Liver Fluke

[grassfarmer]

I called the vet yesterday to inquire the prevelance of liver fluke in cattle. We have one older cow showing all the signs - slightly down in condition, duller coat, not milking to well and with the classic pouch under it's jaw. Actually it shows the same symptoms as a weak or failing heart because that is what it causes ultimately if untreated. I was surprised to hear it was very rare and you can't get the drugs to treat it in Canada.
Fluke is endemic in Scotland although it tends to affect sheep rather than cattle. Sheep all get 2 annual preventative doses of fasinex (TRICLABENDAZOLE). This is not an expensive drug costing about 25 cents per sheep dose at preventative levels. Acute dose for sheep or cows is 20 times greater but would still cost me about $30 to treat a 1300lb cow. There is a dog version here at $6 but that would cost @$250 to treat a cow!There are drugs licensed in the US for this problem but apparently they have never tried to get them approved for Canada - surprising as Novartis owns the fasinex product in Europe.
Has anyone else had experience of liver fluke and it's treatment?

[whiteface]

I've only read about it in my vet books, grassfarmer and quite honestly, you've educated me further on this forum in some areas than most of my textbooks. I have no idea if any of my cows may have ever had flukes and I just didn't know it as many of those symptoms would get a cow shipped when all she maybe needed was a simple well informed diagnosis. Having said that, no, I don't know what to do for flukes and have never asked...
I look forward to any experiences or further education from this thread myself. Good luck grassfarmer and have a good day all!

[greybeard]

It's a big problem here in Moose, so why not cattle?

[grassfarmer]

It may become more of a problem in future - I read the first cases were observed in 1998. The fluke worms live in wet sloughy areas which makes sense as the vet reckons they are only found in an area west of HWY 2 from Rimbey,Rocky down to the mountain parks. The elk in Banff have them apparently. I don't know if they can only overwinter in a host in this climate due to the severe frosts in winter. If they can survive in the soil overwinter they will be a bigger pain to control.

[15444]

Liver flukes are a big problem in our area. Pre-60's/70's our area shipped many train loads of sheep to Winnipeg Livestock, where the Rainy River District attained the reputation of having the best sheep stock to ever step foot in the ring in Winnipeg. Many oldtimers can still remember the lambs and ewes that came from this area...they were one of a kind. Then liver fluke hit us and the sheep industry is now gone from this entire area. The lack of control on the deer population due in part to the lack of will from the MNR to increase tag numbers, has accelerated the problem. A problem that dessimated the sheep industry in our area is now hitting the cows hard and fast. Very few animals in this area, including fed steers, have good livers. The fact is, if you let a calf on green grass (especially in the low-lying areas), you are almost guaranteed it won't have a edible liver by the time it reaches slaughter weight. Liver flukes don't migrate in cows like they do in sheep. In sheep, they go through the lungs, kidneys and other vital organs...eventually (and most often, quickly) killing the animal. In cows, the flukes don't go migrate, they head straight for the liver and turn it into Swiss cheese. The cows don't die from the flukes, but from the lacking ability of the liver to separate toxic compounds and disease. Our entire area is now recommended to vaccinated with Ultrachoice 8 (Pfizer), to head off the new, unearthed, Clostridium infections that are combining with liver flukes to kill anything, within 24 hours. One dairy farmer lost 30 head, and numerous others have lost smaller increments of 2 or more head. Mature cows, yearlings, calves, bulls...all are at risk.

The biggest problem for our area is that we pasture in a lot of low-lying areas, so defeating the liver fluke is a lost cause. If you ever encounter it, and it doesn't pose a significant financial burden on you, fence out your animals from the low-lying areas...as it is the only way to slow the ingestion of fluke cysts on the grass.

[cowman]

I don't know anything about liver flukes but if I had a cow showing those symtoms the first thing I'd do is throw a couple of magnets in her? The "pouch" under the jaw sure sounds like hardware disease to me.

[grassfarmer]

15444, sounds like we have a fluke problem in Canada - the vet told me this area of Alberta was the only place in Canada that had it. I think we need to be getting the drugs licensed or smuggled in from somewhere as the economic cost is huge.
Similar to your story the fluke hit the hill sheep population in Scotland in the 1950's I think and reared lamb percentages dropped from 80% to 15% in a year or two.
Triclabendazole is a relatively cheap drug and is effective when used twice a year. The Americans have an Ivomec-F product that treats fluke. I would still expect only to have to dose occasional beef cows for fluke even in a high burden(for sheep) area as they are not as susceptable.
I think they still find around 17% of cattle slaughtered in problem areas of the UK have damaged livers but only a few of those are chronic.

[15444]

grassfarmer, Fasinex is not approved for general use in Canada, but can be purchased for an emergency. Albendazole is an effective drug, but only when administered at 2.5 times the recommended dosage.

I will post an article for further information.

[15444]

Liver flukes an emerging threat to district cattle
December 08, 2004

By Michael Hilborn

As if district cattle farmers needed any more problems, it was learned last week there is yet another hazard facing the already-troubled industry.

Dr. Dan Pierroz from the Nor-West Animal Clinic in Fort Frances addressed a group of about two dozen local cattle farmers at the Millennium Hall in Stratton on the status of liver flukes in the district.

The information he offered, although useful, was hardly comforting.

Dr. Pierroz said there are two types of liver flukes that pose a threat to cattle and goats—and each has different characteristics.

Fascioloides magna (F. magna), or the giant liver fluke, has been identified in the district in increasing numbers over the past few years. Fasciola hepatica (F. hepatica), or common liver fluke, has been identified in the United States, but has not been found here yet.

“Magna is the only one we’ve found in Northern Ontario so far, but we’re watching for hepatica, too,” said Dr. Pierroz.

He added both organisms are liver and bile duct parasites, but there are subtle differences in their life cycles.

The natural hosts for both are deer. In this case, the animal ingests the organism from grazing. It then penetrates the gut and migrates through the peritoneal cavity to the liver.

From there, the adult flukes enter the bile duct and shed their eggs into the intestine.

These eggs are shed in the feces and then—under the right conditions—develop into mericidium, which can penetrate a snail. Here they develop into free-living larvae.

The larvae then are passed by the snail and encyst themselves on submerged or damp plant material, where they are ingested by deer to begin the cycle all over again.

When F. magna is ingested by cattle or sheep, however, the cycle is interrupted because the adult parasites become encapsulated in the liver and no eggs can escape through the bile ducts.

This effectively terminates the organism’s life cycle, but in the process, it causes severe damage to the host liver.

These animals are what Dr. Pierroz referred to as “dead-end hosts.” And because there are no traces in the feces, it can be difficult to know liver flukes are present.

In the case of F. hepatica, however, cattle and sheep can pass the eggs and perpetuate the cycle, but as Dr. Pierroz noted, the damage done by the flukes—however serious—is not the main threat to livestock.

Rather, the real threat appears to be from a family of bacteria known as clostridium. There are four types of this bug and the most common form in the region is called clostridium novyii (C. novyii).

However, one confirmed case of C. sordelli was found on a farm south of Devlin this year.

These organisms only can live in an anaerobic, or oxygen-free, environment, so they pose no threat to healthy animals and organs. However, when the liver is damaged by fasciola, tissue dies and becomes prime feeding ground for clostridium.

Dr. Pierroz said it is the toxins released by the bacteria, combined with the already-weakened condition of the liver, that ultimately kills the animal. In the case of sheep, as few as one or two liver flukes can prove fatal.

Part of the problem in diagnosing the condition is that liver fluke and subsequent clostridium infection can mimic other causes, such as anthrax.

“Understandably, when people think anthrax, they don’t want to approach the carcass,” Dr. Pierroz noted. “However, when anthrax hits a herd, it takes them all out quickly.

“When you see only a few animals down, you have to look for something else,” he added.

In fact, it was only because two local farmers took the trouble to take the carcasses to Winnipeg for a thorough autopsy that the cause of death was determined.

Dr. Pierroz said a number of medications have shown some promise in preventing or stopping liver flukes, but the most promising of these—Fasinex—has not yet been approved for general use in Canada.

It can, however, be purchased on an emergency basis.

Another drug—albendazole—has shown to be effective in removing liver flukes from cattle, but only when administered at 2.5 times the recommended dosage.

Furthermore, it cannot be used during early pregnancy.

Dr. Pierroz stressed these drugs must not be administered to milking cows or within a certain period prior to slaughter. In the case of sheep, the clearance time is 28 days; for cattle it is 14 days.

As well, they are expensive and must be administered twice a year in order to be effective.

But the best bet, said Dr. Pierroz, is to try and stop it before it starts. One way to do that is to destroy the habitat of the snails in which the larvae reside.

This involves draining wet pastures or, in some cases, burning them.

Another tactic is to go after the real culprits—the clostridium bacteria.

“Stop the novyii bug instead of the fluke,” he reasoned. “The best bang for your buck from my perspective is to vaccinate against novyii for the foreseeable future.”

So, where did the problem come from and why was it not noticed earlier? Dr. Pierroz has a theory about that.

Two factors that liver flukes need to maintain their life cycle are primary hosts and wetlands. During the springs of 2001-02, there was severe flooding in the district, which resulted in increased areas of wet pasture.

In addition, the deer population has exploded in recent years, providing a vital link in the chain.

“They’ve [liver flukes] probably always been here, but we never noticed it before because the conditions weren’t as good for it as they are now,” he concluded.

This year, there were reports of suspicious deaths from several local farmers.

[bombay_43]

Grassfarmmer, I find this topic of great interest to us! We have had a tremendous amount of problems with the exact symptoms that you describe.

Two years ago, our vet did blood and stool samples on some of these cows showing the characteristic pouch that you talked about. He found that we had a huge parasite infestation in "some" of our cows, and suggested ivomec that spring.

We continued to have problems, though not to the extent that we had two years ago. When we asked about it, the vet suggested, lump jaw, malnutrition (due to internal parasites), heart disease, etc. None of these things seemed to make sense.

Only 3 or 4 showed signs of the pouch under the jaw this spring, but what I am reading here is making alot of sense!

We graze in muskegs, and low lying meadows bordering lakes.

Is there a test available for these liver flukes?

Thanks for all you information. If this proves to be the problem, we will feel so much better! Being told it might be malnutrition, was not a good feeling!

[grassfarmer]

Here are a couple of websites with info on testing and also the US Ivomec Plus product (ivermectin/clorsulon)?which controls liver fluke. I'm thinking if Canadian producers can bring this stuff in as an "own use" importation this might be the way to go if you were getting into serious problems with fluke.

http://ivomec.us.merial.com/cowcalf/faq.asp#cow_calf004

http://www.agric.nsw.gov.au/reader/das-vettesting/das-wormtest.htm

Unfortunately when I found this third reference I see that Merial are cashing in on the fluke problem - our lives are complicated by parasites at every level!!
http://ivomec.us.merial.com/cowcalf/faq.asp#cow_calf004

[kato]

Flukes are worth investigating, but in the meantime, I agree with cowman. I'd throw a magnet in her, and get some antibiotics into her also.

Those are also classic hardware symptoms. Swelling under the jaw, and between the front legs is a symptom of heart failure.

[grassfarmer]

The cow has really gone down hill since I started this thread, I thought initially she was looking a little poorer than last year but she would rear her calf through to fall but she has now taken a drastic downturn. She is swollen through her brisket, has slowed right down in her movements and the manure is just hosing out of her. Looks like a major organ failure to me so maybe she will get into the 4D program yet.
I've never really backed this vet theory of if in doubt shoot them full of anti-biotic, it seems irresponsible to me.

[15444]

Swollen through the brisket?! That's not liver fluke! I also think it's hardware. Give her a magnet right now!

[grassfarmer]

I don't think so 15444, aren't the symptoms of hardware disease the cow passing very dry or no manure also stopping eating? This cow is doing neither of these plus she has a longer history in that she was out of puff sometimes in the winter after walking a distance. These spell heart trouble to me and the fluke i'm talking about usually kills cows by overstraining the heart ultimately. The kind of deaths in your area seem to be slightly different in that they are linked to clostridial diseases. I'd never heard of hardware till I came here - it must be pretty rare surely? or maybe not given the scrap yards that many cattle graze among out here.
I'll hopefully get a p.m. done on this cow once she dies - for now she is just looking miserable. With 2 inches of rain overnight I was looking miserable too this morning after checking cow!