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A Dog Disease Is Causing 'Abortion Storms' in the UK's Cattle

Neospora is a parasite found in dog shit. When pregnant cattle graze on the grass that dogs have crapped upon, they can ingest the parasite, causing them to spontaneously abort or give birth to calves infected with the disease for life.
Photo via Flickr user Rick Harrison

Dogs. Sure, they're bad-ass and cute as hell in equal measures (what other animal has their very own "Hero" awards?) but when it comes to walkies they can be a right pain: running off like Usain Bolt, barking at nothing in particular, and shitting left, right, and centre.

Picking up the poo isn't the most intoxicating of experiences, true. But it is one which carries some sense of societal courtesy—we pick it up because we don't want other people to step in it. Other than that, it's harmless, right?

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When dogs shit in farmer's fields and pregnant cattle graze on the grass, they ingest the parasite, causing them to abort or give birth to calves infected with the disease for life.

To your fellow humans, yes, it generally is. But scooping the poop is a courtesy we should extend to the countryside as whole, rather than considering the grassy hills just one big organic toilet. It won't hurt us, but it can hurt farm animals, farmers, and their bottom line.

Neospora is a parasite found in dog shit. When dogs shit in farmer's fields and pregnant cattle graze on the grass, they ingest the parasite, and this can cause them to abort or, in other cases, give birth to calves infected with the disease for life. Neospora can also infect and cause abortions in sheep.

Laura Higham, a veterinary surgeon at Food Animal Initiative (FAI), believes neospora is an underrated threat to the farming community, telling me it's the "leading cause of abortion in cattle in the UK." Higham herself has experienced first-hand the devastating consequences of an infected herd, as the cattle reared on the commercial beef farm at the FAI were affected by the disease earlier this year.

"Around 5 percent of our cattle aborted this year due to the disease, and it is estimated by DairyCo to cost the average herd £3,000 per year due to abortions, reduced milk yields, and poor fertility," Higham tells me. "It presents a significant constraint to sustainable cattle production in the UK. It can be a devastating disease when a herd first becomes infected, causing so-called 'abortion storms', and cows remain infected for life with no treatment or vaccine available."

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Higham also tells me studies have shown that 90 percent of dairy cows in the southwest of England have been infected, and up to 30 percent of dogs worldwide have been in contact with the parasite.

Earlier this year, the National Farmers Union (NFU) flagged up the dangers of neospora in its Love your Countryside campaign, interviewing several farmers on the matter. Hampshire dairy farmer Andy Humphrey told the NFU that the financial loss was the main cause for concern, but that this runs deeper than simple milk yields. The heritage of the herd is also rocked, as farmers can no longer breed from infected herds. Humphrey—backed up by other farmers cited in the report—concluded that "neospora seems to be fairly widespread now", arguing that although some owners do clean up their dogs' messes, "nine out of ten don't—and that's not good enough."

Part of the problem is that people believe that dog shit is biodegradable, which, of course, it is. But the infection remains in the grass, meaning that grazing cattle can contract the parasite after the dog, and its crap, is long gone.

So what can be done to stop the march of neospora? Sadly, Higham says, not much—it's difficult to crack down on the vicious circle. "Cattle first become infected by consuming feed or water that has been contaminated by dog faeces containing the parasite, and cows can then pass the infection to their calves. Dogs become infected by eating the placenta of infected cows following calving, then subsequently shed the parasite eggs in their faeces, completing the cycle."

Measures can be taken to stop the spread, including picking up your dog's shit, and preventing your dogs from eating materials and waste that they find on farm properties.

Ray Keatinge, head of research and development at DairyCo, agrees that dogs carrying neospora is only half of the problem. "Infection by neospora is a major cause of reproductive loss in cattle in the UK, and worldwide. It has been estimated to cause around 10 percent of diagnosed abortions in UK cattle," he tells me. "While dogs are the main host, if infection occurs during the later stages of pregnancy, the foetus can survive, but go on to be infected itself as a result of transmission across the placenta. Once in the herd, this vertical transmission from mother to calf is a main route for maintaining infection within a herd."

Measures can be taken to stop the spread, including picking up your dog's shit, and preventing your dogs from eating materials and waste that they find on farm properties. But as the number of pet dogs is steadily increasing in the UK, this is not as issue that is going to disappear without further action, despite research undertaken by the Moredun Research Institute and a thorough protocol for testing by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

"At the moment, there is no effective treatment or protective vaccine available," Keatinge says. "A farmer can only do so much in protecting his animals—excluding feed and water from where it could be contaminated by dogs and maintaining good hygiene at calving. This is why it is so important that all dog owners understand the risk that their pets could pose, and to act responsibly when out and about in the countryside."