Leptospirosis can have a significant impact on your dairy herd causing economic losses through increased abortions and calf deaths. It is a serious infectious disease caused by bacteria, which can affect a range of animals including cattle and humans.
An integrated approach to prevent leptospirosis should consider:
- vaccinating the whole herd (following directions on the vaccine label)
- developing and implementing a farm biosecurity plan; and
- considering the risk of introducing infection when bringing in stock and only purchasing animals with an animal health statement.
Agriculture Victoria and Dairy Australia have worked together to develop a biosecurity tool to assist dairy farmers create a farm biosecurity plan tailored to their farm. Farmers can access the tool using this link (Biosecurity Plan Tool) to manage their farm and herd's risks to 14 separate diseases.
If you suspect leptospirosis, confirmation requires testing from your veterinarian.
The occurrence of a severe outbreak in a herd is often due to the introduction of an infected animal to an unexposed and unvaccinated herd.
Spread can be through exposure to contaminated water, food, pastures and soil or contact with tissue or urine of infected animals.
The severity of the disease is highly dependent on the host and strain. Symptoms of the disease depend on the infecting strain, which means cases may pass unnoticed.
Some of the signs that could lead you to suspect leptospirosis in your herd include:
- abortion or still births
- decline in quality and quantity of milk
- bloody, port wine coloured urine
- rough, dry coat
- severe fever and death in young animals.
