CATCH UP | How to prepare and control liver fluke on your farm this year

Description

Catch up with Dr John Graham Brown (University of Liverpool), Phillipa Page (NADIS) and Matt Colston (ELANCO) on their discussion around liver fluke control in sheep. Dr Graham Brown works with NADIS and SCOPS to calculate and predict the parasite and fluke forecast for the year ahead. He discusses the risks posed for this year and specific farm risks to consider for your farm. Matt and Phillipa discuss testing, management and treatment options for effective control on your farm. This event concluded with a Q&A session.

This webinar was hosted by NADIS in association with Elanco.

Dr John Graham-Brown, BVSc, MSc, PhD, MRCVS

John graduated from the University of Liverpool in 2010. As part of his studies, he also completed a master’s degree in Veterinary Parasitology. Having spent some time in mixed practice in Wales, John returned to Liverpool in 2012 to complete a PhD investigating liver fluke infection in cattle under the supervision of Professor Diana Williams.

Since 2016, John has been working as a researcher and lecturer at the university investigating a range of parasitic diseases of livestock and domestic animals in the UK and abroad. John is also currently collaborating with the national animal disease information service (NADIS) to develop and produce their monthly parasite forecasts.

Phillipa Page, BVSc BSc MRCVS 

Phillipa qualified from Liverpool Vet School in 2006 and started her first job in Neath, South Wales in a mixed practice. Following a short time as a locum dairy vet in Devon she then joined Wood Vet group in 2009 as a large animal vet. Her work was predominantly dairy but she had a special interest in sheep and developed the sheep side of the practice.

In 2016 she then moved to specialize in sheep veterinary work with Flock Health Ltd. This involves a mixture of consultancy flock health work, farmer and vet CPD training and collaboration with retailers, processors and pharmaceutical companies and industry levy bodies. Phillipa was part of the co design groups for the DEFRA Animal Health and Welfare Pathway and Endemics disease program.

Phillipa also works with NADIS (National Animal Disease Information Service) as the sheep lead on the Blowfly, parasite control, online health planning and disease alerts information.

She has been a board member on the British Cattle Veterinary Association and the Sheep Veterinary Society and is the current conference organiser for the Sheep Veterinary Society and the current Junior Vice President.

Phillipa co authored and published a book ‘Sheep Keeping’ as part of the professional small holders series by 5M Publishing and the chapter ‘Lameness’ in Differential Diagnosis in Sheep. 2022 Herriot Publications. She is involved with research and works on regular contributions to publications and is currently working towards a Diploma of the European College of Small Ruminant Health and Production.

Outside of work she is a tenant farmer of 100 acres. Together with her husband and two boys she farms a flock of 300 commercial ewes and has a farm shop.

Matt Colston, BM & S, CertSHP, MRCVS

Matt graduated from the R(D)SVS in Edinburgh in 1986. He then spent five years working in a mixed practice in Fife and the Borders before taking up a two-year demonstrator’s position (shared between R(D)SVS and SAC (Edinburgh Genetics), concentrating on equine reproduction and artificial breeding in small ruminants.

He later obtained the Cert.SHP qualification before returning to general practice in Penrith, where he has worked since 1997.

In November 2013, Matt joined Novartis Animal Health as a Veterinary Technical Advisor for the Farm Animal Team. When Novartis was acquired by Elanco, he continued in this role with the company. Also, Matt currently serves as the Chairman of Moredun Foundation's North of England Regional Board.