Vet Parasitol Reg Stud Reports. 2026 May;70:101472. doi: 10.1016/j.vprsr.2026.101472. Epub 2026 Mar 18.
ABSTRACT
In recent decades, there has been a significant increase in the prevalence of the rumen fluke Calicophoron daubneyi across large parts of Europe. German cow-calf operators are concerned about the significance of C. daubneyi as a probable cause of poor productivity in view of the high prevalence in German suckler cow herds. Therefore, we conducted a study on a Charolais suckler cow farm aiming to investigate the impact of rumen fluke infection on net weight gain of prime beef cattle. Inspections of reticulorumens of 73 slaughtered cattle for adult rumen flukes revealed a frequency of 42.5% infected cattle. The statistical analysis of the net weight gains of rumen fluke-infected and non-infected cattle showed no difference in heifers (480 g vs. 469 g, P = 0.38) or young bulls (717 g vs. 743 g, P = 0.53). Backward selection analysis with sex, selenium supply, grazing seasons, and liver fluke and gastrointestinal strongyle infection status as cofactors showed that weight gains of both infected and non-infected heifers and young bulls were impacted by sex and selenium supply and thus no one-sided influence was present. Of the mean blood parameters analysed, the erythrocyte count, haematocrit, aspartate aminotransferase and phosphorus value were slightly above the reference range in both groups. It was therefore concluded that the rumen fluke infection does not affect selected biochemical and blood cell counts of young beef cattle. Post-mortem examination of the forestomachs revealed that adult flukes mainly adhered in the atrium ruminis followed by the ruminoreticular fold. The evaluation of the sedimentation technique to detect adult rumen fluke infections revealed a sensitivity of 87.1% and specificity of 92.9%. Moreover, a strong correlation (r = 0.77) was found between the faecal egg count (median = 3.8 epg) and fluke burden (median fluke burden = 72) in the slaughtered cattle. Results of this study are suggesting that observed infection intensities in the rumen have no negative impact on weight gain in prime beef cattle.
PMID:42034954 | DOI:10.1016/j.vprsr.2026.101472
