Opportunity to Combat Fluke?
For several years now many sheep farmers have been battling against record fluke levels in their flocks, which have resulted in ill thrift, anaemia, bottle jaw and reduced lambing percentages. But the sharp shock of low temperatures should be warmly welcomed according to Janssen Animal Health, as the cold could offer some respite by interrupting the parasite lifecycle.
Fluke eggs deposited on pasture can survive for a time at low temperatures but adverse conditions can reduce survival and hatchability. This means that after a cold winter the main contribution to future infection is likely to be from infected animals passing eggs and the mud snail, which is an intermediate host, emerging from hibernation in spring to deposit infective metacercaria from May onwards. Metacercaria derived from these winter snails are much less significant in number than those from summer infected snails, partly because of snail mortality during the winter months. The harsher the winter, the fewer snails are likely to survive.
According to Janssen, all of this means that working together, farmers and vets have a unique opportunity this spring to really get on top of fluke.
With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.
