling disease or to planning a response to a … [1]: /embed/inline-graphic-1.gif

Livestock rearing and animal welfare

Philip Lymbery with Isabel Oakeshott 448 pages, paperback, 65 minutes, £45.95. Bloomsbury Publishing. 2014. ISBN 978 1 40884 644 5 ![Graphic][1] I SUSPECT that most farm vets will approach ‘Farmageddon’ with a degree of caution and scepticism. Philip Lymbery, chief executive of Compassion in World Farming (CIWF), takes as his main theme the problems of large farms and the resultant poor welfare for the animals involved. It is written in a clear narrative style as he traces his worldwide journey to investigate intensive dairy, pig and poultry farming. He sensibly includes fish farming, as well as some aspects of fruit and vegetable monoculture, particularly how … [1]: /embed/inline-graphic-1.gif

Procurement of OV services.

THE letter from Nigel Gibbens ( VR , May 22, 2010, vol 166, [p 663][1]) must have raised a shadow of foreboding in every veterinary surgeon whose life was affected by type O foot-and-mouth disease pandemic in 2001. That this letter appears at a time when Animal Health has announced a tendering

Defra's management of bluetongue vaccine stocks

I would like to add my concerns to those expressed by John Blackwell and Roger Cunningham ( VR , May 30, 2009, vol 164, pp 698-700) regarding the manner in which Defra handled the price cut for bluetongue vaccine. While Defra may claim success for the approach to bluetongue control, this was only