| Why is a spring liver fluke treatment essential for effective fluke control?
Traditionally, cattle graziers have given an annual liver fluke treatment to all classes of cattle in April/May. This is to remove any liver fluke picked up from pasture grazed over the previous Summer/Autumn period. Whilst this treatment is essential in any liver fluke strategic control program, it is a reactive treatment and does very little to prevent pasture contamination of infective fluke cysts (metacercariae) for the following year.
A spring liver fluke treatment in late August/early September is essential to remove any adult liver fluke that have matured over the winter months and will minimise pasture contamination with liver fluke eggs. This is important at this time as the environmental conditions will be conducive for egg hatching and the intermediate host snail (Lymnaea spp.) will become more active.
Each adult egg laying liver fluke present in the animal that goes uncontrolled into spring is capable of producing up to 50,000 eggs/day. These eggs then hatch into miracidia which can infect the intermediate host snail. For every miracidia that infects a host snail, up to 4000 cercariae (which develop into infective fluke cysts) can be produced. That's heavy pasture contamination.
By treating cattle in early spring for liver fluke, farmers will dramatically reduce the number of infective fluke cysts on the pasture during the following Spring/Autumn period. This will reduce the number of liver fluke infecting animals and will reduce production losses associated with liver fluke infection.
What are the production losses in cattle associated with liver fluke infection?
- Decreased growth rates (Up to 1.2kg / head / week)
- Decreased Feed Conversion Efficiency
- Decreased fertility (Up to 16%)
- Decreased milk production (Up to 0.6L / head / day)
- increased incidence of condemned livers at slaughter
Coopers® Sovereign® is a new combination liver fluke and roundworm pour-on treatment for cattle that is convenient and easy to apply. Coopers Sovereign is indicated for the control of adult liver fluke, ivermectin–sensitive gastrointestinal roundworms and lungworm in cattle.
Coopers Sovereign contains ivermectin (15g/L) and triclabendazole (240g/L) and is intended for use on all classes of beef cattle of any age; and for dairy cattle, only on replacement heifers up until 70 days (10 weeks) prior to their first calving.
Coopers Sovereign is ideally suited as a spring liver fluke treatment as it will remove any adult egg laying fluke from the animal and minimise any pasture contamination with fluke eggs. The removal of any roundworms present at this time will help maximise pasture utilisation during the peak spring growing period.
Dose Rates & Application
1mL/10kg LW. Coopers Sovereign is applied along the topline extending from the middle of the back to the tailhead using the recommended applicator.
Withholding Periods:
- Meat: 28 days
- ESI (Meat): 70 days
- Milk: Do not use in lactating cows or less than 70 days before calving where milk and milk products from treated cattle may be used for human consumption
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