Liver fluke in the UK – a survey and free livestock parasite test for cattle and sheep farmers

[alice_b67]

I am an MSc student at the university of Lincoln researching liver fluke in the UK. This research aims to look at the prevalence of liver fluke (and how it is managed) to provide an up-to-date view of the distribution of liver fluke and attitudes of farmers towards it. Data will be collected through a questionnaire directed at livestock farmers in the UK focusing on sheep and/or cattle, with questions looking at farm and herd characteristics, along with farm liver fluke history. Farmers will also have the opportunity to submit a livestock faecal sample for a free faecal egg count (FEC) test in order to determine the prevalence of liver fluke.

This study is open to cattle and sheep farmers in the UK. If you are interested in taking part, please visit https://liverflukeuol.weebly.com or email the researcher (Alice Buckner) at [email protected] for more information.

This project has been approved by the University of Lincoln Ethics Committee (ethics reference 2020_3953).

 

[vantage]

How reliable is a faecal egg count for fluke in cattle? My understanding of it is that cattle shed so few eggs it is hard to tell if they have fluke using this method.

 

[alice_b67]

How reliable is a faecal egg count for fluke in cattle? My understanding of it is that cattle shed so few eggs it is hard to tell if they have fluke using this method.

Hello! Faecal egg counts detect infection with adult flukes (and so can't be used to detect early signs of the disease), but they're useful (and very commonly used) for detecting general herd infection. At this time of year shedding should be at a level that is detectable in both cattle and sheep, and sampling multiple animals in a herd should ensure any infection is detected