9 Oct 2009

Liver Fluke- don’t bury your head in the sand!

This really is turning out to be a problem fluke year and we are getting daily reports of both cattle and sheep being badly infected with all stages of this parasite.

A local abattoir informed us last week that a very high proportion of livers are now condemned due to fluke damage. How long it will be before they pass on the disposal costs to the farmer is debatable but very likely we think. We are dealing with livestock farmers on a daily basis and remarkably many still say "I've never had a problem with fluke, so why should I treat my animals now?" Well, two reasons really - firstly, the weather conditions over the past 3 years have been very favourable for the parasites secondary host (the mud snail) and secondly animals are moved around the country a lot more than in the past so the disease has spread and is now a significant problem all over the UK. We can't influence the weather but we can influence what happens to the fluke parasite once it is ingested by the animal. There are many products available - please ask us for our advice which is the best for your farm.

Some of the symptoms of fluke include, reduced weight gain, reduced milk yield, poor fertility, disease, poor doers, "bottle jaw" and in severe cases - death. So, don't bury your head in the sand - treating for fluke is not as expensive as you might think and is certainly worth serious consideration on every farm.