On Call
Creating a biosecurity plan is one of the most powerful means of preventing disease-related problems in beef cow-calf herds. The primary goal of a biosecurity plan is to prevent the introduction of disease into the herd. This can be coupled with efforts to prevent transmission of disease within the herd and plans to eliminate disease carrying individuals. This is particularly applicable to purebred producers in that a disease-free status can add significant value to marketable seedstock. Similarly, however, smaller commercial producers can also benefit greatly from some basic biosecurity practices.
On Call
The news has been full of information regarding influenza virus in recent months whether discussing the shortage of flu vaccines available for people, the spread of H1N1 or the more recent discussion of canine influenza. In this article, we are diverting a bit from livestock medicine to more of a companion animal topic, but I suspect that this topic may be of interest to most of our readers. In response to the recent media coverage I have begun to get questions regarding canine influenza, the signs of infection and need for vaccination.
