?TESTS carried out after more than 100 cows died on a farm in Jersey have suggested the animals most likely died from botulism.
An investigation was launched after 120 cows, part of a high yielding Group A herd at Woodlands Farm in St Helier, began falling ill on December 15, 2022.
Following extensive tests, the islands chief veterinary officer Susana Ramos concluded botulism was the likely cause. While no toxins were found, toxin-producing bacteria were cultured from the samples.
Ms Ramos said: Botulism is notoriously hard to test for, and diagnosis is often based primarily on the clinical signs and by ruling out other possible causes.
Despite no toxin being found, there was the presence of bacterial spores, and we believe that these results, coupled with the exclusion of notifiable diseases, and the signs reported at the time at the farm, all combine to suggest botulism as the most likely cause of death.
Food samples, which had been analysed over a period of weeks, had been studied by scientists in the UK.
It was believed that more than a million litres of milk was thought to have been lost from production following the animals deaths. The incident is thought to be isolated with no other outbreaks reported on the island.
