Liver Fluke - Using antibody testing to decide if and when to treat sheep in the autumn and early winter

As the trend towards drier, hotter summers and warmer, wetter winters continues, the liver fluke season is shifting, and the time when grazing animals are picking up liver fluke off pasture is tending to be later but also extremely variable between farms.

Lesley and guests discuss how farmers and their vets can use antibody detection early in the liver fluke ‘season’ to pinpoint when (or if) animals have become infected and time any treatment accurately.

Antibodies can be detected from as early as two weeks post infection while faecal based coproantigen or egg detection tests are useful much later in the season when the fluke are more mature inside the animal.

Lesley is joined by Prof. Diana Williams, University of Liverpool, Vet Phillipa Page from Flock Health Ltd and farmer Michael Rhodes from Lancaster. The panel discuss how to use antibody testing and the new Lateral Flow Test (LFT) developed by University of Liverpool which just requires a drop of blood and can be done quickly on farm.

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Host: Ben Eagle 

Co-host: Lesley Stubbings

Guests: Prof Diana Williams, Phillipa Page, Michael Rhodes. 

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This episode is supported by: Boehringer Ingelheim; Elanco; Norbrook; Zoetis