Facial eczema has killed at least nine dairy cows in the Okato area of coastal Taranaki. <\/p>\n
Six cows have died on one farm and about 12 are sick. On another farm one cow has died and clinical cases number about 18. <\/p>\n
Okato vet Graeme Charteris said 770,000 facial eczema spores were recorded yesterday just hours after the count was 540,000. <\/p>\n
Counts in the district were averaging 300,000 yesterday after being between 60,000 and 120,000 on Friday, Charteris said. <\/p>\n
He's warning farmers the facial eczema season is not over. <\/p>\n
\"Rain and warmth are a hotbed for facial eczema spores,\" he said. \"Farmers need to be vigilant with protection. Counts could stay high until well into May, so don't stop treatment.\" <\/p>\n
This week's counts were significant and farmers needed to ensure their cows were receiving the right dose of zinc to combat facial eczema. <\/p>\n
Zinc could be given as a drench, added to stock water supplies, or applied to pasture as a spray. <\/p>\n
At such high numbers, zinc capsules were the most effective form of treatment at 95 per cent, while water treatment was about 70 per cent effective. <\/p>\n
Spore counts above 50,000 are considered to be a trigger level for the disease for unprotected stock exposed to that figure for a length of time. <\/p>\n
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