Liver fluke, Fasciola hepatica, is a well-known parasite that impacts both cattle and sheep and can cause serious production losses on beef and sheep farms.

While farms in many areas of the country have little to no incidents of fluke in their cattle, other areas – particularly in the northwest – are more prone to fluke.

Farmers who are unsure if fluke is an issue in their area should contact their local veterinary practitioner and if farmers need to control fluke, it is important to make sure the treatment used is effective.

Many of the treatments for fluke will only control mature fluke and leave the immature fluke unhampered.

Teagasc has recently reminded farmers that it is the immature and early immature fluke that cause most damage to the liver.

With this in mind, Teagasc has made a chart available outlining the products available on the Irish market to treat fluke and the and the best time after housing to use them.

Image source: Teagasc

As the chart above indicates, farmers who use a triclabendazole – two weeks after housing, with no resistance on the farm to the product – will kill all the liver fluke present in their animals.

However, beef farmers who use a closantel treatment two weeks after housing, will not kill all the liver fluke in their animals.

Teagasc’s advice is: “The closantel treatment will only kill the fluke animals picked up over seven to eight weeks ago, and farmers must repeat the dose five to six weeks later.”

Waiting until a beef farmer’s animals are housed seven or eight weeks before giving any treatment “is not advisable”, according to Teagasc.

Products such as albendazole, clorsulon, rafoxanide or oxyclozanide will only kill adult fluke, so for a full kill of fluke in cattle using these products, cattle must be 10-12 weeks – allowing all fluke to reach maturity.

Farmers who have concerns about the effectiveness of the fluke treatment on their cattle or believe their cattle may still be burdened with fluke should contact their veterinary practitioner for advice on best practice in controlling fluke.