30/04/2026
Are climatic events altering the way disease spreads in sheep?
Climate change is fundamentally altering how diseases spread, acting as a major multiplier for both human and animal health threats. Rising temperatures and extreme weather are forcing pathogens and vectors, like mosquitoes and ticks, into new, temperate regions.
Over a ten-year period, researchers in Northern Ireland monitored parasite infections in sheep and began to notice clear shifts that could not be explained by farming practices alone.Warmer temperatures and milder winters were allowing parasites to survive longer and develop faster. As a result, infections were appearing earlier in the year and lasting longer into the grazing season. There was also an increase in the overall abundance of certain parasites, particularly gastrointestinal worms such as Teladorsagia and Trichostrongylus. These parasites affect digestion, weight gain and overall animal health, leading to productivity losses.
This is one of the many examples of climatic events and their impact on animal health. What this means in practice is that farmers are facing less predictable disease cycles, making it harder to control infections and increasing the need for more adaptive management strategies with different disciplines, especially with the help of ecologists.
