Helminth co-infections have no additive detrimental impact on milk yield and milk quality compared to mono-infections in German dairy cows.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Infections with (tricho-)strongyles, Dictyocaulus viviparus or Fasciola hepatica have been shown to reduce milk production in dairy cows. However, the current published studies focused on one single helminth infection by neglecting helminth co-infections and their possible (additive) effects on host performance. Hence, for the first time, we investigated differences in the impact of patent helminth co-infections versus mono-infections on milk production parameters in individual cows.

Methods

A total of 1583 dairy cows from 27 herds were included in this study. Faecal samples were examined in 2015 and 2021/2022 to determine the number of eggs/larvae per gram faeces for (tricho-)strongyles, D. viviparus, F. hepatica and rumen flukes. The cows were classified as non-

SUBMITTER: May K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11414050 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature