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Cattle disease surveillance
If you have found something new, unusual, severe, or unresponsive in relation to cattle diseases, please contact the CEG veterinary lead Vanessa Swinson (0208 5654574) or your nearest Veterinary Investigation Centre.
Please note: if you suspect a notifiable disease you must contact APHA immediately.
Explore the diagnoses made by the GB surveillance network through the interactive cattle disease surveillance dashboard.
Cattle Expert Group (CEG) veterinary lead
Vanessa has been the CEG veterinary lead since January 2021. She leads the Defra-funded cattle disease scanning surveillance project in APHA.
Vanessa also represents APHA on the Ruminant Health and Welfare Group (for cattle); and is a member of the BVDFree England committee; and the Goat Veterinary Society committee.
CEG members
To support the CEG veterinary lead, the group has representation from Veterinary Investigation Officers from APHA and SRUC Veterinary Services representatives. In addition, there are APHA members on CEG providing expertise for specific disciplines (e.g. epidemiology, virology, parasitology) and specific diseases (e.g. BVD). There is also representation from those involved in International Disease Monitoring in APHA.
CEG non-APHA members include representatives from:
- Veterinary Medicines Directorate
- Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute
- Network of partner PME providers.
CEG collaboration
CEG also collaborates closely with:
- Ruminant Health and Welfare Group
- British Cattle Veterinary Association
- AHDB Dairy
- AHDB Beef & Lamb
- The Moredun Institute
APHA Animal Disease Surveillance Reports
- APHA Veterinary Record monthly disease surveillance report
- Quarterly GB Cattle Disease Surveillance and Emerging Threats reports
Recent Interesting Cases
GB cattle disease quarterly report: disease surveillance and emerging threats - January - March 2023
- Update on gastroparesis syndrome in dairy heifers
- Update on colisepticaemia in non-neonatal dairy calves
- Gastrointestinal nematodes in first season grazing cattle
- Two cases of clostridial enterotozaemis in adult cattle
- Histophilus somni myocarditis and thromboembolic encephalitis.
Current Projects
What worms? What wormer resistance risk?
Population information
- Livestock Demographic Data Group: cattle population report - 2022
- Livestock Demographic Data Group: cattle population report - 2021
- Livestock Demographic Data Group: cattle population report - 2020
- Livestock Demographic Data Group: cattle population report - 2019
- Livestock Demographic Data Group: cattle population report - November 2018
- Livestock Demographic Data Group: cattle population report - November 2017
Enhanced Demographic Reports
Disease information
Information notes and alerts on specific diseases or conditions:
- Laboratory diagnosis of gastrointestinal nematodes in first-grazing-season cattle - May 2023
- Update on severe summer scour syndrome in cattle - April 2023
- Monitoring parasite burdens and investigating suspected parasiticide resistance in cattle – May 2022
- Summer 2022: Hot weather and potential risks to livestock health and welfare – August 2022
- Extensively managed livestock event focuses on tickborne diseases – April 2021
- Suckler calf diseases – March 2021
- Late grazing plant poisonings in cattle – November 2020
- Bedding shortage information note - January 2018, revised September 2020
- Taenia saginata - Transmission of tapeworms between humans and cattle – July 2020 - English | Welsh
- Cattle abortions update – June 2020
- Seroprevalence survey for Besnoitia Besnoiti in cattle and buffalo imported to mainland UK from Europe in 2008 - February 2020
- Cattle Surveillance in the autumn months - October 2019
- Plan ahead to control parasitic gastroenteritis, husk and fluke - January 2019
- Winter 2018: potential forage shortages in the UK - autumn/winter 2018/2019- Winter 2018
- Mycoplasma bovis: current knowledge, industry challenges and knowledge gaps for the UK cattle industry - October 2018
- Mycoplasma bovis investigations in cattle - August 2018
- Potential impacts on ruminant health and welfare during hot weather - August 2018
- Veterinary information note on bovine besnoitiosis - August 2018
There is also a farmers information note on bovine besniotiosis for vets to share with farmers - August 2018
Videos
The following videos were created by APHA on bluetongue, a notifiable disease which can affect ruminant animals:
- The risk of bluetongue disease spreading into the UK (in collaboration with The Pirbright Institute)
- Bluetongue transmission, clinical signs and pathology (in collaboration with The Pirbright Institute)