July 17, 2006

Scottish beef farms hit by a series of botulism outbreaks

200 cattle on a Scottish beef farm have been culled after contracting botulism, the region's fourth case in recent weeks. 

The outbreaks are thought to have come from cattle coming into contact with contaminated poultry litter or animal feed.

The outbreaks, which happened at close intervals, are raising concerns.

The Scottish Agricultural College's veterinary manager Douglas Gray said such cases used to be rare. Prior to the recent spate of outbreaks, there was only one confirmed outbreak of botulism in cattle in Scotland and that was about two years ago, Gray said.

Two of the outbreaks have been traced to the application of poultry litter to grazing ground, while a shortened time gap between applying litter and putting animals on to the land may have caused the disease, Gray said.

The risk of contracting botulism is heightened when cattle is in contact with poultry litter or animal feed contaminated with wild bird or rodent carcases.