Animal health includes the use of measures like vaccinations, dosing and dips to safeguard farming enterprises. These precautions amount to less than 7% of the farmer’s total expenditure. To avoid essential preventative treatment and spending is to act unwisely. Animal diseases and parasites are bad news for the economy, to say nothing of human and animal health.
All animal health products should be used strictly according to label instructions. Even then, results may vary according to the disease and the stage of the disease at which treatment is applied. The earlier that treatment is administered (during the course of the disease) the better will be the results.
No vaccine can give 100% protection, but the involvement of a veterinarian plus the correct use of registered products with demonstrated effectiveness and safety could only be to the benefit of animals and producers alike.
View the following websites:
Vaccination is a process where you inject a biological product into an animal. It is a process whereby one exposes an animal to a codified or weakened disease-causing organism. The more antibodies the animal has to fight that particular disease, the less likely it is to become infected. In many cases, an animal should be vaccinated yearly to ensure immunity against specific diseases.
The age at which a young animal is first vaccinated plays an important role in its response to vaccination. This is because the young animal is still getting a measure of immunisation from the mother’s early milk or colostrum. This is passive immunity, but it interferes with the vaccine if given too early.
For further information please contact: OBP or Animal Health for Developing Farmers at ARC-OVR (see “Role players” heading).
Forty percent of all animal health products sold in SA are parasiticides, ectoparasiticides or dips and pour-on’s for control of ticks and other external parasites, as well as anthelmintics for control of worms. Because they are so important to SA farmers, there is much debate about parasites developing resistance to the chemicals in these products. The truth is that resistance will always be with us. It is nature’s evolutionary response towards evading suppression. To manage resistance:
Plunge dips need to be cleaned after a certain number of dip cycles. The remaining dip mixture is usually a concoction of active ingredients and their metabolites. The best practice to dispose of these dip mixtures is:
Do not attempt to dispose of any redundant dip mixture or dip residues by pumping it into natural water bodies or onto the soil. The results will be disastrous for the environment.
Sources: Afrivet, SAAHA, ARC-OVR, Department of Agriculture, AgriTV, Gerhard H Verdoorn.
Find the “Public Info” option at www.savc.org.za. Included here is a copy of the Veterinary And Para-Veterinary Professions Act No. 19 of 1982.
To improve delivery of veterinarian services, Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) has introduced measures like expanding the existing bursary scheme for veterinary studies and introducing a year’s compulsory community service (CCS) for vets after graduating.
Find Directorate documents, contact details and other information at www.dalrrd.gov.za. Of relevance to this chapter are (i) Animal Health (ii) Veterinary Public Health, and (iii) Agriculture Inputs Control.
State Veterinary Services sponsor the testing for certain animal diseases. Please contact your nearest State veterinarian office or Provincial office for advice (find extensive details of chief director, state vets, laboratory services per province on the website). See also:
Further reference:
Training and research
Several publications like A Guide to Animal Diseases in South Africa: Game, The Cattle Health Handbook (Heather Smith Thomas), Ask the Vet – What cattle farmers should know (Faffa Malan), Illustrated guide to identification of African tick species (Latif, A.A.) and Vaccines and Immunisation of Farm Animals (Du Preez, Malan) are available from Kejafa Knowledge Works. Find these at www.kejafa.com.
The Best practice reference manual for wool sheep farming in South Africa, brought out by the National Wool Growers Association (NWGA) includes useful notes on health and disease management. Find the document on www.nwga.co.za.
The ARC-OVR Supply Shop has a number of publications, CDs, DVDs and other media for sale.
The following publications (mostly “Info paks”) are available at www.dalrrd.gov.za:
ANIPEDIA is “an online quality and invaluable scientific animal health knowledge”. Visit www.anipedia.org.
Landbou.com, the electronic arm of the magazine Landbouweekblad, runs a question and answer veterinary column. Find it at www.landbou.com/landbou/kundiges
Diseases and Parasites of Sheep and Goats in South Africa (Dr Pamela Oberem, Dr Peter Oberem and Dr Johan van Rensburg) provides easy-to-understand information on management, disease recognition, preventative measures and treatment. Call Afrivet at 012 817 9060. Also available are the following:
See also the Afrivet Plan A website, www.afrivetplana.co.za, for an interactive calendar, easy-to-use wheel programme – and more.
The Journal of the South African Veterinary Association (JSAVA) is published by the South African Veterinary Association and AOSIS OpenJournals. Visit www.jsava.co.za.
Publications available from SAAHA on request (Contact details under previous heading):
Using Efficient Microbes products decreases the farmer’s dependence on antibiotics and medicines. Read more at www.efficientmicrobes.co.za.
www.vetproductsonline.co.za – an online animal product store.
