Facial eczema – Risk vs Reward

Facial eczema (FE) is a serious liver disease which rears its ugly head usually around January to May when grass minimum temperatures are above 12°C for two or three nights and humidity is high. 

According to Dairy NZ the liver damage caused by the toxin (sporidesmin) when ingested can reduce milk production by up to 50%.¹ Not all animals affected by FE will show physical signs (clinical), although liver damage (subclinical) has occurred, and this results in lower animal performance and impacts animal welfare. It is estimated that for every clinical case there will be 10 animals with subclinical FE.

Why do we still see facial eczema symptoms?

• There is a misconception that if FE is a skin disease, so if the skin looks ok then it is not a problem. Animals can experience significant liver damage without you ever seeing clinical signs.
• The difficulty of ensuring each animal gets the protective dose it requires, commonly lead to under-dosing, missed treatments and poor protection across a mob of animals e.g. water treatment.
• Waiting until you see animals effected with facial eczema before using zinc prevention products.  In many cases zinc treatment is started too late, often once the damage has already been done and clinical disease is seen.

The Time Capsule® boluses take the guess work out of preventing facial eczema because:

• Zinc Oxide is administered then not worried about for the next 4 weeks in cattle. No daily dosing, no measuring, no forgotten treatments.
• The Time Capsule® has a range of boluses with the dose rate based on the size of the cow, without needing to start early to allow cows time to get used to the taste.
• The Time Capsule® is proudly made, tested and proven in NZ for over 25 years.

Once FE has affected livestock, nothing can be done to repair the liver damage. Zinc is only effective if used before and during danger periods. Therefore, The Time Capsules should be administered before spore counts get too high, before liver damage occurs and before production losses start. If you are seeing the signs of FE in your stock then the use of The Time Capsule will help to reduce further impact of the disease. The Time Capsule® gives you confidence that your animals are rapidly protected in the face of an FE challenge.

Always refer to the label. The Time Capsule® is registered pursuant to the ACVM Act 1997, nos A7600, A7763, A7931, A9006, A6275 and A10857.

¹https://www.dairynz.co.nz/animal/animal-health/facial-eczema