Seeing a tapeworm coming out of one of our animals can be a shocking experience. They’re one of the only parasites that we physically see in the flesh while our animal is alive. However, the tapeworm segments that we see in our farm animals’ faeces are known as Moniezia spp.. They’re ruminant tapeworms and for the most part are completely non-pathogenic. That is – they do not affect our animals’ welfare or performance.
Benzimidazoles (white wormers) like Albex, Bovex or Zerofen eradicate these, but in the vast majority of cases they’re nothing to panic over. Oxyclozanides like Rumenil also treat Moniezia.
What about the tapeworm ‘cysts’ that cause rejections in my carcase and liver tissue at the abattoir?
For the Moniezia spp., or ruminant tapeworm, farm animals are the definitive hosts. That means that the tapeworm reaches adulthood and reproduces in the ruminant. However, like fluke, tapeworm need an intermediate host. In the case of Moniezia spp., this comes in the form of tiny mites on pasture. These eat larvae that derive from the segments dropped in faeces. Our animals then eat these mites while grazing and the cycle completes.
Certain dog tapeworms (Taenia spp.) use our farm animals as intermediate hosts. The tapeworm reaches adulthood in the dog and when the dog defecates on pasture, our animals consume the hatched larvae while grazing. These larvae cause ‘cysts’ in tissues like muscle or the liver parenchyma (the red/purplepart). These are what lead to condemnations in the abattoir. In fact, certain species of Taenia spp. proliferate in the central nervous system and can cause serious health problems in our animals.
How do we control these tapeworms? Worm our dogs properly!
Seeing a tapeworm coming out of one of our animals can be a shocking experience. They’re one of the only parasites that we physically see in the flesh while our animal is alive. However, the tapeworm segments that we see in our farm animals’ faeces are known as Moniezia spp.. They’re ruminant tapeworms and for the most part are completely non-pathogenic. That is – they do not affect our animals’ welfare or performance.
Benzimidazoles (white wormers) like Albex, Bovex or Zerofen eradicate these, but in the vast majority of cases they’re nothing to panic over. Oxyclozanides like Rumenil also treat Moniezia.
What about the tapeworm ‘cysts’ that cause rejections in my carcase and liver tissue at the abattoir?
For the Moniezia spp., or ruminant tapeworm, farm animals are the definitive hosts. That means that the tapeworm reaches adulthood and reproduces in the ruminant. However, like fluke, tapeworm need an intermediate host. In the case of Moniezia spp., this comes in the form of tiny mites on pasture. These eat larvae that derive from the segments dropped in faeces. Our animals then eat these mites while grazing and the cycle completes.
Certain dog tapeworms (Taenia spp.) use our farm animals as intermediate hosts. The tapeworm reaches adulthood in the dog and when the dog defecates on pasture, our animals consume the hatched larvae while grazing. These larvae cause ‘cysts’ in tissues like muscle or the liver parenchyma (the red/purplepart). These are what lead to condemnations in the abattoir. In fact, certain species of Taenia spp. proliferate in the central nervous system and can cause serious health problems in our animals.