Review/Oorsig Volume 22, Issue 04 | Page 3

Volume 22 • Issue 04 • 2018 The Livestock Health and Production Review is published Bi-monthly by Vetlink Copyright reserved. Expressions of opinion, claims and statement of supposed facts do not necessarily reflect the views of the editor or publisher. While every effort is made to report accurately, the publisher or the editor does not accept any liability with regard to CONTENT Abortion and Stillbirth Investigation - Part 02 05 The 5 most important observation points to recognise the first signs of livestock disease 15 Carbon Moooves 10 Understanding Rift Valley Fever in the Republic of South Africa 20 Ruralvet - In the Real World: Cryptosporidium 22 any statement, advertisement, fact or recommendation made in this magazine. Editor Mark Chimes Production and advertising Madaleen Schultheiss EDITOR’s Note For several years now Ruralvet’s online discussion forum has been a source of advice and support for veterinarians having to deal with ruminant issues in Southern Africa. The only problem with the discussion forum is that several topics are discussed at any one time. In addition, some replies are only posted several days later. As a result the information of several topics become “entangled”. Layout and design Heinrich van Rijn Patron Danie Odendaal Publisher and Owner: Vetlink Publications We welcome any comments, contributions, topic suggestions and letters for publication. Send them to: The Editor, PO Box 232, GROENKLOOF, 0027 Tel: (012) 346 1590, 0825756479 Fax: 086 671 9907 [email protected] There is a wealth of “real life” advice and information in the posts, but accessing it is cumbersome and time-consuming. To this end some veterinarians have mentioned that it would be nice to take one topic at a time and try to collate and publish the questions and answers in a chronological order in one article. This can then be used as reference material by practicing veterinarians. The first topic chosen was Cryptosporidium. Purely because it is a problem that all ruminant vets seem to be struggling with at the moment and a major topic of discussion on Ruralvet. So much so, that RuVASA (The Ruminant Veterinary Association of South Africa) is in the process of compiling a “Cryptosporidium Guideline” for farmers. The article in this issue is very long, but I wanted to ensure that a proper overview of the problem and its solutions is given. Despite its length, the article makes for an easy read at bedtime (or on the loo!) due its conversational tone. If you are a veterinarian dealing with ruminants and is not a member of Ruralvet, I strongly suggest that you join the forum by sending a request to the moderator at [email protected]. Veterinary students and veterinarians in academia or industry are also encouraged to join Warm regards Mark Chimes 3