Liver Fluke Warning

Liver Fluke is appearing in tests at an alarming rate in July and August and we expect into September. The Liver Fluke Life cycle usually starts with rain events in late Summer early Autumn. This season the stage was set early with the early break.  Liver Fluke need an intermediate host, a small native water snail to develop, it simply can't develop  without these. It is in paddocks with watercourses, lagoons, low lying swampy areas where water sits for an extended period, that enable the snail to thrive.  The Snail is a hardy survivor and can emerge from under the ground after years of dry once conditions become favourable.

Many Clients do not test for Fluke and simply miss these infections and put losses down to other factors.

We strongly recommend testing  at least one mob for Fluke when getting a WEC (Worm Egg Count)  preferably from a mob that has been running in the wettest parts of your property over late Autumn to early Winter.

Fluke are quite easy to treat and break their life cycle, if you know they are there. It just comes down to the right drench selection.

We use a sedimentation method to test for Fluke, it is a highly sensitive test. We have been testing for Fluke since 2008 and the years that spring to mind as bad Fluke years are 2010, 2016 and this season 2021.