Fasciolosis caused by liver fluke is a major parasitic disease of cattle that impairs growth, reproduction, and immune function. Effective control integrates strategic flukicide treatment with pasture and snail host management.
Cattle with chronic fasciolosis experience sustained suffering that is often not immediately obvious to farmers. Subclinical infection reduces growth rates and milk production — economically costly but also indicative of underlying physiological stress and compromise. Anaemia and protein loss cause weakness, reduced exercise tolerance, and poor body condition. Cattle are stoic animals that mask pain; by the time clinical signs are apparent, significant liver damage has occurred. Welfare-positive fluke control requires strategic treatment timing (post-housing in autumn/winter in temperate regions), pasture management to reduce snail habitat, and regular coproantigen testing to monitor infection pressure without relying solely on clinical signs.