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Liver fluke continues to be a problem for many sheep and cattle farmers across the UK. Livestock become infected by eating grass contaminated with fluke cysts shed from mud snails found in damp, marshy areas of pasture. Infection is very common and even low levels can lead to serious losses in production.

If you run a sheep flock, chances are you may well be harbouring one of the UK’s ‘iceberg’ diseases, ovine Johne’s disease. Farmers and vets at a recent roundtable looked at the impact and what could be done to conquer it.

Lifecycle of the gutworm Both Ostertagia and Cooperia have a direct life cycle, with no intermediate host. Adult worms living in the gut lay eggs which are passed out in the dung. Eggs hatch within the dungpat and develop into infective larvae. Larvae can exist for several months on pasture, ready to infect grazing animals. Once eaten, infective Cooperia larvae develop into adults within three weeks.

Lifecycle of the lungworm Adult lungworm live in the main airways; the bronchi and trachea. They produce eggs that hatch almost immediately, are coughed up and swallowed. L1 larvae pass through the digestive system and leave the cow via dung. It is here that they develop to the infective stage. This development can occur within a week given the right moisture and temperature conditions.

The adult stage of the liver fluke lives in the liver of infected animals, specifically in the bile ducts. Adult fluke lay eggs which are passed along the bile ducts and into the intestine, where they are excreted in dung. Once outside the animal, eggs can survive for several months, but usually hatch within 2–20 weeks depending on soil type and ambient temperature.

Meet Natasha Moore and her family who farm a 230 pedigree/beef herd in the UK. They have 3 grazing groups and 2 Limousin bulls and a British Blonde bull. Natasha and her team see how important it is to be proactive when it comes to worming after a recent parasite problem. Natasha sits down with their vet at the beginning of the year to work out a worming control plan.

Sheep wormer application tutorial video for all Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health ORAL DRENCH Products.

Cattle wormer application tutorial video for all Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health POUR-ON Products.