Purpose

To proactively seek the latest information available on health issues and work to help industry implement programs and solutions that focus on developing/maintaining high flock health status.

There are three main focus areas for our efforts:

• Promotion of disease prevention programs
• Encouragement to develop veterinary-client relationships
• Education for the industry on optimum health management practices and disease control options

Some specific examples of significant advances in flock health: 

Bluetongue

• No occurrences since 1987
• As of 2002 – no viral activity found
• Monitoring continues in the Okanogan Valley, BC

• From 1998 - 2002 incidences decreased by 94%
• Incidences fell from 74 flocks to four flocks during that period
• In 2007, there were two cases of scrapie reported across Canada – one in Saskatchewan (atypical scrapie) and the other in Ontario (classical scrapie). 
• In 2009, six cases of scrapie have been reported so far.  The chart below presents further detail on these cases.

Approach

The CSF encourages a holistic approach to flock health that covers all areas of farm management including nutrition, housing and environment. Disease prevention is the primary focus of all programs, but attention is also directed toward:

• The importance of early disease detection
• How the national animal identification/tracking system is a key tool to reduce the spread of disease
• The importance having a biosecurity program in place for each farm to minimize the risk of disease being brought onto the farm
• Producers adopting the recommendations and programs from the CSF often find their operations become more efficient and profitable.

Additional Resources

Western Canadian Flock Health Program
Ontario Sheep Health Program
Scrapie Canada
Canadian Animal Health Coalition