News


Things to do at housing

Steps you should be taking now to protect your herd

Beef

  • Check if youngstock needs worming for gut worms at housing using faecal egg counts (FECs). If infection risk is high, use a product that contains a macrocyclic lactone (ML) to kill off inhibited Ostertagia worms to reduce the risk of Type ll ostertagiosis later in the winter. Adult cattle should not require any treatment for gut worms.
  • There is no natural immunity to liver fluke, so all ages of stock must be assessed for treatment where there is a history, or risk of infection. Check fluke forecasts and abattoir returns to monitor presence of fluke
  • Blood test a group of first season grazing calves (as sentinels) two weeks after housing to check whether they have been in contact with liver fluke in the summer

Dairy

  • Check if youngstock needs worming for gut worms at housing using faecal egg counts (FECs). If infection risk is high, use a product that contains macrocyclic lactone (ML) to kill off inhibited Ostertagia worms to reduce the risk of Type ll ostertagiosis later in the winter. Adult cattle should not require any treatment for gut worms
  • Take a bulk milk sample to test if the milking herd has been exposed to liver fluke.
  • There is no natural immunity to liver fluke, so all ages of stock must be assessed for treatment where there is a history, or risk of infection. Check fluke forecasts and use abattoir returns to monitor presence of fluke

Resources

Vet, academic or researcher?

Take a look in Resources for more detailed information on all topics.

For all editorial enquiries please contact Sara Gregson email: sara@saragregson.co.uk

Woman standing in a field

Protecting pasture biodiversity

 30th January 2024

Reducing potential harmful effects on the environment before applying wormer treatments to cattle is at the centre of livestock Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Research carried out in the USA by Dr Bryony Sands puts some meaningful data behind IPM principles. Many classes of veterinary pesticides have negative environmental impacts on beneficial pasture insects, in particular … Continued

Young cattle in winter

Later than normal challenge from liver fluke this January

 4th January 2024

COWS and SCOPS liver fluke experts met recently and agreed that as predicted, the strange weather patterns of 2023 have had a significant impact on the level and timing of the risk of liver fluke disease across the UK. This was initiated by the dry cold spring, hot early summer, and extremely wet July and … Continued

Suckler cows and calves

COWS & SCOPS say testing before treating for liver fluke advisable after weird weather this year

 20th October 2023

Livestock farmers would traditionally be expecting to go into peak liver fluke season at this time of year – but experts in the Sustainable Control of Parasites in Sheep (SCOPS) and Control of Cattle Parasites Sustainable (COWS) groups say 2023 has been a very strange year in terms of weather patterns. Speaking on behalf of … Continued

Fluke on black background

COWS SCOPS update on Rafoxanide use against liver fluke

 2nd October 2023

In recent years there has been confusion around rafoxanide, especially with respect to its use as an alternative to closantel on farms where triclabendazole resistance is suspected.   In the light of a product containing rafoxanide recently being licensed in the UK (POM-V) for use in sheep as a treatment for adult liver fluke, SCOPS … Continued

Pic of tick

Climate and management changes may increase red water disease

 27th July 2023

Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) veterinary investigation officer Harriet McFadzean presented findings from her 2021 MSc project from the University of Edinburgh, on surveillance and risk analysis for bovine babesiosis at a recent COWS Steering Group meeting. Babesiosis, colloquially known as red water disease because of the colour of affected animals’ urine, is caused … Continued

Lungworm in a lung

Learn about lungworm

 7th June 2023

Mark Pass is the lead SQP for the Willows Veterinary Group and has recently joined the Control of Worms Sustainably (COWS) steering group. He has just completed an MSc thesis on lungworm and feels there is much that can be done to reduce the increasing number of cases being seen on dairy farms across the … Continued