Industry must take action to tackle OPA, workshop hears

Sheep: Farmers, vets and scientists agree ultrasound scanning could help identify disease

Leading farmers, vets and livestock health experts say the time has come to develop a scheme to control the sheep industry curse of ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma (OPA).

A workshop at the Moredun Research Institute concluded that doing nothing to control the insidious disease in Scotland is no longer an option, and in the absence of any vaccine, treatment or blood test, ultrasound scanning could be used as a diagnostic tool to identify sheep with pre-clinical OPA.

The experts also concluded that more education is required to raise awareness of the disease and its transmission.

OPA is an infectious lung cancer specific to sheep which is caused by a virus, and typical signs are difficulty in breathing, often with marked weight loss, although clinical signs may not show for several years.

It is introduced to flocks through the purchase of apparently healthy animals and the virus can be spread to other animals in the flock.

One scheme which was discussed would allow individual flocks to achieve monitored OPA status in order to sell sheep certified as low risk for OPA transmission.

Ultrasound screening, post-mortem examination of culled sheep and feedback from abattoirs would all be involved in the monitoring programme.

A national eradication scheme based on scanning did not attract support.

Scotland’s chief vet, Sheila Voas, said: “We need to work together to tackle OPA as we now have the tools to make a difference.”

Moredun scientist Dr Chris Cousens said it was imperative that research continued to develop and apply better diagnostic tests.

nnicolson@thecourier.co.uk

Ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma is an infectious lung cancer specific to sheep which is caused by a virus.