Uittreksel
Subclinical infections with gastrointestinal nematodes and liver fluke are important causes
of production losses in grazing cattle. Although there is an extensive compilation of literature
describing the effect of these infections on animal performance, only a few attempts
have been made to convert these production losses to an economic cost. Here, we propose
a novel tool (ParaCalc®), available as a web-application, to provide herd-specific estimates
of the costs of these infections on dairy farms. ParaCalc® is a deterministic spread-sheet
model where results from diagnostic methods to monitor the helminth infection status on
a herd and anthelmintic usage are used as input parameters. Default values are provided
to describe the effects of the infections on production and the cost of these production
losses, but the latter can be adapted to improve the herd-specificity of the cost estimate.
After development, ParaCalc® was applied on input parameters that were available for 93
Belgian dairy herds. In addition, the tool was provided to 6 veterinarians and their user
experiences were evaluated. The estimated median [25th–75th percentile] cost per year
per cow was €46 [29–58] and €6 [0–19] for gastrointestinal nematode and liver fluke
infection, respectively. For both infections, the major components in the total costs were
those associated with milk production losses in the adult cows. The veterinarians evaluated
ParaCalc® as a useful tool to raise the farmers’ awareness on the costs of worm infections,
providing added value for their services. However, the score given for user-friendliness was
diverse among users. Although the model behind ParaCalc® is a strong simplification of the
real herd processes inducing economic losses, the tool may be used in the future to support
economic decisions on helminth control.
of production losses in grazing cattle. Although there is an extensive compilation of literature
describing the effect of these infections on animal performance, only a few attempts
have been made to convert these production losses to an economic cost. Here, we propose
a novel tool (ParaCalc®), available as a web-application, to provide herd-specific estimates
of the costs of these infections on dairy farms. ParaCalc® is a deterministic spread-sheet
model where results from diagnostic methods to monitor the helminth infection status on
a herd and anthelmintic usage are used as input parameters. Default values are provided
to describe the effects of the infections on production and the cost of these production
losses, but the latter can be adapted to improve the herd-specificity of the cost estimate.
After development, ParaCalc® was applied on input parameters that were available for 93
Belgian dairy herds. In addition, the tool was provided to 6 veterinarians and their user
experiences were evaluated. The estimated median [25th–75th percentile] cost per year
per cow was €46 [29–58] and €6 [0–19] for gastrointestinal nematode and liver fluke
infection, respectively. For both infections, the major components in the total costs were
those associated with milk production losses in the adult cows. The veterinarians evaluated
ParaCalc® as a useful tool to raise the farmers’ awareness on the costs of worm infections,
providing added value for their services. However, the score given for user-friendliness was
diverse among users. Although the model behind ParaCalc® is a strong simplification of the
real herd processes inducing economic losses, the tool may be used in the future to support
economic decisions on helminth control.
| Oorspronkelijke taal | Engels |
|---|---|
| Tijdschrift | Veterinary Parasitology |
| Volume | 184 |
| Pagina's (van-tot) | 204-211 |
| Aantal pagina’s | 8 |
| Publicatiestatus | Gepubliceerd - 23-mrt.-2012 |