Notifiable diseases Flashcards
What is a notifiable disease, name some examples?
A disease which is named in section 88 of the Animal Health Act 1981
- Foot and Mouth Disease, Sheep Pox, Sheep Scab, Swine Fever
What is the law on reporting notifiable diseases?
Section 15(1) of the Animal Health Act 1981 says that: “any person having in their possession or under their charge an animal affected or suspected of having one of these diseases must, with all practicable speed, notify that fact to a police constable.“
What are the aims of making a disease notifiable?
- To prevent the introduction of specified diseases into Great Britain
- To eradicate, control or prevent the spread of specified diseases of economic, animal health, animal welfare, or public health importance
Why make a disease notifiable?
- Public health significance
- Economic impact on the agricultural industry
- International Trade impact
- Animal welfare impact
What is the purpose of diseases being notifiable?
- To collect information about the disease
- To confirm absence e.g. bluetongue
- To detect quickly
- To control as part of compulsory disease control programme by the state
- To facilitate international trade
- To prevent risks to the public
Describe bluetongue, its hosts and vector
- A non-contagious insect transmitted infectious disease of sheep caused by the bluetongue virus (BTV) and carried by cattle, buffalo, goats, deer (silent)
- Only spread by biting midges: Culicoides sp.
- Notifiable
Porcine epidemic diarrhoea is managed as a notifiable disease differently from other notifiable diseases in pigs. The two main elements of the legislation for PED as a notifiable disease are that…?
- Pig-keepers, their veterinary surgeons or veterinary laboratories must report suspect and confirmed cases of PED in pigs kept in England to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).
- APHA is permitted to share identifying details of suspect and confirmed PED cases for disease control purposes with the industry levy board, AHDB Pork.
Name 3 endemic notifiable diseases of cattle
- Tuberculosis
- Anthrax
- Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)
Name 3 notifiable diseases of sheep
- Anthrax
- Scrapie
- Sheep scab
Name 2 notifiable diseases of poultry
Avian influenza
Newcastle disease
Name the 7 Critical Success Factors for controlling notifiable diseases
- Knowledge of the epidemiology and ecology of the organism
- Means of identifying infected animals
- Ability to eliminate the pathogen once identified
- Ability to stop reintroduction of the pathogen onto premises
- Cooperation of all sectors of the industry
- Financial Resources
- Infrastructure
Explain why lameness in dairy cows would not be notifiable?
- It is multifactorial; this would make definitive diagnosis difficult, so confirming eradication would be impossible
- There is no international agreement on the diagnostic criteria.
- It is very prevalent, making the costs excessive
- It is not zoonotic
How are control measures decided?
- A reduction in the level of contamination of the organism?
- Complete elimination of the organism?
Other factors: - The cost of applying the legal requirements to disease control must be reasonable
- Availability of solutions: if there is no single, effective solution, then making a disease notifiable is not really viable
What are the 3 most important parts of controlling a notifiable disease?
- Minimise contact
- Vaccination
- Treatment
How can contact be minimised?
- Movement controls, Farm, protection and surveillance zones.
- Slaughter of individual animals (BSE)
- Selective slaughter of affected animals or groups (TB)
- Whole herd slaughter (FMD, TB)
- Biosecurity
Where are notifiable diseases reported to in england?
APHA
What are the steps involved if you suspect a notifiable disease?
- Make sure you have contact details for APHA in the area you work in. This includes out of hours numbers
- Make that decision: you are with the animal, and if you cannot decide, APHA can help.
- If an outbreak of notifiable is suspected or confirmed, the owner or their vet or a veterinary laboratory is now legally obliged to report this to APHA on the Defra Rural Services
- Stay on the farm; don’t spread disease
- Have clear information ready as you make your call.
What occurs once disease is suspected?
Samples taken – bloods, swabs, tissue
What occurs once disease is confirmed?
- The UK CVO confirms disease and a variety of control zones are legally defined and put into effect
- These zones help prevent the spread of disease, largely by stopping movement of animals and animal products
- The original premises(s) are also restricted
- Movements are only allowed under licences issued by APHA.
Which system involved national and member states to take immediate measures to prevent the spread of the diseases in question?
The Animal Disease Notification System (ADNS)
What is a reportable disease?
Reportable diseases (in animals) are those where there is a statutory requirement to report laboratory confirmed isolation of organisms.
Name 2 reportable diseases
Salmonella
Brucella (abortus, melitensis, ovis)
Reportable diseases give the power to?
- To take samples
- To declare infected places
- To require cleansing and disinfection
Which 5 reportable diseases will be notifiable on clinical suspicion or positive laboratory detection?
- Contagious caprine pleuropneumonia
- Ebola
- Glanders
- Surra (trypanosoma evansi)
- Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans
Name the Nine diseases which must be reported on detection at the place of analysis (i.e. laboratories).
- Bovine Virus Disease
- Bovine genital campylobacteriosis
- Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus
- Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis/infectious pustular vulvovaginitis
- Paratuberculosis
- Trichomoniasis
- Avian mycoplasmosis
- Avian chlamydiosis
- Q fever (Coxiella burnetti)
