Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on May 3, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Letters vmd.defra.gov.uk); since then, the number of reports we receive electronically has increased dramatically, so that now only about 15 per cent of the reports we receive are on paper. As part of our efforts to continuously improve the services we offer, we recently carried out an online survey of users of our electronic reporting form and received a 38 per cent response rate: 84 per cent of respondents said they found that submitting the form was quick and easy, 93 per cent found the pop-up guidance useful and 90 per cent said they would recommend others to report online. I would like to thank everyone who took the time to complete this survey and say that we will be looking at ways in which we can refine the form even further to improve user experience. It is for this reason that we have decided that, as of January 1, 2014, we will no longer routinely send out paper forms when acknowledging receipt of a paper report. Instead, we would encourage everyone to try out our online form. If anyone has any difficulties, help is at hand by contacting the pharmacovigilance team on 01932 338427, and there will still be an option to download and print off a form, which can be sent to us via the freepost address printed on the form. Giles Davis, Pharmacovigilance Unit, Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Woodham Lane, New Haw, Surrey KT15 3LS e-mail: [email protected] doi: 10.1136/vr.f7637
MENTAL HEALTH
Suicide risk among farmers AFTER the wonderful summer and mild autumn we enjoyed in 2013, many will have forgotten the devastating effects of the severe weather on hill farmers last spring. The wet summer in 2012 resulted in livestock going into winter in poor condition, compounded by a heavy burden of fluke and with poor quality silage to sustain them. As a result, many farmers had lower than normal lambing percentages, coupled with devastating losses, resulting in fewer lambs to sell in the autumn. At the same time, single farm payments may be almost entirely accounted for by outstanding feed and fertiliser bills. Farmers have twice the suicide rate of the general population and account for 1 per cent of the national toll. Studies comissioned by the Department of Health have shown that depression in farmers relates to: ‘problems with record keeping and paperwork (62 per cent), difficulty understanding forms (56 per cent), and problems arising from the effects of 22 | Veterinary Record | January 4, 2014
new legislation and regulations (49 per cent). Nearly a quarter reported financial problems and most were worried about money . . . Nearly a third had health problems that interfered with their work . . . The farmers most vulnerable to financial and other problems were those with small farms and mixed farming operations. Farmers in Wales also seemed more vulnerable than those in England (Hawton and others 1998). (The last point was qualified, as there was a lower response from Farmers’ Union of Wales participants.) Veterinary surgeons are well placed to identify clients with problems. A sympathetic approach and a simple question such as ‘How are you doing this year?’ might allow a discussion to open. In addition to suggesting a visit to the GP, there are other sources of help available: n Farming Help – helpline 0845 3679990 n Farming liaison services – contact details can be found on the Welsh Government website (http://wales.gov.uk) n College of Psychiatrists – resources are available on this website (www. rcpsych.ac.uk); leaflets can be ordered by e-mailing [email protected] n U Can Cope – selfhelp resources are available on this website (www. connectingwithpeople.org/ucancope) n Royal Agricultural Benevolent Fund – confidential helpline 0300 3037373 Bridget Osborne, Tyddyn Uchaf, Llansanffraid Glan Conwy, Colwyn Bay, Conwy LL28 5PN e-mail: [email protected]
Reference
HAWTON, K., FAGG, J., SIMKIN, S., HARRISS, L. & MALMBERG, A. (1998) Methods used for suicide by farmers in England and Wales. The contribution of availability and its relevance to prevention. British Journal of Psychiatry 173, 320-324
doi: 10.1136/vr.f7638
CATTLE HEALTH
Conditions associated with Mycoplasma bovis FOLLOWING the letter from Strugnell and others (2013), reporting caseous lesions in the pharyngeal region and clinical signs associated with Mycoplasma bovis in dairy calves, I report some investigations that associated clinical conditions with M bovis in Cheshire, Staffordshire and Shropshire. These investigations followed the report by Foster and others (2009) which demonstrated an association between otitis in dairy calves and M bovis. I became aware that on 12 farms that experienced high calf morbidity
and disease, 10 had blind quartered heifers, and eight of these had evidence of M bovis. Six farms had calves with otitis and five of those had evidence of M bovis. It was characteristic that on these farms at least a third of calves were treated with antibiotics during their milk feeding stage and there was no seasonal pattern to disease incidence. Coincidentally, a number of heifers that calved had blind quarters. These heifers had no history of ‘summer mastitis’ and typically had visually normal, even show quality, udders. Dairy farmers usually only discovered the abnormality at first milking, as the teat and udder sinus were non-patent and blocked the passage of milk from glandular tissue, which appeared to be normal. Often only one quarter was affected, but occasionally two, three or even all four were blind. The heifers appeared otherwise clinically normal, and those with three functioning quarters were usually productive enough to be retained for milk production. On three of the farms investigated, there were incidents of udder change in prepuberty heifers. These occurred while they were housed. While there was swelling, inflammation and sometimes discharge of pus through the teat, the condition did not resemble ‘summer mastitis’. On two of these farms there was concurrent conjunctivitis. Seroconversion to M bovis was demonstrated on one of these units, and M bovis was detected from conjunctival swabs from the other. I encourage colleagues to inquire about the proportion of calves being treated, and investigate for signs of otitis on their clients farms. Blind quarters are often not reported to vets, as the heifers are not unwell, and bad luck gets the blame. Heifer rearing efficiency on UK dairy farms is subject to much discussion, not least because veterinary surgeons do not have the full information about performance on their clients’ farms. These investigations report apparently unrelated conditions that became associated with M bovis following discussions with enthusiastic owners and staff. I believe veterinarians should ask the additional question, ‘If you have this, do you have that?’ Neil M. Howie, The Laurels, Chapel Lane, Ravensmoor, Nantwich, Cheshire CW5 8PT e-mail: [email protected]
References
FOSTER, A. P., NAYLOR, R. D., HOWIE, N. M., NICHOLAS, A. J. & AYLING, R. D. (2009) Mycoplasma bovis and otitis in dairy calves in the United Kingdom. Veterinary Journal 179, 455-457 STRUGNELL, B. W., GLOVER, M.,WESSELS, M. & AYLING, R. D. (2013) Ear droop and stertor in dairy calves associated with Mycoplasma bovis. Veterinary Record 173, 299-300
doi: 10.1136/vr.f7639
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on May 3, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Suicide risk among farmers Bridget Osborne Veterinary Record 2014 174: 22
doi: 10.1136/vr.f7638 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/174/1/22.1
These include:
References Email alerting service
This article cites 1 articles, 1 of which you can access for free at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/174/1/22.1#BIBL Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up in the box at the top right corner of the online article.
Notes
To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
Letters vmd.defra.gov.uk); since then, the number of reports we receive electronically has increased dramatically, so that now only about 15 per cent of the reports we receive are on paper. As part of our efforts to continuously improve the services we offer, we recently carried out an online survey of users of our electronic reporting form and received a 38 per cent response rate: 84 per cent of respondents said they found that submitting the form was quick and easy, 93 per cent found the pop-up guidance useful and 90 per cent said they would recommend others to report online. I would like to thank everyone who took the time to complete this survey and say that we will be looking at ways in which we can refine the form even further to improve user experience. It is for this reason that we have decided that, as of January 1, 2014, we will no longer routinely send out paper forms when acknowledging receipt of a paper report. Instead, we would encourage everyone to try out our online form. If anyone has any difficulties, help is at hand by contacting the pharmacovigilance team on 01932 338427, and there will still be an option to download and print off a form, which can be sent to us via the freepost address printed on the form. Giles Davis, Pharmacovigilance Unit, Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Woodham Lane, New Haw, Surrey KT15 3LS e-mail: [email protected] doi: 10.1136/vr.f7637
MENTAL HEALTH
Suicide risk among farmers AFTER the wonderful summer and mild autumn we enjoyed in 2013, many will have forgotten the devastating effects of the severe weather on hill farmers last spring. The wet summer in 2012 resulted in livestock going into winter in poor condition, compounded by a heavy burden of fluke and with poor quality silage to sustain them. As a result, many farmers had lower than normal lambing percentages, coupled with devastating losses, resulting in fewer lambs to sell in the autumn. At the same time, single farm payments may be almost entirely accounted for by outstanding feed and fertiliser bills. Farmers have twice the suicide rate of the general population and account for 1 per cent of the national toll. Studies comissioned by the Department of Health have shown that depression in farmers relates to: ‘problems with record keeping and paperwork (62 per cent), difficulty understanding forms (56 per cent), and problems arising from the effects of 22 | Veterinary Record | January 4, 2014
new legislation and regulations (49 per cent). Nearly a quarter reported financial problems and most were worried about money . . . Nearly a third had health problems that interfered with their work . . . The farmers most vulnerable to financial and other problems were those with small farms and mixed farming operations. Farmers in Wales also seemed more vulnerable than those in England (Hawton and others 1998). (The last point was qualified, as there was a lower response from Farmers’ Union of Wales participants.) Veterinary surgeons are well placed to identify clients with problems. A sympathetic approach and a simple question such as ‘How are you doing this year?’ might allow a discussion to open. In addition to suggesting a visit to the GP, there are other sources of help available: n Farming Help – helpline 0845 3679990 n Farming liaison services – contact details can be found on the Welsh Government website (http://wales.gov.uk) n College of Psychiatrists – resources are available on this website (www. rcpsych.ac.uk); leaflets can be ordered by e-mailing [email protected] n U Can Cope – selfhelp resources are available on this website (www. connectingwithpeople.org/ucancope) n Royal Agricultural Benevolent Fund – confidential helpline 0300 3037373 Bridget Osborne, Tyddyn Uchaf, Llansanffraid Glan Conwy, Colwyn Bay, Conwy LL28 5PN e-mail: [email protected]
Reference
HAWTON, K., FAGG, J., SIMKIN, S., HARRISS, L. & MALMBERG, A. (1998) Methods used for suicide by farmers in England and Wales. The contribution of availability and its relevance to prevention. British Journal of Psychiatry 173, 320-324
doi: 10.1136/vr.f7638
CATTLE HEALTH
Conditions associated with Mycoplasma bovis FOLLOWING the letter from Strugnell and others (2013), reporting caseous lesions in the pharyngeal region and clinical signs associated with Mycoplasma bovis in dairy calves, I report some investigations that associated clinical conditions with M bovis in Cheshire, Staffordshire and Shropshire. These investigations followed the report by Foster and others (2009) which demonstrated an association between otitis in dairy calves and M bovis. I became aware that on 12 farms that experienced high calf morbidity
and disease, 10 had blind quartered heifers, and eight of these had evidence of M bovis. Six farms had calves with otitis and five of those had evidence of M bovis. It was characteristic that on these farms at least a third of calves were treated with antibiotics during their milk feeding stage and there was no seasonal pattern to disease incidence. Coincidentally, a number of heifers that calved had blind quarters. These heifers had no history of ‘summer mastitis’ and typically had visually normal, even show quality, udders. Dairy farmers usually only discovered the abnormality at first milking, as the teat and udder sinus were non-patent and blocked the passage of milk from glandular tissue, which appeared to be normal. Often only one quarter was affected, but occasionally two, three or even all four were blind. The heifers appeared otherwise clinically normal, and those with three functioning quarters were usually productive enough to be retained for milk production. On three of the farms investigated, there were incidents of udder change in prepuberty heifers. These occurred while they were housed. While there was swelling, inflammation and sometimes discharge of pus through the teat, the condition did not resemble ‘summer mastitis’. On two of these farms there was concurrent conjunctivitis. Seroconversion to M bovis was demonstrated on one of these units, and M bovis was detected from conjunctival swabs from the other. I encourage colleagues to inquire about the proportion of calves being treated, and investigate for signs of otitis on their clients farms. Blind quarters are often not reported to vets, as the heifers are not unwell, and bad luck gets the blame. Heifer rearing efficiency on UK dairy farms is subject to much discussion, not least because veterinary surgeons do not have the full information about performance on their clients’ farms. These investigations report apparently unrelated conditions that became associated with M bovis following discussions with enthusiastic owners and staff. I believe veterinarians should ask the additional question, ‘If you have this, do you have that?’ Neil M. Howie, The Laurels, Chapel Lane, Ravensmoor, Nantwich, Cheshire CW5 8PT e-mail: [email protected]
References
FOSTER, A. P., NAYLOR, R. D., HOWIE, N. M., NICHOLAS, A. J. & AYLING, R. D. (2009) Mycoplasma bovis and otitis in dairy calves in the United Kingdom. Veterinary Journal 179, 455-457 STRUGNELL, B. W., GLOVER, M.,WESSELS, M. & AYLING, R. D. (2013) Ear droop and stertor in dairy calves associated with Mycoplasma bovis. Veterinary Record 173, 299-300
doi: 10.1136/vr.f7639
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on May 3, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Suicide risk among farmers Bridget Osborne Veterinary Record 2014 174: 22
doi: 10.1136/vr.f7638 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/174/1/22.1
These include:
References Email alerting service
This article cites 1 articles, 1 of which you can access for free at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/174/1/22.1#BIBL Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up in the box at the top right corner of the online article.
Notes
To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
