Introduction in English

CENTRALIZED HEALTH CARE REGISTER FOR FINNISH CATTLE HERDS

Developing Centralized Health Care Register for Finnish cattle herds was started in June 2005. Before that some registers for health care had been maintained by the biggest slaughterhouses and dairies, but no uniform database for the whole country existed. With the new register it is possible to develop and follow-up the voluntary national health care scheme. The developing project was a joint operation of farmers, meat and milk industry, veterinarians, advisors, research institutes and authorities.

A cattle herd is accepted to the register after signing a Health Care Contract with a veterinarian. In the contract, the farmer authorizes the access of the veterinarian to farm data. Information collected in the register includes a Health Care Contract and a Management Plan including health status and production data of the herd. The Management Plan must be renewed by the veterinarian once a year in connection with a farm visit.

NASEVA is a special unit of ETT for administration of the Health Care Register. All herds in the Health Class belong to the centralized register. The register is used by user ID and password via Internet. The address of the register is www.naseva.fi .

Finland is free from the major infectious cattle diseases like enzootic leukosis, brucellosis, bovine tuberculosis and infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR). The prevalence of infections like salmonella, EHEC, BVD, trichophytosis, paratuberculosis etc. is also very low. The coming Centralized Health Register is expected to be a good tool in supporting the present good health situation.