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WET weather in the South West has brought a big upswing in parasitic diseases, especially in cattle, according to FarmDisease.co.uk - the disease monitoring website - and there is more to come.

Using July information from the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA), the service says that reports of parasitic pneumonia in cattle in the region hit double normal levels, and gut worm scours (PGE) nine times higher - with nearly half the reports from Somerset. Welsh cattle have also been hit, with PGE more than double the norm.

Andrew Davies, at the Southfield Veterinary Group in Dorchester - a member of XLVets which supports the website - said: "We are investigating several reports of coughing, reduced milk yields and loss of condition - there are a lot more than 12 months ago. This tallies with the parasitic pneumonia figures. Given the wet summer, we expect a big upsurge in fluke in a month or two".

He advises farmers to avoid pastures with high fluke potential, and to administer fluke treatments at drying off.

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