Browsing by Author "Dowling A"

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    Assessment of accuracy of liver fluke diagnostic tests using the gold standard of total worm counts.
    (Elsevier B.V., 2024-08-24) Dowling A; Lawrence KE; Howe L; Scott I; Pomroy WE
    In many regions of New Zealand liver fluke is endemic, infecting most grazing ruminants, including cattle, sheep, and deer. Restricting the economic losses and welfare costs associated with liver fluke relies on accurately identifying those animals with a production limiting infection. This has proven a difficult goal and although several antemortem quantitative tests are available, including faecal egg counts (FEC), serum ELISA and copro-antigen ELISA, none can be considered a gold standard test of liver fluke infection. The accepted gold standard test for fascioliasis is the total fluke count, which is both laborious and can only be completed at post-mortem. This study aimed to compare the performance of four liver fluke diagnostic tests, against the results of a gold standard total fluke count test. Two groups of cattle were selected, 29 culled mixed age beef cows (MAC) and ten 30-month-old steers. The cattle were blood sampled and faecal sampled prior to slaughter and their whole livers recovered post slaughter at the abattoir. Liveweight was also recorded at slaughter. After collection, each liver was weighed, scored for gross pathology, then serum, faeces and livers were frozen at -20 °C for later analysis. Faecal egg counts and F. hepatica copro-antigen ELISA tests were completed on the faecal samples and total fluke counts were completed on the livers. Fasciola hepatica antibody concentration in serum samples were quantified using a commercial ELISA test. Poisson regression models were built to model the association between each diagnostic test and the total fluke count, and a linear regression model was built to examine the relationship between each diagnostic test and live weight at slaughter. The median fluke count was significantly higher in MAC than steers (p = 0.01), and F. hepatica eggs were present in 100% steers and 66% MAC. There was a significant effect of copro-antigen ELISA value on total fluke count (p < 0.0001), with a coproantigen ELISA value = 20.1 predicting 10 flukes and a value = 44.8 predicting 30 flukes. There was also a significant effect of FEC on total fluke count (p = 0.002) but the R-squared value for this model was lower. There was no association between liver fibrosis score or antibody ELISA test and total fluke count (p = 0.95, p = 0.73, respectively). There was a significant effect of total fluke count (p = 0.03) on liveweight at slaughter, with liveweight falling 20.4 kg for each unit increase in loge (total fluke count). There was no effect of FEC (p = 0.11), antibody ELISA (p = 0.55) or copro-antigen ELISA value (p = 0.16) on liveweight at slaughter. Taken together, these results show that the coproantigen ELISA test is the better test for estimating the true liver fluke burden and that the number of flukes in the liver has a negative effect on cattle live weights at slaughter.
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    Prevalence of liver fluke on West Coast farms of the South Island of New Zealand sampled in the autumn and spring of consecutive lactations
    (2021-07-19) Dowling A; Pomroy W; Howe L; Scott I; Lawrence K
    The aim of this study was to determine the occurrence of Fasciola hepatica infection in dairy cows in this West Coast of the South Island using an ELISA of bulk milk samples (n=430) collected on one of two occasions during March (autumn) 2017 and again in October (spring). All samples were analysed using the IDEXX Fasciolosis Verification kit which estimates the infection level in the herd in 4 categories; >50% infestation (strong); 20-50% infestation (medium); <20% infestation (low); no infection. A subset (n=99) were tested twice with a one week interval to determine repeatability. A short survey was also posted to each supplier with 157 completed. Of the 430 farms tested 133 (31%) were negative, 49 (11%) had a low infestation, 62 (14%) had a medium infestation and 186 (43%) had a strong infestation. GIS mapping of the farm locations indicated geographic grouping of farms with more severe fluke infestations. The 99 samples tested twice substantially agreed (Kappa = 0.7). Farms tested in both autumn and spring (n= 369) moderately agreed (Kappa 0.43) with an overall decrease in the spring. From the survey 85% of farmers were aware of liver fluke on their farm during the last 5 years and 70% treated their cows with a flukicide during the dry period (winter) including 92% of the farms that tested negative. This study indicates fasciolosis is common in this region with a disturbing number with a high prevalence in their herds. It also showed a decrease from autumn to following spring levels.
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    The milk production impacts of liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica) infection in dairy cows on the West Coast of the South Island, New Zealand
    (Elsevier B V, 2025-05) Dowling A; Lawrence KE; Howe L; Scott I; Pomroy W
    The impact of fasciolosis has been estimated on many occasions and can vary from mild to severe effects on animal productivity. The aim of the current study was to utilise observations on seroconversion of dairy cattle to Fasciola hepatica over the course of a lactation and compare their milk production with other cattle who remained serologically negative throughout the same lactation. Four spring-calving dairy herds on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand were selected based on prior knowledge of endemic liver fluke infection. Over the four herds, a total of 485 cows were blood sampled twice during one lactation, in early November (spring) and early March (autumn). The F. hepatica antibody titre of F. hepatica antibody was quantified using a commercial ELISA test (IDEXX Fasciolosis Verification, IDEXX Europe BV, Hoofdorp, The Netherlands). Milk production was estimated by a series of 3–4 herd tests over the lactation where each cow is individually measured during the morning and evening milking on the same day with samples analysed for milk yield, milk fat (MF), protein (MP), lactose (ML) and total milk solids (MS). Energy corrected milk (ECM) was then calculated using the formula: ECM (kg/d) = 12.55 × MF (kg/d) + 7.39 × MP (kg/d) + 0.2595 × milk yield (kg/d). At the spring sampling, 52 % of cows had antibodies detected which increased to 63 % in autumn. For the sampled cows, those that were in the negative IDEXX test category in autumn and spring were categorised as ‘uninfected’ while those which were negative in spring and seroconverted to the strong positive category in autumn were categorised as ‘infected’. Those in the intermediate categories were ignored. A total of 235 cows were categorised as ‘uninfected’ at the spring testing, being in the negative IDEXX diagnostic category. Of those 235, at the autumn testing, 152 remained in the negative diagnostic category and 50 were in the strong positive IDEXX diagnostic category and were categorised as ‘infected’. A model was fitted which described the lactation curve of each milk component (MF, ML, MP, ECM), a variable describing the infection status of the cow was then tested in the model. The only significant change detected was mean Milk Fat (MF) % being 0.24 MF% points (95 % CI 0.04–0.44 %) lower for ‘infected’ compared to ‘uninfected’ cows. Using a value of6.044/kg MF New Zealand dollars (NZD) this represents an economic loss of NZD 60.2 per ‘infected’ cow in a West Coast herd. Although small, such an effect will still have an appreciable impact on the economic return to a dairy farmer.
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    The seroprevalence and spatial distribution of liver fluke infection in a sample of West Coast and Canterbury dairy herds
    (Elsevier B.V., 2025-01-17) Dowling A; Lawrence KE; Howe L; Scott I; Pomroy W
    The West Coast region of the South Island of New Zealand is recognised as having a high prevalence of liver fluke infection, however, few studies have tested this assumption. This study aimed to estimate the seroprevalence and spatial distribution of liver fluke infection in most West Coast and some Canterbury dairy herds using bulk milk ELISA. Herds were bulk milk sampled on three occasions, twice, a week apart in March 2017 (n = 430 and n = 99) and once in October 2017 (n = 412). The concentration of liver fluke antibodies was estimated using the IDEXX Fasciolosis Verification ELISA (IDEXX Europe BV, Hoofdorp, The Netherlands) on these bulk milk samples. Herds were categorised according to the test instructions, with “medium” (≥20 % cows infected) or “strong” (≥50 % cows infected) results designated as production limiting. All herds were also sent a short questionnaire about awareness of liver fluke and treatment in their herds. The agreement between the IDEXX results for 99 herds sampled twice in March 2017, and between the IDEXX results for March and October for all herds was assessed with a Kappa test. There was a substantial agreement between the two March tests, kappa = 0.7 (95 % CI 0.58–0.82) and moderate agreement between the March and October samples kappa = 0.41 (95 % CI 0.34–0.48). The results of the questionnaire were linked to the IDEXX results, and the distribution of herds categorised by their IDEXX result plotted. At the March and October samplings 0/35 (0 %) and 0/27 (0 %) Canterbury herds, 248/395 (63 %) and 193/385 (50 %) of West Coast herds had a production limiting seroprevalence of liver fluke infection. Mapping showed that West Coast herds with a production limiting infection were clustered in coastal areas, whereas those without, were clustered in inland valleys. The odds of a coastal West Coast dairy herd having a production limiting seroprevalence of liver fluke were 10.7 (95 % CI, 6.6–17.3) times that of an inland herd in March and 8.6 (95 % CI, 5.4–13.8) times in October. There was no effect on IDEXX ELISA SP% (p = 0.92) of herds which were treated for liver fluke at dry off soon after the March test compared to their SP% in the following October test, soon after calving. The results show that liver fluke infection is a potentially serious problem for West Coast dairy herds especially for those on coastal river plains prone to flooding.
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    The use of a Bayesian latent class model to estimate the test characteristics of three liver fluke diagnostic tests under New Zealand field conditions.
    (2024-09-12) Dowling A; Lawrence KE; Scott I; Howe L; Pomroy WE
    The liver fluke Fasciola hepatica is a trematode parasite of farmed livestock with worldwide distribution, causing chronic production losses and possible death from hepatobiliary damage. The effective management of liver fluke infection requires diagnostic tests which can accurately identify infected animals at both the individual and herd level. However, the accuracy of liver fluke diagnostic tests performed on individual New Zealand cattle is currently unknown. The aim of this study was to use a Bayesian latent class model (LCM) to estimate the test characteristics of three liver fluke diagnostic tests, the coproantigen ELISA, the IDEXX antibody ELISA and the faecal egg count. One hundred and twenty dairy cows each from two dairy farms were blood and faecal sampled in April 2021. The samples were transported to Massey University, Palmerston North, and the three diagnostic tests completed following the respective manufacturer instructions. A Bayesian LCM model, adapted from the original Hui and Walter 2 tests 2 populations model, was built to estimate the test characteristics of the three diagnostic tests in the two dairy herds. The model was implemented in JAGS using Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling. The first 30,000 iterations were discarded as burn-in, and the next 200,000 iterations were used to construct the posterior distributions. Uninformed priors, beta (1,1), were used as the prior distributions for the prevalence estimation and informed beta priors, based on published results, were used as the prior distributions for estimating the sensitivity and specificity of each diagnostic test. Model convergence was confirmed by inspection of trace plots and examination of the results of the Gelman and Rubin test. The results found that the coproantigen ELISA test was the most accurate for diagnosing liver fluke infection in individual animals with a sensitivity = 0.98 (95 % CI 0.95-1.00) and specificity = 0.95 (95 % CI 0.81-1.00) compared to the IDEXX antibody ELISA test, sensitivity = 0.39 (95 % CI 0.32-0.47) and specificity = 0.86 (95 % CI 0.75-0.96) or the FEC, sensitivity = 0.23 (95 % CI 0.17-0.30) and specificity = 0.92 (95 % CI 0.86-0.97). Based on these results clinicians should be encouraged to use the coproantigen ELISA test to diagnose liver fluke infection in individual cattle.