This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Advice to pregnant women during the lambing season
05/01/1998
Pregnant women should avoid close contact with sheep during lambing periods, the Government advised today.
Pregnant women who come into close contact with sheep during lambing may risk their own health and that of their unborn child, from infections which can occur in some ewes. These include chlamydiosis (enzootic abortion of ewes - EAE), toxoplasmosis and listeriosis, which are common causes of abortion in ewes.
Although the number of reports of these infections and human miscarriages resulting from contact with sheep are extremely small, it is important that pregnant women are aware of the potential risks.
To avoid the possible risk of infection, pregnant women are advised that they should:
- not help to lamb or milk ewes;
- avoid contact with aborted or new-born lambs or with the afterbirth;
- avoid handling clothing, boots etc. which have come into contact with ewes or lambs.
Pregnant women should seek medical advice if they experience fever or influenza-like symptoms where they are concerned that they could have acquired infection from the farm environment.
Farmers have a responsibility to minimise the risks to pregnant women, including members of their family, the public and professional staff visiting farms. Any action should be determined by their risk assessment required under Health and Safety legislation. If a ewe aborts, farmers are advised to ask their veterinary surgeon to take a sample along to their local Veterinary Investigation Centre to determine the cause. In the interests of hygiene, farmers should dispose of all afterbirths promptly and safely and, where possible, by burial or burning.
BACKGROUND
A Sheep and Goat Health Scheme is operated by the Scottish Agricultural College in partnership with Signet Farm Business. Within this Scheme, there is a programme of monitoring for freedom from Enzootic Abortion in Ewes (EAE). Details of the Scheme are available from:
The Sheep and Goat Health Scheme
Signet
PO Box 604
Milton Keynes
Bucks
MK6 1ZZ
Farmers should consult their veterinary surgeon about suitable vaccination programmes and any other disease control measures in sheep.
The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 1994 require employers to assess risks to health from harmful substances, including micro-organisms, and to take steps to prevent or control those risks, and The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992 require employers to further assess any risks which affect pregnant women.
Further advice is available from Employment Medical Advisory Service offices, which are listed under the Health and Safety Executive in the telephone directory.
The Department of Health advisory leaflet "While you are pregnant: how to avoid infection from food and from contact with animals" is available, free of charge to general medical practitioners and midwives, from:
Public Health Policy Unit
The Scottish Office
Department of Health
Room 401, St Andrew's House
EDINBURGH
EH1 3DR
Further information is also available in the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens (ACDP) 1997 publication "Infection risks to new and expectant mothers in the workplace - a guide for employers", (Ref ISBN 0-7176-1360-7) available at £10.50 per copy from:
HSE Books
PO Box 1999
Sudbury
Suffolk
CO10 6FS