Explain how liver flukes reduce productivity in dairy cows
Answers
The following are disadvantages of liver flukes in cattle:
•Adult dairy cows can show a lower than expected milk yield coupled with weight loss and poor fertility.
•If you have had reports of fluke in the livers of cattle you have sent to the abattoir then potentially other cattle on your farm are affected.
•Blacks disease is a clostridial disease triggered by fluke migration through an animals liver – these animals are usually seen as a sudden death and diagnosed by post-mortem. If this has occured on your farm then you can assume more animals are being affected by fluke.
•In 2010 liver fluke was estimated to have cause around £23 million in losses annually to the cattle industry through lost production and condemnation of livers in the abattoir. Poor fertility, weight loss and low milk yields are other sources of lost income. There can also be an associated rise in cases of metabolic diseases post calving.
•Chronic, heavy fluke infestations may cause death of an animal or require her to be culled from the herd.