Liver fluke in Roe

[Scully]

Shot a Roe a couple of days ago which looked fit and well,but its liver was riddled with fluke.Landowners are saying it is rife in sheep due to the weather,and they have been busy dosing for some time.

The fluke looked very similar to those found in sheep,but I understand fluke come in much larger sizes.

What are,if any,the outward signs of a roe infected with liver fluke,and how long could a roe survive from first infection?Anyone know?

[wildfowler.250]

I would assume if it was like sheep and they had a chronic infection,(low number of adult fluke) then the deer may show wasting/weight loss but that is just an educated guess. Don't know how else you could tell without shooting the deer.

 

I wouldn't worry about it though,(just don't eat the liver ). You get fasciola hepatica and dicrocoelium dendriticum in the uk I believe.

[apache]

Liver fluke can infect any mammal that picks up the immature stage (including people). This wet summer has meant a lot of fluke about and we see it on farms where it has never been a problem before.

 

The fluke drink blood and protein. In severe infections you can get low blood protein that causes fluid to leak from the blood into the tissues - in sheep is is commonly known as 'bottle jaw'.

 

On the whole fluke is not a huge problem in deer, so long as the carcase in in decent condition and otherwise normal chuck the liver and crack on. Lambs liver is getting rare!

[wildfowler.250]

Apache, do deer get bottle jaw as well? Suppose there's no reason why they wouldn't.

[activeviii]

snails being the main carrier and with the wet we have had this year the fluke is rife. as Apache said. bin the liver and make sure the gralloch was a clean job with no urine or fasces spillage as this is how the fluke is passed on.

[apache]

Deer could get bottle jaw, if they had a chronic infection and enough fluke. To be honest it is something we see in sheep rather than cattle. I'd suggest the bigger the deer the less likely to happen.

 

The fluke lay eggs into the bile ducts that then pass into the gut and out via the faeces. There needs to be an intermediate host (a tiny ~5mm mud snail). You cannot catch fluke eating a fluke egg in the deer or if you didn't wash your hands properly. It's a specific snail not all.

[Scully]

Many thanks all.

[wildfowler.250]

Deer could get bottle jaw, if they had a chronic infection and enough fluke. To be honest it is something we see in sheep rather than cattle. I'd suggest the bigger the deer the less likely to happen.

 

The fluke lay eggs into the bile ducts that then pass into the gut and out via the faeces. There needs to be an intermediate host (a tiny ~5mm mud snail). You cannot catch fluke eating a fluke egg in the deer or if you didn't wash your hands properly. It's a specific snail not all.

 

Cheers apache had to swat up all my parasitology for exams in December but it only focused on sheep and cattle,(no mention of deer in any of the lectures).