The following guidelines are useful in control of Liver Fluke on the farm: It also looks at regional and national trends and if the incidence of liver fluke increases in slaughtered animals it is possible to issue alerts to the farming community where they can then make decisions on dosing their animals. Animal Health Ireland have developed a Beef HealthCheck programme which analyses and reports abattoir data from post mortem meat inspections. In some cases you may not know that you have a fluke problem until it is detected in animals in the abattoir due to condemnation of livers as a result of damage caused by fluke travelling through the liver. Clinical signs in cattle may be more subtle than in sheep along with the signs above they also include reduced milk yields, reduced fertility, and diarrhoea. There may also be abdominal pain and swelling such as ‘bottle jaw’ due to fluids that are retained. You may also notice paleness around the eyes and gums this may mean the animal is suffering from anaemia. Clinical signs of chronic fluke include anaemia and loss of condition. During this twelve week period the fluke are classified according to their stage of development:Īcute Fluke – this occurs when large amounts of immature fluke burrow through the animals liver and can lead to rapid death.Ĭhronic Fluke – this occurs due to adult fluke sucking blood in the liver. These eggs pass out in the faeces of the animal and when conditions are suitable (when temperatures go above 10 degrees) they hatch and use the mud snail to continue the life cycle. It takes approximately twelve weeks for the flukes to grow to adult stage when they start to lay eggs. Once eaten fluke starts to feed and grow. Infection with liver fluke occurs when pasture that is contaminated with fluke is eaten by the animal. An intermediate host, the mud snail is also involved in the life cycle. Liver Fluke is caused by a flat leaf-like worm called Fasciola Hepatica. The west and north-west of the country traditionally have higher burdens of fluke this is mainly due to higher rainfall and land type. This high rain fall and mild temperatures are the ideal conditions for fluke to thrive in. Rainfall in Mellows Campus, Athenry for the month of August totalled 297mm of rainfall when you compare this to August 2018 total rainfall for the month was 126mm. The month of August was a particularly wet month in the west of Ireland. Joanne Masterson, B&T Drystock Adviser, Teagasc Galway/Clare Botanic Gardens College of Horticulture.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |