Snail epidemic may cause liver fluke disease in livestock to spiral

THE wet weather has led to an epidemic of snails, with resultant fears that this autumn will be one of the worst ever for the liver fluke disease in cattle and sheep.

Fluke forecast expert, Professor Eddie Goodall, said the snail population acts as host for the fluke parasite.

“The atrocious wet summer conditions, combined with the carryover effect of disease from last year, means the risk of infection is extremely high,” he said.

Prof Goodall urged farmers in his Fasinex Fluke Forecast for 2008/2009 to take curative action immediately or face serious financial losses.

“Snail numbers are up by an unprecedented 50% because the weather has been perfect for their growth.

“This, combined with the high carryover of the disease from last year, means that livestock throughout the country are at severe risk,” he said.

Prof Goodall said liver condemnations in meat plants last year peaked at 65% in cows, 27% in steers, 25% in heifers and 30% in sheep.

The annual loss to farmers owing to fluke is more than €100 million.

This should be a major cause of concern to farmers because the figures are substantially higher than those in England, Scotland and Wales.

Prof Goodall said infection in growing cattle can depress live weight gain by an average of 0.5kg per week, but it can be as high as 1.2kg per week.

This can lead to a reduction of 10% to 15% in the market value of finished animals.

Studies in dairy cows have shown that fluke infection can reduce milk yield by 0.5kg per day, and reduce the calving rate by up to 30%.

Almost all prevention and treatment is by means of flukicidal drugs that have different levels of efficacy, he said.