Elanco Urges Wider Haemonchus Surveillance in Adult Ewes as Barber’s Pole Worm Spreads Further North Across UK

As Haemonchus contortus, or Barber’s pole worm, continues to spread across the UK, sheep producers are advised to broaden worm monitoring to include adult ewes, emphasising the importance of accurate testing and targeted treatment.

Sheep producers are being urged to widen worm surveillance to adult ewes as Haemonchus contortus — commonly known as barber’s pole worm — continues to spread further north across the UK, driven by warmer winters and drier, warmer springs that allow the parasite to survive on pasture and establish earlier in the season. Elanco’s ruminant technical consultant Matt Colston said routine faecal egg counts should no longer be treated as a lamb-only tool, particularly on farms where the parasite has already been confirmed.

The caution is that a high egg count in an older animal group does not automatically confirm Haemonchus as the cause. Colston cited one flock that recorded counts in the thousands, yet only a small proportion of the burden was barber’s pole worm — meaning a narrow-spectrum treatment would have left other strongyles untreated. SCOPS technical adviser Nerys Wright has echoed this caution nationally, warning against blanket treatments in adult ewes that could undermine sustainable parasite control, and stressing that presence of Haemonchus eggs in a faecal sample does not always indicate clinical haemonchosis.

APHA has confirmed sudden deaths from haemonchosis in adult ewes from two Devon flocks and is offering free diagnostic testing through October for suspected cases presenting with anaemia and bottle jaw, submitted via vets using the Small Ruminant Submission Form. Specialists also recommend FAMACHA scoring — assessing anaemia via lower eyelid colour — to target treatment more precisely.

The University of Edinburgh, working with SCOPS, has launched a new online training course on sustainable Haemonchus control, initially for vet practices ahead of the peak parasite risk period.