3/19/2023 0 Comments Liver fluke![]() those infected with more than 10 liver fluke at slaughter took on average 77 days longer to finish.those infected with 10 or less fluke at slaughter took on average 31 days longer to reach slaughter weight. ![]() In a large slaughterhouse study of cattle¹ Small numbers (ie less than 10) of fluke may not cause any obvious disease, but because of the damage they cause to the liver, and the blood loss associated with feeding in the bile duct, they will always have a significant impact on productivity and flock or herd performance. Larger numbers of fluke will cause obvious disease or even sudden deaths. Productivity losses due to subclinical fluke infectionĪll stages of liver fluke cause damage as they migrate through the liver and then feed on blood in the bile ducts. It all hinges on the fact that the liver is the main food processing organ of the body and if it is damaged then animals will not utilise their food properly which can lead to loss of liver weight gain or poor production of milk. In many cases we may see no visible signs of liver fluke damage but they are still affecting the productivity of the animal. Depending on the level of liver damage these animals can recover but may never perform as well again. This is because the protein in the blood has been affected by the fluke which means the blood circulation doesn’t work properly. A classic sign of liver fluke is bottle jaw (accumulation of fluid) which can be seen under the jaw or under the belly. As the liver is so important for processing the food for the animal then we see thin animals and if they were pregnant often they will abort.
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