I checked with admin and am posting this across all 3 tris so everyone can see it hopefully 
As spring is in the air and lambing season is happening, I know a fair few people may visit places where they come into contact with lambs and ewes. Be it petting zoos, farms, animal centres, walking across sheep filled fields and so on. Living on a farm I am aware of the risks and have avoided close contact with them during lambing and will continue to do so till I give birth, but thought other women might find it of interest to know about the risks if pregnant
Advice to pregnant women during lambing
Pregnant women should avoid close contact with sheep during the lambing season, Scotland's Chief Medical Officer Harry Burns advised today.
In particular they should:
not help to lamb or milk ewes
avoid contact with aborted or new born lambs or with the afterbirth
where possible, avoid handling clothing and boots that have come into contact with ewes of lambs, or if they must wear rubber gloves
Outlining the risks, Dr Burns said:
"Pregnant women who come into close contact with sheep during lambing may be risking their health and the health of their unborn child. This is because infections such as chlamydiosis (enzootic abortion of ewes - EAE), toxoplasmosis and listeriosis - all common causes of abortion in ewes - can be passed on to them.
"While the number of reported infections and human miscarriages resulting from contact with sheep is extremely small, pregnant women need to be aware of the potential risks.
"If they do become ill - experience fever or influenza-like symptoms, and are concerned that they could have acquired infection from a farm environment, they should seek immediate medical advice."
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 the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
If a ewe aborts, farmers are advised to ask their veterinary surgeon to take a sample to their local Veterinary Investigation Centre to determine the cause. In the interests of hygiene, farmers should dispose of all afterbirths promptly and safely via an approved route such as rendering or incineration.
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 2002 require employers to assess risks to health from harmful substances, including micro-organisms, and to take steps to prevent or control those risks. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 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: The Scottish Government Health Department, Public Health Division, Branch 1, 3E(S), St Andrews House, Edinburgh, EH1 3DG.
Further information is also available in the 1997 publication Infection risks to new and expectant mothers in the workplace - a guide for employers, by the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens (ref: ISBN 0-7176-1360-7). Copies are available, price £10.50, from HSE Books, PO Box 1999, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 6FS or by calling 01787 881165, or via their website at http://www.hsebooks.co.uk
Article taken from here
BBC article from 2001 on the same thing
Goes without saying that washing of hands and shoes etc if having had any contact round sheep and lambs is a good thing
As spring is in the air and lambing season is happening, I know a fair few people may visit places where they come into contact with lambs and ewes. Be it petting zoos, farms, animal centres, walking across sheep filled fields and so on. Living on a farm I am aware of the risks and have avoided close contact with them during lambing and will continue to do so till I give birth, but thought other women might find it of interest to know about the risks if pregnant
Advice to pregnant women during lambing
Pregnant women should avoid close contact with sheep during the lambing season, Scotland's Chief Medical Officer Harry Burns advised today.
In particular they should:
not help to lamb or milk ewes
avoid contact with aborted or new born lambs or with the afterbirth
where possible, avoid handling clothing and boots that have come into contact with ewes of lambs, or if they must wear rubber gloves
Outlining the risks, Dr Burns said:
"Pregnant women who come into close contact with sheep during lambing may be risking their health and the health of their unborn child. This is because infections such as chlamydiosis (enzootic abortion of ewes - EAE), toxoplasmosis and listeriosis - all common causes of abortion in ewes - can be passed on to them.
"While the number of reported infections and human miscarriages resulting from contact with sheep is extremely small, pregnant women need to be aware of the potential risks.
"If they do become ill - experience fever or influenza-like symptoms, and are concerned that they could have acquired infection from a farm environment, they should seek immediate medical advice."
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 the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 2002 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
If a ewe aborts, farmers are advised to ask their veterinary surgeon to take a sample to their local Veterinary Investigation Centre to determine the cause. In the interests of hygiene, farmers should dispose of all afterbirths promptly and safely via an approved route such as rendering or incineration.
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 2002 require employers to assess risks to health from harmful substances, including micro-organisms, and to take steps to prevent or control those risks. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 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: The Scottish Government Health Department, Public Health Division, Branch 1, 3E(S), St Andrews House, Edinburgh, EH1 3DG.
Further information is also available in the 1997 publication Infection risks to new and expectant mothers in the workplace - a guide for employers, by the Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens (ref: ISBN 0-7176-1360-7). Copies are available, price £10.50, from HSE Books, PO Box 1999, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 6FS or by calling 01787 881165, or via their website at http://www.hsebooks.co.uk
Article taken from here
BBC article from 2001 on the same thing
Goes without saying that washing of hands and shoes etc if having had any contact round sheep and lambs is a good thing
