SUMMARYReports of Calicophoron daubneyi infecting livestock in Europe have
increased substantially over the past decade; however, there has not been an estimate of
its farm level prevalence and associated risk factors in the UK. Here, the prevalence of
C. daubneyi across 100 participating Welsh farms was recorded, with
climate, environmental and management factors attained for each farm and used to create
logistic regression models explaining its prevalence. Sixty-one per cent of farms studied
were positive for C. daubneyi, with herd-level prevalence for cattle
(59%) significantly higher compared with flock-level prevalence for sheep (42%,
P = 0·029). Co-infection between C. daubneyi and
Fasciola hepatica was observed on 46% of farms; however, a significant
negative correlation was recorded in the intensity of infection between each parasite
within cattle herds (rho = −0·358, P = 0·007). Final models showed
sunshine hours, herd size, treatment regularity against F. hepatica, the
presence of streams and bog habitats, and Ollerenshaw index values as significant positive
predictors for C. daubneyi (P < 0·05). The
results raise intriguing questions regarding C. daubneyi epidemiology,
potential competition with F. hepatica and the role of climate change in
C. daubneyi establishment and its future within the UK.