FACIAL ECZEMA

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 72, Issue 6198, 25 February 1946, Page 5

FACIAL ECZEMA

POSSIBILITY OF OUTBREAK STATEMENT BY DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE The following statement has been issued by the Department of Agriculture:— The extremely dry weather which has been experienced in the past few months in the Hawke’s Bay, Poverty Bay, Bay of Plenty, Waikato and North Auckland districts is causing farmers considerable concern regarding the possibility of a disastrous outbreak of facial eczema similar to that which occurred in 1938. Although extremely dry,' the weather this year has not been unusually hot, and the temperatures have not approached those experienced in the early months of 1938. It is hoped that this factor may modify the severity of any outbreaks of facial eczema which may occur. Unfortunately, however, this is offset by another very disquieting observation. Livers collected at the' meat works from lambs forwarded from the dry areas have in an alarming percentage of cases shown changes,. 1 characteristic of the early phases o/f facial eczema. This is most unusual, as such changes rarely occur before the first autumn rains. So far the liver damage has not been sufficiently severe to cause any disturbances in the health of the lambs and providing they do not become worse complete healing should take place. However, it would appear that the present condition of sheep livers in the dry areas is such as to render them especially susceptible to the effects of toxic autumn grass. Farmers should, theref6re, take all possible precautions to avoid trouble. In most cases dairy cattle will already be receiving silage, and this should be continued. Wherever possible the feeding of hay to sheep should be commenced immediately. It is not likely that any serious outbreak will occur until sufficient rain has fallen to cause the rapid flush of pasture, but should such rain fall during the next two months while temperatures are still high conditions will become extremely critical and farmers must act immediately. It will then be necessary to reduce to a minimum the consumption of the pasture which grows during the first fortnight after the rains start. Farmers who are sufficiently fortunate to have irrigated pasture or other pasture which has remained green during the summer, or crops such as rape, turnips or lucerne should transfer as many as possible of their stock to them. Paspalum is generally safe as are native pastures growing on hill country. It should be noted, however, that ryegrass growing amongst paspalum and ryegrass growing in the gullies__ and lower slopes of hill country may be particularly dangerous. The most dangerous pastures of all are, of course, those dominant in ryegrass and clover growing on fertile flats and rolling country. Unfortunately only such pastures are available in many farms in the affected areas. In such cases the consumption of such pasture must be limited by the confining of stock to very small areas. Dairy cattle should be herded together in a small paddock and fed silage and hay. Sheep should be crowded into small paddocks at a rate of not less than 100 to the acre and fed hay. It is absolutely imperative that action should be taken as soon as the first autumn rains fall in sufficient quantity to produce growth. If the weather remains warm and showery precautions must be continued until such time as the pasture shows signs of hardening. If the rain is accompanied by cold weather or followed immediately by hot dry weather it should not be necessary to continue the precautions very long. Farmers would, how'ever, be well advised to err on th? side of safety as short periods of semi-starvation would cause less harm to their stock than the severe type of facial eczema which might well occur this year. It cannot be over-empha-sised that precautions will be quite valueless if they are delayed until signs of the disease occur. They must be taken immediately rain falls.