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Epidemiology and impact of Fasciola hepatica exposure in high-yielding dairy herds.
- Source :
-
Preventive veterinary medicine [Prev Vet Med] 2015 Sep 01; Vol. 121 (1-2), pp. 41-8. Date of Electronic Publication: 2015 Jun 05. - Publication Year :
- 2015
-
Abstract
- The liver fluke Fasciola hepatica is a trematode parasite with a worldwide distribution and is the cause of important production losses in the dairy industry. The aim of this observational study was to assess the prevalence of exposure to F. hepatica in a group of high yielding dairy herds, to determine the risk factors and investigate their associations with production and fertility parameters. Bulk milk tank samples from 606 herds that supply a single retailer with liquid milk were tested with an antibody ELISA for F. hepatica. Multivariable linear regression was used to investigate the effect of farm management and environmental risk factors on F. hepatica exposure. Higher rainfall, grazing boggy pasture, presence of beef cattle on farm, access to a stream or pond and smaller herd size were associated with an increased risk of exposure. Univariable regression was used to look for associations between fluke exposure and production-related variables including milk yield, composition, somatic cell count and calving index. Although causation cannot be assumed, a significant (p<0.001) negative association was seen between F. hepatica exposure and estimated milk yield at the herd level, representing a 15% decrease in yield for an increase in F. hepatica exposure from the 25th to the 75th percentile. This remained significant when fertility, farm management and environmental factors were controlled for. No associations were found between F. hepatica exposure and any of the other production, disease or fertility variables.<br /> (Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
- Subjects :
- Animals
Antibodies, Helminth analysis
Cattle
Cattle Diseases parasitology
Climate
England epidemiology
Environment
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay veterinary
Fasciola hepatica isolation & purification
Fascioliasis parasitology
Female
Lactation
Milk metabolism
Prevalence
Risk Factors
Scotland epidemiology
Wales epidemiology
Cattle Diseases economics
Cattle Diseases epidemiology
Dairying methods
Fascioliasis economics
Fascioliasis epidemiology
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1873-1716
- Volume :
- 121
- Issue :
- 1-2
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Preventive veterinary medicine
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 26093971
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2015.05.013