CATTLE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3442, 2 March 1920, Page 13

CATTLE.

WORM DISEASES IN YOUNG STOCK. Writing in the Scottish Journal of Agriculture, Professor D. C. Matheson, F.R.C.V.S., Edinburgh, says attention may be appropriately drawn at this time to the question of diseases due to worms; and those stock-owrers who had an unexplained mortality among- their young animals last year would be well advised to have their stock examined afor these parasites, many of which are too small to be seen readily with the unaided eye, while eyen those which are large enough to be visible may be missed easily if the search for them be casual.

Worms are a serious cause of loss in some districts, as the following examples and quotations show:—"ln a lot of 4-2 ewes with i. 4 lambs he has lost about 20 lambs" —death was due to massive infestatipn with tapeworms; had the condition been recognised in time many of the lambs might have been saved. "A flock of ewes and lamb 3in this district are dying . . , . Strang to say, the ewes that were on this field last year went something similar"— round worms were the cause of the_ deaths; if the condition had been recognised the previous year many of the animals -could have been saved, and a recrudescence of the trouble the following year could have been prevented. "Serious scouring, several other calves and one heifer all showing the same condition"—round worms were the cause. "A three-year-old hackney filly; one of six, seriously infested"—round worms killed the filly. "We always lose some of our foals every year"—round worms caused the loss. "The birds never throve"—gapeworms prevented their thriving and killed a number of the chickens. Gape worms have been found in the human subject. "This puppy is the last of the litter; they have all gone the same way"—round worms wero the trouble.

At the time when the rat problem /was engaging so much attention the following case was of interest; —"We cannot keep any cats in this warehouse; a few weeks after we get a rew one it commences to pine, and soon dies" —the thick-neoked tapeworm was the cause of the deaths; the infection is got from rats or mice. The lungs of a pig that had been ailing were found, on examination, to contain large numbers of round worms. All class as of farm animals may suffer, but worms are a special menace to the young. The symptoms to which they give rise ire often vague; the affected animals do not thrive; they are dull and their appetites are capricious; presently they begin to scour, and then they waste rapidly and soon die. An animal may betray the presence of parasites by a husky cough. Yet any or all of these signs may be present in an animal not affected by worms,, and to establish the diagnosis satisfactorily the worms or their eggs must be found in the excretions of the patient. The segments of many tapeworms can be seen readily in the fresh droppings, but when these hav>) been exposed to the air for a time the segment dry and lose their characteristic appearance, which, however, may often be restored by placing them in water.

Not only are worms themselves an important source of loss, but they dispose animals to infections by causing; weakness or wounds; moreover, they tax the digestive power of their hosts, and the stock-owner finds himself compelled to support not only his legitimate stock, but multitudes of parasites as well. Worms retard growth, hinder fattening, a-nd diminish wool production. Worms require special treatment, and therefore an accurate diagnosis is necessary; treatment is most successful when applied early. Too often a number of young animals are allowed to die, and it is not until the disease has made considerable progress in the flock and many of the animals are beyond recovery that help is sought. The important thing to recognise is that, as soon as an animal appears ill or dies, it should be submitted to expert examination, because, if worms be the source of mischief, measures can be taken at once to protect the remainder of the flock or herd and to prevent, as far -as possible, infection of the pastures. Adult animals which have survived an attack may. harbour the parasite and contaminate the pastures, from which young animals may become seriously, even fatally 5 infected. Three of the commonest conditions for which livers are condemned at the slaughterhouses are tuberculosis, fluke worm disease, and infestation with tapeworm cysts. Lungs are similarly often condemned because they are affected with worms or worm cysts. The number of livers so condemned every year is not negligible: manv lungs are so spoiled. The dog is tne host, upon occasion, of a number of species of tapeworm, seven of which are relatively common, and of these six pass a stage of their life in the bodies of our common food animals. All these parasites may bo mischievous during their movements through the body of their intermediate host, but two of them are a- cause of serious disease even after they have come to rest; *suoh is th© cyst whose presence :'n the brain of a isheep causes -gid

or sturdy, and such is the cyst which causes "bladdery" lungs in sheep. This latter cyst (Eehinococcus) is a dangerous parasite for man, the infection being got from the dog.

All dogs should be treated for worms at least twice a year as a matter of routine. Such treatment, under expert supervision, will do the dogs no harm if they do not harbour worms, and will do them a great deal of good if they do. It is essential the dog should be really cleansed, and that the worms should be properly disposed of and not spread broadcast upon the pasture. Such systematic treatment of the dogs will help materially towards removing several of the common flock pest 3, and will remove a jnanace to man himself. That done, the stock-owner and his veterinary adviser may proceed without haste, yet without delay, to clear the flacks and herds from other parasites, and so to fortify the animals against diseases, the cause and the cure of which are still unknown.