Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2016 Sep 27:69:14.
doi: 10.1186/s13620-016-0073-6. eCollection 2015.

Decision making on helminths in cattle: diagnostics, economics and human behaviour

Johannes Charlier  1 , Valérie De Waele  1 , Els Ducheyne  1 , Mariska van der Voort  2 , Fiona Vande Velde  3 , Edwin Claerebout  3
Affiliations
Review

Decision making on helminths in cattle: diagnostics, economics and human behaviour

Johannes Charlier et al. Ir Vet J. .

Abstract

Helminth infections of cattle affect productivity in all classes of stock, and are amongst the most important production-limiting diseases of grazing ruminants. Over the last decade, there has been a shift in focus in the diagnosis of these infections from merely detecting presence/absence of infection towards detecting its impact on production. This has been facilitated by studies observing consistent negative correlations between helminth diagnostic test results and measures of productivity. Veterinarians are increasingly challenged to consider the economic aspects of their work, and the use of these tests should now be integrated in economic evaluation frameworks for improved decision making. In this paper, we review recent insights in the farm-specific economic impact of helminth infections on dairy cattle farms as well as in farmer attitudes and behaviour regarding helminth control. Combining better economic impact assessments of helminth infections together with a deeper understanding of the non-economic factors that drive a farmer's animal health decisions should result in more effective control strategies and increased farmer satisfaction.

Keywords: Cattle; Communication; Diagnosis; Economics; Helminth; Liver fluke; Nematode.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Morgan ER, Charlier J, Hendrickx G, Biggeri A, Catalan D, von Samson-Himmelstjerna G, Demeler J, et al. Global Change and Helminth Infections in Grazing Ruminants: Impacts, Trends and Sustainable Solutions. Agriculture. 2013;3:484–502. doi: 10.3390/agriculture3030484. - DOI
    1. Holzhauer M, van Schaik G, Saatkamp HW, Ploeger HW. Lungworm outbreaks in adult dairy cows: estimating economic losses and lessons to be learned. Vet Rec. 2011;169(19):494. doi: 10.1136/vr.d4736. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Thornton PK. Livestock production: recent trends, future prospects. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2010;365(1554):2853–67. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2010.0134. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Garforth C. Livestock keepers’ reasons for doing and not doing things which governments, vets and scientists would like them to do. Zoonoses Public Health. 2015;62(Suppl 1):29–38. doi: 10.1111/zph.12189. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Charlier J, Vercruysse J, Morgan E, van Dijk J, Williams DJ. Recent advances in the diagnosis, impact on production and prediction of Fasciola hepatica in cattle. Parasitology. 2014;141(3):326–35. doi: 10.1017/S0031182013001662. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources