Helpline for abortion bug victims

By Philippa Stevenson

A support group has been set up to help dairy farmers deal with a little known and much feared disease, neospora, which is believed to be responsible for abortion epidemics in herds.

At least one dairy farmer has committed suicide after being devastated by the effects of the disease on his business. In the worst-hit herds, up to 40 per cent of the cows suffer spontaneous abortions, according to Waikato Federated Farmers.

Livestock Improvement's chief veterinarian, Lindsay Burton, said neospora was a major problem, believed to be responsible for 25 per cent of abortions - between about 16,000 and 24,000 - in dairy cattle each year. There was no treatment for the disease, which had only been recognised in New Zealand since 1984.

Waikato Federated Farmers policy analyst John Grupen said fear of neospora was so strong that some farmers whose herds got the disease felt they were being treated like lepers.

"Even their friends won't go on the farm because little is known about what causes it and how it is spread," he said.

Neospora could not be transmitted to humans but its impact on a farm - combined with social ostracism - could be traumatic for farming families. Many were reluctant to seek help, Mr Grupen said.

A member of a group running a neospora helpline, Otorohanga farmer Sue Blackler, said she and her husband Gary lived a frightening nightmare when the disease struck their herd three years ago.

"It started with one or two slips [abortions], then we were getting three and four a day, and at the peak six a day. It got to the stage you didn't want to go to the shed for fear of what you'd find," she said.

Between April and May that year, 40 of the family's 200 cows aborted. The Blacklers calculate it cost them $40,000 in lost production, vet expenses and herd rebuilding.

One of the worst aspects was having no one to turn to for help, Mrs Blackler said.

"We couldn't get anyone to talk to us. The vets knew little and couldn't help [refer to others with experience of the disease] because of the Privacy Act and client confidentiality."

The Blacklers took what action they could, such as separating out cows testing positive to the disease, and finally a friend referred them to another farmer whose herd had been affected.

"Probably what we did didn't make any difference but it felt good to do something. We survived but we wanted to know what was going to happen the following year. You need some reassurance," Mrs Blackler said.

Mr Burton said the disease, found worldwide and caused by a microscopic organism, was thought to have been present since 1957. Blood tests were not a reliable indicator, and if only one or two cows aborted a farmer often did not test at all. Neospora could cause abortions which were put down to other factors, he said.

"It may be responsible for low-level infertility, and calf ill-thrift rather than just abortion storms," he said.

Neospora Helpline provides technical and financial advice as well as support for those under stress from an outbreak. The number is 0800 FARMING or 0800 327-646.