Farmers urged to address soaring cost of fluke

The rise of liver fluke incidence throughout the UK has prompted NSA and the National Farmers' Union to bring animal health experts and Government officials together to discuss how farmers might be able to work with the constant pressure going forward.

Not only does the disease significantly reduce the performance of livestock, at a huge cost to farmers, but at abattoirs a growing numbers of livers from cattle and sheep are now being rejected from the food chain because of fluke damage. That is removing value from our livestock sector.

The initiative is being led by George Milne, NSA Scotland Development Officer, who has firsthand experience of the consequences of liver fluke in his flock since last summer, despite living on the east side of the UK, where the disease has rarely been seen in the past. The fluke parasite, which relies on a mud snail as an intermediate host, infects both cattle and sheep but is particularly severe in sheep, causing weight loss and sometimes death when ingested at grazing.

NFU Scotland met with FSA Scotland with liver fluke one of the issues on the agenda.

The Union believes that, in conjunction with their vet, there is the opportunity for livestock producers to seriously tackle the threat of fluke this spring.

Speaking after the FSA Scotland meeting, NFU Scotland President Nigel Miller said:

“Liver fluke is causing a huge degree of loss to Scotland’s livestock sector – both at abattoirs and on farm – and is posing a massive welfare and production challenge for our farmers. It is in everyone’s interests that we tackle the issue of fluke head on.”

“Veterinary reports indicate that liver fluke has devastated ewe health in some flocks over the past few months while in cattle, even low levels of infection can pull down performance, slow growth rates and increase days to slaughter.

“This spring presents a window of opportunity for producers, in conjunction with their vets, to tackle the problem on farm. Before turnout or moving stock to summer pasture, appropriate treatment can reduce egg production and lower the risk over the coming grazing season.

“There are a range of products effective against adult fluke. If you believe your herd or flock is at risk then it would be worth discussing the matter with your vet to develop an effective strategy to reduce the threat from fluke.

“Such an approach will also benefit our red meat sector. At a recent industry conference, Scottish abattoir operators all expressed concern at the growing cost involved in condemning livers from the food chain because of fluke with one abattoir reporting that it was struggling to fill customer demand for clean livers because of the disease. That is a worry for all parts of the chain.”

Highlighting the scale of the problem, Charles Milne, Director of the FSA in Scotland said: “The FSA is responsible for official meat inspection in abattoirs across the UK. As a matter of routine, data for liver rejection because of liver fluke is recorded.

“It is clear from the figures that liver rejection in sheep and cattle due to liver fluke is increasing across the UK. Figures for the first quarter of this year demonstrate that Scotland continues to have the highest incidence of liver fluke in the UK with clear patterns in pathology presented at post mortem inspection. In particular, the first quarter returns have shown a significant spike in cases.”

With widespread reports of thin ewes in the UK, 'nobody can afford to drop their guard' says sheep farmer and SCOPS chairman Peter Baber.

"While there are a number of reasons why ewes may be thin, a liver fluke burden is still a major risk factor" he said.

"The challenge from high levels of liver fluke on pasture continued throughout the first two months of 2013 and many farmers seem unaware that if sheep are put back on high risk pastures they will need to be re-treated with a flukicide five to six weeks later to avoid losses. This means treatments are required more frequently than farmers are used to and SCOPS suspects that there is also confusion because some products used are persistent against worms, but not against liver fluke."

There was a reported increase in acute liver fluke cases in sheep in the last quarter of 2012 compared to the same period in 2011, according to AHVLA figures reported in the latest NADIS (National Animal Disease Information Service) Parasite Forecast.

It says that the very wet conditions last summer will have resulted in heavy pasture contamination, with significant risk to stock continuing into February.

On Tuesday, Milne hosted a visit to Kinaldy Farm by St Andrews, Fife. He and Sybil MacPherson, NSA Scotland Chairman, were joined by Scottish Chief Veterinary Officer Sheila Voas, Philip Skuce from Moredun, Elspeth Scott of SAC Counsulting - Veterinary Sevices and Mr Milne’s own vet Richard Mauritzen of Parkside Vets.

Mr Milne says: “I was pleased to host the visit to discuss the devastating problems and losses from fluke, which appears to be a result of and carry over from last year’s extremely wet summer, compounded by an unseasonably cold spring and very poor grass growth since. Those farmers familiar with fluke are struggling more than usual and it is also extremely bad in areas which have not been affected in the past. I regularly speak to farmers who have serious concerns about how they will manage liver fluke in the future. The parasite can develop resistance to drugs over time and it’s vital we increase our understanding and widen the options we have to tackle the problem.”

When visiting Kinaldy, Mrs Voas said it was important for all farmers to investigate their own situation thoroughly, in discussion with their vet, who would know the farm circumstances. This would enable quick action and appropriate treatment. Dr Elspeth Scott added that regular faecal sampling before and after treatment was vital, so farmers knew exactly what they were treating beforehand and could check the effectiveness of treatment afterwards. In severe cases, she also recommended taking a freshly dead or representative live sheep to one of the disease surveillance centers run by SAC Consulting, or an animal health professional, for a full examination/post-mortem to provide vital information on health issues on the farm

Dr Skuce stressed that correct product choice and timing of treatment were vital for effective fluke control – and added it was also important to consider other options than relying exclusively on drugs, such as improving drainage where possible, rotating grazing to allow for clean pasture and fencing off boggy areas where practical, to reduce snail habitats on farms and prevent stock accessing such areas. However, Mr Mauritzen suggested liver fluke was now so widespread that many farmers were seeing problems on ground with no obvious wet and boggy areas.

Widening the discussion to alternative management options, Mr Milne requested clarification about techniques to kill the intermediary mud snail host on pasture, thereby breaking the lifecycle of the liver fluke parasite. When it was explained there were strict limitations on what farmers could currently do, Mr Milne said it was imperative that other ways of combating fluke were found.

He continues: “Vegetable growers are allowed to use biological controls for pest control and I remain convinced that other management options must be possible for sheep and beef farmers. If we continue to see wet summers this problem is just going to get worse and worse, so we must find additional solutions as a matter of urgency.”

Mr Milne represents the NSA throughout the UK in calling for urgent research to be carried out to investigate practical alternatives, both in the immediate and longer term.