In cattle the lungworm is Dictyocaulus viviparus, and the disease it causes is known as husk or hoose — a parasitic bronchitis that can move quickly through a grazing group. It is most often seen in young, first-season grazing cattle during the second half of the grazing season.
Why husk spreads fast
Cattle pick up infective larvae from pasture. The larvae are spread widely across grass by a fungus that helps fling them from dung onto surrounding blades, so a contaminated field can infect many animals at once. This is why husk can appear as a sudden outbreak of coughing across a group rather than in one isolated animal.
Signs in cattle
- Coughing — at first after exercise, then at rest as infection builds.
- Increased breathing rate and effort, sometimes with the neck extended.
- Reduced grazing, weight loss and a drop in milk yield in dairy animals.
- In severe outbreaks, deaths can occur, especially in heavily exposed youngstock.
Husk can hit production hard
An outbreak in growing or dairy cattle can mean lost weight gain and milk. Early veterinary involvement and a herd-level plan are far cheaper than a full-blown outbreak.
Treatment & control
Effective dewormers include fenbendazole and other benzimidazoles, the macrocyclic lactones (ivermectin, doramectin, moxidectin) and levamisole. In many regions a vaccine is also available to build immunity in youngstock before turnout. Your vet can help design grazing and worming programmes suited to your farm.
Use the calculator for a fenbendazole estimate per animal, then confirm the herd plan with your vet.
Treating a lungworm infection?
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