Herd, Flock and Hive Diseases and the Programs Built Around Them

Starts the path with a cattle disease caused by Mycobacterium bovis. The page records that test and slaughter programs have eliminated or greatly reduced it in many developed countries, while wildlife reservoirs, notably badgers in parts of the United Kingdom and Ireland, have kept complete eradication difficult and costly.

A bacterial disease of cattle, goats, sheep and pigs that is also zoonotic. The page records that vaccination and test and slaughter programs have removed it from much of North America and Western Europe, yet it remains endemic in parts of the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa and Latin America.

A chronic intestinal infection of ruminants caused by Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis. The page records that infected animals can shed the bacteria for years before showing symptoms, which is why it is described as notoriously difficult to eliminate from an infected herd.

A viral cattle disease whose effects range from mild symptoms to reproductive failure. The page records that persistently infected calves shed the virus continuously, and that control programs increasingly focus on identifying and removing those animals from herds.

A one host tick that transmits the parasites behind cattle tick fever. The page records that its eradication from the United States in the early twentieth century, through a coordinated dipping and quarantine program, is a landmark of veterinary pest control, and that a quarantine buffer zone along the Texas border with Mexico still guards against its return.

A blowfly whose larvae feed on living tissue of warm blooded animals. The page records its eradication from the United States, Mexico and much of Central America by a large scale sterile insect release program from the 1950s, and a resurgence into southern Mexico and Central America from 2022 that renewed concern about northward spread.

A flatworm parasite, Fasciola hepatica, whose life cycle passes through freshwater snails on wet pasture. The page records it as a leading cause of production loss in grazing livestock across wet temperate regions, with mild, wet seasons linked to expanding risk in parts of Europe.

A blood feeding roundworm of the stomach of sheep and goats. The page records it as the most economically important internal parasite of small ruminants in warm and humid grazing regions, and says widespread resistance to anthelmintic drugs has made it a major focus of parasite management research.

A skin disease of sheep caused by the mite Psoroptes ovis, producing intense itching and wool loss. The page records that it is highly contagious through direct contact and remains a welfare and economic problem in sheep farming regions, including the United Kingdom, where compulsory notification and treatment schemes have been used.

A herpesvirus disease of chickens that causes tumors and paralysis. The page records that it was one of the first cancers of any species shown to be preventable by a vaccine, that vaccination since the 1970s has controlled it in commercial poultry, and that the virus continues to evolve toward greater virulence.

A viral disease of young chickens, also called Gumboro disease, that destroys the bursa of Fabricius and leaves surviving birds immunosuppressed. The page records that it was first identified near Gumboro, Delaware in the 1960s and is now found in poultry industries worldwide.

An external parasitic mite of honey bees that also transmits damaging bee viruses. The page records it as the single greatest driver of honey bee colony losses worldwide since it moved from the Asian honey bee to the western honey bee, and as a major contributing factor in colony collapse disorder.

Closes the path with a spore forming bacterial disease of honey bee larvae. The page records that its spores can stay infectious in equipment and hive material for decades, and that in most jurisdictions the standard control for an infected colony is to burn the hive and its contents.