Milk yield increase after anthelmintic treatment of dairy cattle related to some parameters estimating helminth infection

On 81 farms blood samples were taken from adult dairy cattle, on pasture in October 1986 and after stabling in December 1986, to measure antibody titres against the nematodes Dictyocaulus viviparus, Cooperia spp. and Ostertagia spp., and the trematode Fasciola hepatica, and serum pepsinogen values. Faecal samples, collected in October, were examined to confirm the presence of parasites by means of egg counts and larval identifications. From December until the end of the stabling period, dry cows were either treated with albendazole or left untreated in alternate sequence of calving date. Treated cows produced 132.9 kg milk per cow per lactation more than untreated cows (P less than 0.01). Fat and protein percentage were not significantly influenced by anthelmintic treatment. The mean herd milk yield response to treatment varied from -889 to +1231 kg milk per cow per lactation. There was a significant between-herd variation in antibody titres against nematodes and in pepsinogen values. However no significant correlations between these parameters and the mean herd milk yield response to treatment were found.