BT Meeting - Hexham - 30th Sept.
German Bluetongue Expert coming to Hexham The Northern region of the National Sheep Association (NSA) are to hold a meeting for members and friends within the Function Room at Hexham Auction Mart on Tuesday 30th September at 7.00pm. All farmers with stock susceptible to BTV8 are welcome to attend this important meeting. Dr Johannes Winkelmann, who was Head of the Animal Health Service for the Chamber of Agriculture in the German State of North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) when BTV8 affected cattle and sheep for the first time in August of 2006 has been invited by the NSA to speak about his experience with the Bluetongue virus. As a result of Dr Winkelmann’s advice and work the BTV8 virus is now under control in NRW. In July and August of this year, only 3 cases of BTV8 have been confirmed in NRW, compared to 1537 cases in the same months last year.
Dr Winkelmann will inform the meeting of how BTV8 spread, its effect on the cattle and sheep, the monetary loss experienced by the various types of infected stock and practical advice on how to prevent the disease from becoming as prevalent as it did in NRW. Hans Pörksen, Northern Region Chairman of NSA said: “ We are very fortunate to get a Veterinary Surgeon of his practical experience of Bluetongue to come and tell us what we as farmers should do this autumn and in future years to prevent this disease. So many rumours are circulating regarding this problem, many of which are totally untrue.” Further information from Regional Organiser – Julie Sedgewick Tel 01388 664496 Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
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