A new practical guide on how to control liver fluke on beef and sheep farms has been published. Compiled by leading liver fluke experts, independent sheep consultant Lesley Stubbings, Dr Philp Skuce of the Moredun Research Institute and COWS member Professor Diana Williams of the University of Liverpool, the booklet has been written and produced … Continued
Cattle worming experts are urging farmers to test animals before giving anthelmintics at or around housing this year, to check if they are really needed. Unnecessary blanket treatments are a waste of farmers’ time, effort and money and can encourage anthelmintic resistance, meaning products may not work in future. Traditionally first season grazing dairy calves … Continued
Recent discussions with experts at the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), have raised concerns around potential issues of grazing cattle in late summer and autumn 2022. Farmers are warned to remain vigilant for signs of lungworm following reports of coughing in grazing cattle, consistent with lungworm infection. Outbreaks can … Continued
Tick (Ixodes ricinus) activity is expected to peak in some areas of Great Britain in the next few weeks. Ticks can transmit several infections such as bovine babesiosis (redwater), which can lead to severe, sometime fatal disease. Farmers in areas with a history of redwater may wish to take extra precautions to protect susceptible stock … Continued
Giving first season grazing calves a lungworm vaccine before turnout will protect them against potentially lethal disease and reduce any economic losses due to ill-health, according to the Control of Worms Sustainably (COWS) group. “There is no way to predict easily when lungworm will hit and waiting until coughing starts later in the season is … Continued
Most current control strategies against gut worms, lung worm and liver fluke rely on the use of wormers applied to entire groups of animals at pre-determined times of the year. On many farms the same products have been used at the same time every year, for more than a decade. But cattle vet Rob Howe, … Continued
Parasite control in food producing animals is fraught with challenges and endoparasiticide resistance is a serious threat that left unchecked could cause irrevocable damage to the future health and profitability of the sector. To help meet these challenges the British Cattle Veterinary Association (BCVA) has developed a policy as a basis on which farm vets … Continued
COWS has uploaded a video of the different stages of the liver fluke parasite from egg-laying adult to egg-laying adult. Moving images prove to be much more powerful than any Life Cycle drawn on a piece of paper, and really hit home how fascinating and potentially pervasive these parasites are. See the video here This … Continued
Housing is a good time to treat calves for internal and external parasites. However, doing what has always been done routinely in the past, may not be the way forward this year Traditionally young calves are treated at housing with broad-spectrum products to kill a range of parasites including roundworms, lungworms, liver fluke, lice and … Continued
A dry, cool spring across most of the UK, followed by some hot, dry spells over the summer, means the liver fluke risk is generally going to be low this autumn and winter. However, the Sustainable Control of Parasites in Sheep (SCOPS) and Control of Cattle Parasites Sustainably (COWS) groups say producers need to test … Continued