Ireland Forecasts High Risk of Liver Fluke
IRELAND - The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has issued advice to farmers in relation to liver fluke in livestock based on advice it has received from the Liver Fluke Advisory Group.
27 October 2008
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A liver fluke disease forecasting model based on rainfall during summer and early autumn predicts that the risk of liver fluke is high in all areas of the country. The exceptionally high rainfall and wet weather during the summer provided conditions suitable for the propagation of the snail intermediate host and the production of the infective stage of the liver fluke on all types of pasture.
The Advisory Group has advised that farmers should treat cattle and sheep as follows:
Where cattle are routinely housed in late autumn, the timing of the administration of the fluke dose after the animals are brought in for the winter will depend on the type of flukicide used.
However, on farms where cattle are kept outdoors on pasture for the winter, treatment should be carried out immediately and these animals may also need a further treatment in the New Year. Treatment of dairy cows for liver fluke is best carried out after drying off and not during lactation.
As regards sheep, the advice is that they should be dosed now especially on those farms with a history of liver fluke. In general, further treatments, usually in January and April, are necessary for sheep that are out-wintered. All bought-in cattle and sheep should be kept isolated and dosed with an anthelmintic and flukicide before being allowed to join the main herd or flock.
The Advisory Group also advise that farmers should submit faecal samples from a representative number of treated animals (not less than 5) to the Department's local Regional Veterinary Laboratories and the Parasitology Section at the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory at least three weeks post treatment to ensure efficacy of the anthelmintic used.
The Department indicated that the foregoing information is based on a disease forecast model that uses weather data collected during the summer and autumn at Met Éireann weather stations across the country.
