Abstract
Reports of Calicophoron daubneyi infecting livestock in Europe have increased substantially over the past decade; however, there has not been an estimate of its farm level prevalence and associated risk factors in the UK. Here, the prevalence of C. daubneyi across 100 participating Welsh farms was recorded, with climate, environmental and management factors attained for each farm and used to create logistic regression models explaining its prevalence. Sixty-one per cent of farms studied were positive for C. daubneyi, with herd-level prevalence for cattle (59%) significantly higher compared with flock-level prevalence for sheep (42%, P = 0·029). Co-infection between C. daubneyi and Fasciola hepatica was observed on 46% of farms; however, a significant negative correlation was recorded in the intensity of infection between each parasite within cattle herds (rho = −0·358, P = 0·007). Final models showed sunshine hours, herd size, treatment regularity against F. hepatica, the presence of streams and bog habitats, and Ollerenshaw index values as significant positive
predictors for C. daubneyi (P < 0·05). The results raise intriguing questions regarding C. daubneyi epidemiology, potential competition with F. hepatica and the role of climate change in C. daubneyi establishment and its future within the UK.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 237-247 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Parasitology |
Volume | 144 |
Issue number | 2 |
Early online date | 01 Nov 2016 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 01 Feb 2017 |
Keywords
- Calicophoron daubneyi
- Fasciola hepatica
- co-infection
- cattle
- sheep
- logistic regression model
- null modelling
- UK
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Rumen fluke Calicophoron daubneyi on Welsh farms: Prevalence, risk factors, and observations on co-infection with Fasciola hepatica'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Profiles
-
Rhys Jones
- Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Department of Life Sciences - Darlithydd Gwyddor Da Byw a’r Amgylchedd (Cyfrwng Cymraeg)
Person: Teaching And Research
-
Hefin Williams
- Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Department of Life Sciences - Senior Lecturer in Agricultural Environment
Person: Teaching And Research