The devastation being wrought on a sheep farm from an outbreak of sheep measles is a graphic reminder to farmers of the need to keep managing the ovis tapeworm.
Ovis management project manager Michelle Simpson said the farmer brought store lambs onto his property but when they were killed more than 20 were infected with sheep measles and condemned.
The farmer has encountered what she called an ovis storm.
An investigation concluded an infected dog brought the ovis tapeworm onto the farm. Testing has found the pasture is infected and will need to be quarantined from sheep grazing for 300 days.
“His long-term plans are having to change, he can’t winter lambs and is having to look at other options,” she said.
His infection rate within his flock is 41.9%. The national infection target rate is 0.5% and is currently at 0.45%.
Simpson said this case is a dramatic reminder of the need to maintain dog dosing and reduce other risks such as freezing offal or meat prior to feeding it to dogs and removing dead carcases.
An infected dog carries three to four tape worms and each tapeworm can drop 250,000 ovis eggs a day.
When ingested these worms infect sheep, which grow cysts that contaminate the carcase.
Often, only a few lambs in a flock become infected after eating a clump of worms.
Simpson said maintaining regular dog dosing is crucial, even more so during duck-hunting season when off-farm dogs visit properties.
They can be dosed 24 hours prior to visiting a farm, which clears them of tapeworms.
A tapeworm has a 35-day life cycle, so if a dog is on a 30-day dosing cycle, she said, dosing with a pill must become routine and done on time.
“This can be big a big deal if they don’t add dog dosing to their to-do list.”
Auditing of dog dosing is to be included in Farm Assurance Plans.
The fact the national infection rate is so low indicates farmers are playing their part, but Simpson said the impact on the farm battling the current ovis storm indicates the risk and the scale of damage that could happen.
She said the risk of infected meat reaching markets is low because of rigorous inspection systems in meat plants.
Ovis Management is wholly owned by the Meat Industry Association and funded by meat processors who also provide the entity with infection data.
