[Hillview Farm]

I've never experienced tapeworm before, found two poos in a field of lambs and there's white blobs on it. I opened the poo up and none on the inside just 2 or 3 blobs on the outside. They sort of look like snot, jelly like consistency with the middle white and the outer edge more see through wishy washy white/clear


Tapeworm?

[Tim W]

 Tape worm---yes

Don't worry about it. They won't effect performance much unless they get to the stage of blocking up the gut

I think most anthelmintics will sort them out if you are worried

[SallyintNorth]

I think most anthelmintics will sort them out if you are worried

Actually, most wormers don't cover tapeworm.

The tapeworm (Monezia expansa) which has the sheep as its final host, so the one where you see the segments in the poo, is not clinically significant, so is generally not treated for.  If you want to treat, use Levitape, Albex or similar.

The tapeworms (Taenia spp.) which have the sheep as the intermediate host are the ones which cause the damage.  But in these, you do not see the segments in the poo and there is nothing you can do to treat the sheep.  Control needs to be with the terminal host, which is the dog.

[Marches Farmer]

Isn't this one carried by foxes, as well?

[ScotsGirl]

Benzimole from Scats/Mole a Valley kills tapeworm at egg and adult stage. I lost a ewe this year and I am convinced it was through tapeworm. My vet kept saying not to worry. Problem is can you tell the difference between sheepy tapeworm and the doggy dangerous tapeworm?

[SallyintNorth]

can you tell the difference between sheepy tapeworm and the doggy dangerous tapeworm?

Yes.  If you can see tapeworm segments in the sheep's poo it is the sheepy tapeworm.

Unfortunately the dangerous doggy one is not detectable in the sheep except through symptoms and post mortem.  There is no treatment for the sheep, control has to be by worming the dogs.  If you have sheep on public footpaths, there is nothing you can do except educate the public and pick up any dog poo you see.

The tapeworm has a two-stage lifecycle.  In the terminal host it lives in the gut and makes eggs which it sheds as segments in the poo.  The eggs are then ingested by the intermediate host, migrate through the tissues and make cysts wherever they land up in the tissues.  The terminal host is infected when it eats the cysts in the carcase.

So the sheepy tapeworm is the one that lives in the sheep's guts and you see segments in the poo.  It doesn't really do any damage to the sheep, although I guess it must use up some of the nutrition in the food the sheep eats.  The eggs are eaten by pasture mites, and their infected bodies are then eaten by sheep on the grass, to start the cycle again.

The doggy tapeworm lives in the dog's guts and you see segments in the dog's poo.  The segments crawl up the blades of grass and are eaten along with the grass by the sheep.  They then infest the sheep's tissues, making cysts.  Often there are no symptoms, but the cysts will be found at the abattoir and any such tissue condemned.  In a really bad infestation the animal will die from the damage to the tissues.

There are also tapeworms in other carnivores (foxes, cats) as the terminal host, ie, shedding eggs and in other herbivores (rabbits mainly) as the intermediate host, reinfecting the carnivores as the latter eat the carcase. 

[SallyintNorth]

can you tell the difference between sheepy tapeworm and the doggy dangerous tapeworm?

Yes.  If you can see tapeworm segments in the sheep's poo it is the sheepy tapeworm.

Unfortunately the dangerous doggy one is not detectable in the sheep except through symptoms and post mortem.  There is no treatment for the sheep, control has to be by worming the dogs.  If you have sheep on public footpaths, there is nothing you can do except educate the public and pick up any dog poo you see.

The tapeworm has a two-stage lifecycle.  In the terminal host it lives in the gut and makes eggs which it sheds as segments in the poo.  The eggs are then ingested by the intermediate host, migrate through the tissues and make cysts wherever they land up in the tissues.  The terminal host is infected when it eats the cysts in the carcase.

So the sheepy tapeworm is the one that lives in the sheep's guts and you see segments in the poo.  It doesn't really do any damage to the sheep, although I guess it must use up some of the nutrition in the food the sheep eats.  The eggs are eaten by pasture mites, and their infected bodies are then eaten by sheep on the grass, to start the cycle again.

The doggy tapeworm lives in the dog's guts and you see segments in the dog's poo.  The segments crawl up the blades of grass and are eaten along with the grass by the sheep.  They then infest the sheep's tissues, making cysts.  Often there are no symptoms, but the cysts will be found at the abattoir and any such tissue condemned.  In a really bad infestation the animal will die from the damage to the tissues.

There are also tapeworms in other carnivores (foxes, cats) as the terminal host, ie, shedding eggs and in other herbivores (rabbits mainly) as the intermediate host, reinfecting the carnivores as the latter eat the carcase.

:Bookmark: tapeworm in sheep

[SallyintNorth]

Apologies for posting in an old thread, I just wanted to bookmark this one as I think I finally managed to write all the sheep vs dog tapeworm stuff clearly!