Survey on control and management practices of equine helminthes infection

Abstract

Pesq. Vet. Bras. 29(3):253-257, março 2009 RESUMO.-[Inquérito sobre práticas de manejo e controle das helmintoses em éguas no Brasil.] Vinte nove haras foram selecionados na região do Médio Paraíba, Estado do Rio de Janeiro, os responsáveis pelos animais entrevistados e amostras fecais de éguas foram coletadas e submetidas às técnicas de OPG, Coprocultura, Sedimentocentrifugo-flutuação, Ueno e Baermann modificadas. A prevalência dos helmintos para as éguas e haras foi calculada. A capacidade de suporte, a troca de cama nas baias, a ausência da rotação do pasto, a ausência do tecnificação na propriedade e menor freqüência do tratamento dos animais foram associadas à prevalência maior dos helmintos, indicando que estas variáveis devem ser consideradas em programas de controle dos helmintos de eqüinos. A intensidade do parasitismo foi também associado à capacidade de suporte do pasto, à ausência de esterqueira, à presença dos animais somente nos pastos, à ausência do tecnificação na propriedade, à menos freqüência do tratamento e à ausên-cia de uso da rotação da classe anti-helmintica. TERMOS DE INDEXAÇÃO: Praticas de manejo e controle, helmintos, tratamento, eqüinos. INTRODUCTIONInternal parasites are a significant threat to the health of horses. Horses are susceptible to more than 60 internal parasites and may harbor several species of worms at any time. (Stoltenow & Purdy 2003). Helminths are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in equines, and the prevalence of infection with these parasites is high enough to clinical parasitism (Proudman & Mattews 2000). In Brazil, in spite of the enormous population of horses, there are few studies on equine helminth control. Also, limited information is available concerning risk factors for worm infection. Twenty-nine stud farms were selected in the Medium Paraíba region of the Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. After an interview with the person responsible for the animals, faecal samples were collected from mares and analyzed via the EPG technique, faecal cultures, Sedimentation-centrifugo-flotation, and modified Ueno and Baermann techniques. The prevalence of helminths in the mares and in the stud farms was calculated. The stocking rates of pasture, change of horse bedding, absence of pasture rotation, absence of technology in the property, and less frequent treatment of the animals were associated with a greater prevalence of helminths, showing that these variables must be considered in equine control programs. The intensity of the parasitism was also associated with the stocking rate of pasture, absence of dunghill, presence of the animals only in paddocks, lack of technology in the property, less frequent treatment of the animals, and absence of the use of rotation regarding the anthelmintic class.

Factors associated with the prevalence of helminths in Mangalarga Marchador horses in southern of Minas Gerais, Brazil

“…Several studies have shown that pasture management is one of the tools to maximize the control of helminths in the property, thereby reducing the frequency of anthelmintic treatments in animals (Earle et al 2002, O'Meara & Mulcahy 2002. Martins et al (2009) found similar results to those of the present study, showing that 67.9% of creators perform pasture rotation, 89.3% remove faeces from stalls and, on the other hand, no creator removes feces from pickets, probably due to to labor and possible high costs. O ' Meara & Mulcahy (2002) also reported that 71% of creators apply pasture rotation on their property and only 32% withdraw feces from pickets.…”

Horses grazing with cattle have reduced strongyle egg count due to the dilution effect and increased reliance on macrocyclic lactones in mixed farms

“…These results are consistent with other surveys. In Sweden, mixed grazing was found in 10% of horse farms (Lind et al, 2007), while 39% of horse breeders sampled in Rio de Janeiro state (Brazil) indicated they used mixed grazing with ruminants as an alternative to control strongyles and for better pasture management (Martins et al, 2009). These results strongly contrast with what has been observed in Irish equine farms, where 71% of respondents were aware of the health benefits of mixed grazing and utilized it effectively to lower strongyle pasture contamination (O'Meara and Mulcahy, 2002).…”

“…In these farms, the proportion of grasslands under both cut and grazed management was also the highest, and early cuts under mixed management are known to strongly decrease the number of infective larvae in pastures (Martin-Rosset, 2015). Nearly 60% of these farms had an annual stocking rate lower than 0.6 LU/ha, which is likely to reduce the risks of strongyle infection by horses (Martins et al, 2009). There was also a high frequency of deworming treatments in these specialized farms, where breeders partly based deworming decisions on indicators.…”

“…To obtain three balanced classes for statistical analyses, annual mean stocking rate was considered low between 0.2 and 0.6 livestock unit (LU) per hectare, intermediate between 0.6 and 1.0 LU/ha and high between 1.0 and 1.4 LU/ha (see Table 1 for LU definition). Reducing stocking rate is indeed likely to reduce the risks of strongyle infection by horses (Martins et al, 2009). Dilution of strongyle load in mixed horse farms (ii) The proportion of total grassland area in both cut and grazed management (i.e., mixed as opposed to grazed-only grasslands) was partitioned into three categories: lower than 30%, intermediate (between 30% and 45%) or higher than 45% of grassland area.…”

Prevalence of Gastro-Intestinal Parasites in Horses Used for Cadets Training in Nigeria

“…Horses, among most domestic animals are reported to be more susceptible to a large number of parasites and may harbor different species at any time (Wannas, et al, 2012). An apparently healthy horse can harbor over onehalf million Gastrointestinal Intestinal Parasites (GIP) such as protozoa, trematodes, cestodes and nematodes (Martins et al, 2009;Stoltenow and Purdy, 2003). This is because, the gastrointestinal tract provides favorable environment for the survival and proliferation of many of these parasites (Egan et al, 2010).…”