Abstract
Fasciolosis is common in UK beef cattle, but it is unclear at what levels liver fluke burdens cause production losses. This study aimed to address these uncertainties by estimating the impact of liver fluke infection on UK beef cattle productivity and investigating the use of diagnostic tests in a quantitative manner. We built three linear regression models for slaughter age by weight and different measures of liver fluke status, while accounting for sex, breed, season, year and farm of origin. Data were sourced from Scotland’s largest red meat abattoir throughout 2013 and 2014. Our Meat Hygiene Service model estimated that cattle classified as having liver fluke damage had on average 10 days greater slaughter age than animals with no evidence of fasciolosis. Our liver fibrosis model estimated that the increase in slaughter age was more severe for higher fibrosis scores. Similarly, our burden model showed an increase in slaughter age for animals with as few as 1 to 10 parasites found in their livers. Lastly, we used receiver operating characteristic curves to show that serum antibody ELISA, copro-antigen ELISA and faecal egg counting can be useful in distinguishing between animals with and without production limiting levels of fasciolosis.
Highlights
OPEN Estimation of the impact of Fasciola hepatica infection on time taken for UK beef cattle to reach slaughter
This study aimed to address these uncertainties by estimating the impact of liver fluke infection on UK beef cattle productivity and investigating the use of diagnostic tests in a quantitative manner
The results presented in this paper provides further evidence that infection with liver fluke in cattle is associated with a substantial delay to reach slaughter weight when compared to uninfected cattle
Summary
OPEN Estimation of the impact of Fasciola hepatica infection on time taken for UK beef cattle to reach slaughter. Our Meat Hygiene Service model estimated that cattle classified as having liver fluke damage had on average 10 days greater slaughter age than animals with no evidence of fasciolosis. Cattle are less susceptible to showing clinical signs of fasciolosis compared to small ruminants, with a higher infection challenge of metacercariae required to cause clinical disease[8, 9]. This is thought to be due to the large size of the liver, which leads to a greater functional reserve, and that the liver has a more fibrous texture than in other animals[9]. It has been difficult to estimate the effects of subclinical infection due to a lack of quantitative production and parasite burden data[13]
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