Department of Agriculture warns farmers of escalating risk of liver fluke

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has warned of a high risk of liver fluke infection in livestock in counties with an Atlantic coastline in the North West, West and South, and a moderate risk in the East of the country.

The variation in risk of infection arises from a significantly greater number of days of rain in the Atlantic coastal counties, relative to the counties in the east, this summer and autumn.

June was quite a dry month this year in most parts of the country; however, July and August had sufficient days of rainfall to again provide suitable conditions for propagation of the snail intermediate host.