It has been a challenging summer in terms of grazing conditions, and this has brought about its own problems for farmers and vets alike, as we have been inundated with both “normal” and unusual conditions emanating from the stop-start nature of the grass growth. One such problem that has definitely been on the increase in […]
It has been a challenging summer in terms of grazing conditions, and this has brought about its own problems for farmers and vets alike, as we have been inundated with both “normal” and unusual conditions emanating from the stop-start nature of the grass growth.
One such problem that has definitely been on the increase in the last few weeks due to rainfall after a prolonged dry period is “Hoose” pneumonia, or lungworm. The egg or “larval” stage of the worm lives on dung pats, and the rain facilitates the dispersal and spread of the worm onto the pasture.
While most of the readers place huge emphasis on calf pneumonia prevention and vaccination programmes, lungworm can sometimes slip under the radar. As the recent statistics from the RVL’s around the country will attest to, it is a major problem and can cause significant mortalities, as well as long lasting issues with calf thrive and performance due to reduced lung capacity.
Lungworm is a parasite that can affect calves, yearlings or even adult cows due to increased prevalence of overdosing young stock. However, clinically we see most mortalities in calves in their first grazing season, particularly dairy bred calves due to the increased proportion grass forms as part of their diet.
Clinical signs to monitor for are:
When animals are coughing we have to be careful with the type of wormer we use. If animals have severe burdens the use of certain classes of wormers (particularly clear wormers) can cause the worms to die too quickly, and this will lead to the calves becoming more sick. In the face of an outbreak we would generally recommend dosing with a yellow wormer – i.e. a levamisole product.
Depending on the health of the calves at dosing we may also recommend the use of concurrent anti-inflammatory and antibiotic treatments so we recommend calling for advice if you are in any doubt.
As always if you have any questions or queries feel free to give the office a call on 045 844083.
By Peter Fagan
