Farmers should still be vigilant going into the winter as concerns for liver fluke are still rife among livestock producers. According to the November NADIS Parasite forecast, there is still a very high prevalence of live fluke in all of Scotland, Wales and western England.

“Fluke disease is forecast to be a significant risk across most of the rest of the UK, although the figures for East Anglia and south east/central southern England have fallen below the level usually associated with a significant level of disease,” the report said.

Large areas of grazing will have spent a large proportion of the summer wet thus proving a big risk for grazing livestock. And this doesn’t stop going into winter, with fluke still a risk as we continue through November and into December.

Sheep in high risk areas should be dosed with Triclabendazole proving to be a popular drug.

“A winter dose to remove adult and immature fluke should be considered [in winter].”

Its not just fluke proving a problem either, with Parasitic gastro-enteritis another pressing concern for the winter, a problem which has come to light in the second half of the grazing season, the report reckoned.

“ Outbreaks in store and replacement lambs are often seen in late autumn/winter. Faecal egg count monitoring of batches of lambs on contaminated pasture is an invaluable tool in controlling PGE without the over-use of anthelmintics,”  the report also added.

“Around 10 fresh samples can be collected from the pasture following gathering in a field corner for 10 minutes and these can be examined ideally individually, otherwise pooled, at the laboratory or vet practice,” it also said.

A faecal egg count can then allow producers to establish a course of action.

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