Episode 39 – How to prevent a devastating Salmonella outbreak

In PodcastsOctober 11, 20243 Minutes

Salmonella outbreaks in herds can be devastating, and given the wet spring across the country, it is a grim reality for some farmers at the moment. 

In this episode, hear from a vet managing Salmonella outbreaks in Southland; two Veterinary Technical Advisors from MSD Animal Health about how to prevent a Salmonella outbreak on your farm; and a Waikato dairy farmer about how she managed an outbreak on her farm during the dry period, and what she’s doing now to prevent it happening again.

Guests include:

  1. Sam Lee, Southland Dairy Vet, Northern Southland Vets
  2. Kim Kelly, Livestock Veterinary Technical Advisor, MSD Animal Health
  3. Andrew MacPherson, Veterinary Technical Advisor, MSD Animal Health
  4. Louise Collingwood, Dairy Farmer, Ōtorohanga

Hosts:

  1. Sheryl Haitana, Editor, Dairy Exporter
  2. Anne Lee, Deputy Editor, Dairy Exporter
  3. Sarah Perriam-Lampp, Managing Director, CountryWide Media

Southland Dairy Vet Sam Lee says cows that are already under stress are more prone to contracting Salmonella, and it doesn’t have to have been brought onto the farm by external factors such as birds. The Salmonella bacteria likes wet conditions, so he has been dealing with it especially this year with an especially wet spring in Southland right now. 

MSD Animal Health are receiving a high number of calls from vets around the country seeking advice on best practice management of Salmonella as a result of outbreaks they are seeing from their farming clients. Livestock Veterinary Technical Advisor for MSD Animal Health Kim Kelly, and Veterinary Technical Advisor Andrew MacPherson, share what they are seeing out on farms at the moment and how to avoid an outbreak of this devastating bacteria on your farm.

Thanks to using SenseHub Dairy collars Ōtorohanga dairy farmer Louise Collingwood was able to pick up the symptoms of Salmonella and get the farm vet involved early to treat her herd. The health alerts from the devices go out even before the cows themselves show symptoms visible to the farmer.

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