PESTS

LIVER FLUKES (Fasciola hepatica)

-is a leaf-shaped parasite which lives in the liver and bile

ducts of infected cattle. Sheep, rabbits, deer and horses
can also host the parasite. The liver fluke life cycle involves
a free-living stage which depends on the presence of an
intermediate host, a mud snail.

Roundworms

- are the most common and economically important group

of internal parasites in beef cattle. Impacts can include
reduced appetite and grazing behaviour, depressed weight
gains, poor feed efficiency and diarrhea in calves and
yearlings; and reduced milk production and reproductive
inefficiency in cows. Roundworm larvae cannot survive
feedlot environments so it is not a production concern
there.

LICE

- can be suspected when cattle show signs of rubbing.

Rubbing causes hair loss which is commonly seen on the
neck, shoulders and rump areas and is generally more
severe than seasonal shedding of winter coat. Infestations of
biting lice are rarely found in WA with the most common
infestation being sucking lice.

HORN FLY

- is a small blood-feeder found in constant

association with grazing cattle and in smaller
numbers on drylot or indoor cattle. They are
ferocious and painful biters and more than 400 per
animal will affect the health and productivity of
cattle.

GRUBS

- Adults are robust, black, 1/2-inch long hairy flies that have white
stripes and hair tufts on the thorax. Larvae (bots) are white and
grow to 1 inch long, with a pair of breathing pores (spiracles) on
the back end (posterior). They turn brown to black before leaving
the host to pupate.Also called the ox bot, ox warble or heel fly,
larvae (bots) develop inside cattle causing health problems
(inflammation and suffering) and reducing the value of hide;
adults cannot bite or sting.
 DISEASES
MILK FEVER (HYPOCALCAEMAI)

- is a disorder mainly of dairy cows close to

calving. It is a metabolic disease caused by a low
blood calcium level (hypocalcaemia). Between
3% and 10% of cows in dairying districts are
affected each year, with much higher
percentages occurring on some properties.

ANAPLASMOSIS

- is a vector-borne, infectious blood disease in

cattle caused by the rickesttsial parasites
Anaplasma marginale and Anaplasma centrale. It
is also known as yellow-bag or yellow-fever. This
parasite infects the red blood cells and causes
severe anemia. It is most usually spread by ticks.

ANTRAX

- is a highly contagious and infectious soil-borne

disease caused by Bacillus anthracis, a relatively
large spore-forming bacteria that can infect
mammals. Anthrax is primarily a disease of
herbivores, particularly bison and beef cattle.
FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE (FMD)

- is a severe, highly contagious viral disease of

livestock that has a significant economic
impact. The disease affects cattle, swine,
sheep, goats and other cloven-hoofed
ruminants. ... The organism which causes FMD
is an aphthovirus of the family Picornaviridae.

BLOAT ( RUMINAL TYMPANY)

- is a disease of ruminant animals, characterized

by an excessive volume of gas in the rumen.
Ruminal tympany may be primary, known as
frothy bloat, or secondary, known as free-gas
bloat. In the rumen, food eaten by the ruminant
is fermented by microbes.