Equine Winter 09/10 Newsletter - DOWNLOAD NOW!
Congratulations to Danielle Holt who won the Oakhill and Myerscough Equine Award 2010ALERT: Nematodirus battus in lambs
Last week VLA RLs in the south and midlands began to record cases of nematodirosis due to N.battus causing diarrhoea and death in lambs. This is earlier than seen in some years and probably due to the weather conditions over the winter and early spring.
Disease is typically seen in lambs, usually aged 6 to 12 weeks of age. The most important risk factor for disease occurring is grazing lambs on the same pasture as lambs in previous years (N.battus eggs are known to survive for 2 years), or on ground that dairy calves have grazed, as they have also been shown to cycle the infection.
No anthelmintic resistance has been detected in N. battus to date and benzimidazoles(BZ) remain the treatment of choice, however if other parasite species are present in which BZ resistance is more likely. e.g Ostertagia/Teladorsagia sp then it should be advised to check for trichostrongyle-type eggs 10-14 days after treatment.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact one of our vets on 01772 861300.