Revolution in worm prediction - 7 October 2009
Graziers will soon have a quick and highly effective tool to detect when sheep should be treated to prevent Barbers Pole worm disease (Haemonchosis) outbreaks.
Estimated to cost the sheep industry $369 million each year, internal parasites (worms) are the most costly disease of sheep, and resistance to common drenches is increasing every year.
The Haemonchus Dipstick Test kit, which will be commercially available this spring, can detect Barbers Pole quickly and easily in a simple 30 minute on-farm test.
Infections can be identified even before egg counts rise with immature worms detected by the test about a week before they produce eggs – when they are already causing serious disease in sheep.
The kit, developed by the Sheep CRC and to be produced and distributed by Merial and Ancare, will be released in time for this season’s outbreak of Barbers Pole in the higher-risk areas of northern NSW and Queensland, and at times in southern higher rainfall zones, including Victoria and south-west WA.
Dr Brown Besier, Sheep CRC Project Manager and Principal Veterinary Parasitologist with the Department of Agriculture & Food WA, said the test can be used in conjunction with traditional methods of worm detection, such as faecal egg count monitoring, paddock records and grazing management, to determine which mobs are at risk of, or are affected by, Barbers Pole worm.
CJ Hawkins Homestead, University of New England, Armidale NSW 2351