The aim of this particular workstream is to design and pilot a disease syndromic surveillance programme, potentially as a model for a Welsh national scheme. The pilot project utilises data collected from a small number of Welsh farm animal practices that are members of Iechyd Da and Menter a Busnes (Milfeddygon Gogledd Cymru), both partner organisations in Arwain DGC (Defnydd Gwrthficrobaidd Cyfrifol / Responsible Antimicrobial Use). The aspiration is this data will be used to support farm animal health and surveillance across the United Kingdom.
By monitoring patterns of clinical signs and symptoms, syndromic surveillance can enable early detection of disease outbreaks before laboratory confirmation is available. It can enable veterinary professionals to:
- Respond rapidly to emerging health threats
- Potentially prevent widespread disease transmission
- Reduce economic losses in livestock and companion animal populations.
By identifying unusual trends in real-time data such as mortality rates, clinical presentations, or behavioural changes, syndromic surveillance strengthens our ability to protect both animal welfare and public health.
The six syndromes we're currently working on are:
- Mastitis
- Pneumonia
- Lameness
- Abortion
- Water mouth
- Joint ill.
View pilot summary statistics for each of these syndromes.
Disclaimer
- FAVSNET does not give veterinary advice. If you are concerned about the health of animals under your care, you must contact your vet
- FAVSNET is still in a pilot stage. It is not intended to represent the true epidemiological situation of any animal disease or syndrome in Wales and should not be used as a surveillance tool for decision-making at this stage
- Since February 2024, we have collected around 50,000 clinical records and drug label entries. However, more data from additional sources and over a longer period are still needed to improve representativeness and reduce potential hidden biases
- Changes in the numbers of cases with a particular disease or syndrome are probably due to an increase in submissions rather than a genuine rise in disease occurrence.
Additionally, although we have made every effort to ensure our dashboards give an accurate representation of the data we receive, there are two sources of potential bias. Firstly, the dashboards are based on clinical records (secondary data) which often lacks laboratory confirmation. Secondly, the accuracy of our method to identify cases may also miss them because of changes in spelling or local terminology used by the vet.
In this sense, the dashboards main use is to explore relative distribution such as seasonal patterns or the proportion of different syndromes. Their use and interpretation are not the responsibility of the FAVSNET team. They are best used by veterinarians to inform local decisions about disease control.
As a laboratory contributing data to UK surveillance, we hope this project will give a deeper understanding of Welsh livestock disease status and act as an early warning system.
Jonathan King, Centre Manager, Wales Veterinary Science Centre