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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Parasite control methods used by horse owners: factors predisposing to the development of anthelmintic resistance in nematodes.

One hundred and fifty horse owners, primarily private owners and riding schools, replied to a questionnaire concerning the practices they used to control parasites. Twenty-seven had experienced a parasite problem. Faecal samples from 188 horses selected at random showed that worm control practices were generally successful; however, many owners were not following recommendations for slowing the development of resistant parasites. In 1996, 86 per cent of the owners were using either three or two classes of anthelmintic a year, and they used a median of six doses with a range from one to 11. Approximately half the owners, more commonly owners of up to five horses, picked up their horses' faeces at least once a week, but these owners also used more doses of anthelmintic a year than owners who did not pick up faeces. One-third of the owners manually removed Gasterophilus species eggs from the horses' hairs, but 94 per cent of them also used ivermectin. Many owners treated specifically for Anoplocephala species, cyathostome larvae and Gasterophilus species, and these owners were the most likely to use three classes of anthelmintic a year. One-hundred-and-seven owners replied to a second questionnaire asking for information about the factors that influenced their anthelmintic control practices. Many owners, particularly private owners, were not influenced by the cost of the anthelmintic. For the timing and frequency of treatment, and the choice of drug, owners were most influenced by advertisements, magazine articles and veterinary surgeons. In two magazines aimed at horse owners, the brands of drugs most frequently advertised were the brands most commonly used by the owners, and articles in the magazines recommended the use of three classes of drug per year. These results are discussed in relation to their influence on the development of anthelmintic-resistant nematodes.

Animal Husbandry↗
PubMed2003

Genomics and its impact on parasitology and the potential for development of new parasite control methods.

Parasitic organisms remain the scourge of the developed and underdeveloped worlds. Malaria, schistosomiasis, leishmaniasis, and trypanosomiasis, for example, still result in a large number of human deaths each year worldwide, while drug resistance among nematodes still poses a major problem to the livestock industries. Genome projects involving parasitic organisms are now abundant, and technologies for the investigations of the parasite transcriptome and proteome are well established. There is no doubt the era of the "omics" is with parasitology, and current trends in the discipline are addressing fundamental biological questions that can make best use of the new technologies, as well as the vast amount of new data being generated. Will this become the "golden age of molecular parasitology," leading to the control of parasitic diseases that have plagued mankind for hundreds of years? The primary aim of this paper is to review advances in the general area of parasite genomics, and to outline where the application of "omics" technologies can and have impacted on the development of new control methods for parasitic organisms.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Towards sustainable nematode parasite control of livestock.

Farmers worldwide have come to expect, and rely almost exclusively on, broad-spectrum anthelmintics to effectively control nematode parasites amongst their livestock. However, the threats of resistance, residues and ecotoxicity are of increasing concern to the future of chemotherapy. It is imperative that sustainable parasite control schemes be developed and implemented which will integrate a range of techniques to minimise anthelmintic use and still maintain high levels of profitability of the farming enterprise. At present, these need to focus on the better use of existing drugs to maximise their effectiveness and minimise the selection for resistance and impact on the environment. New drugs should also be used according to these principles. In the future it is expected that other non-chemotherapeutic options will become available, e.g. helminth vaccines, resistant hosts, biological control, nematode growth regulators, which will revolutionize the current thinking on nematode parasite control of livestock.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

School-health-based parasite control initiatives: extending successful Japanese policies to Asia and Africa.

Japan controlled its major parasitic diseases by the 1970s. Based on this experience, the Government of Japan proposed the Global Parasite Control Initiative in 1998 and established three research and training centres around the world. The Asian Centre of International Parasite Control (ACIPAC) is the first such centre, and completed five years of activities focused on school-health-based parasite control in the Greater Mekong Subregion in 2005. The lessons learned and experiences gained by ACIPAC should be applied to all health promotion programmes worldwide.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Towards the implementation of the "basket of options" approach to helminth parasite control of livestock: emphasis on the tropics/subtropics.

The virtual reliance on anthelmintic drugs alone to control internal parasites of livestock is inappropriate and ultimately unsustainable. In the tropics and subtropics, widespread and high levels of anthelmintic resistance, particularly in nematode parasites of small ruminants, is rife. But more to the point, many farmers in these regions of the world are resource poor and cannot afford, or are reluctant to purchase drugs that may also be of dubious quality. As it is with any intervention, the benefits must outweigh the costs. This is not only in terms of conventional parameters such as reduced mortality and increasing productivity (meat, milk, fibre and traction power) of livestock, but also within the broad framework of helminths of veterinary/human importance, the aim should be a positive impact on reducing the threat of helminth zoonoses. However, understanding the issues involved and education of the end-users (farmers) is of fundamental importance, before any internal parasite control program should be promoted. Within the above context, we provide examples of how the "basket of options" approach could be adopted for the control of three quite disparate helminth problems in the tropics and subtropics, viz.: strongyle nematode infections of donkeys, the Taenia solium cysticercosis/taeniosis problem of pig and man and Haemonchus contortus infections in small ruminants. The "best practice" approaches can be defined as those "basket of options" that are practical, affordable, available and appropriate, whether to the commercial producer, or to the resource-poor farmer. Constraints that may restrict applying such options are accessibility to, and affordability of, suitable remedies and above all, the availability of information needed to make informed decisions in this regard.

Animal Husbandry↗
PubMed2003

Global perspectives on nematode parasite control in ruminant livestock: the need to adopt alternatives to chemotherapy, with emphasis on biological control.

Effective, sustainable control of nematode parasites of grazing livestock is becoming evermore challenging and difficult. This is largely due to two contrasting issues. One is the rapid escalation of resistance to anthelmintic drugs, which is arguably the greatest problem now facing the small ruminant industries worldwide. Secondly, there is the increasing trend towards organic farming, in which there is prohibition of the prophylactic use of all chemical compounds. Livestock producers urgently need non-chemotherapeutic alternatives in parasite control. Researchers have responded to this challenge and a variety of quite different approaches have been the subject of intense investigation in many countries for several decades now. These vary in relation to their stage of development for on-farm use, their utility, and their applicability across the spectrum of grazing livestock enterprises throughout the world. One relatively recent innovation is the biological control approach to nematode parasites. This has now reached the stage of commercialization. This review focuses on these issues and provides an overview of the possible ways in which the biological control of nematode parasites could be employed in grazing ruminant livestock systems worldwide.

Animal Husbandry↗
PubMed1991

Implementation and evaluation of a strategic parasite control program for captive exotic ungulates.

A parasite control program was designed for greater than 1,200 exotic ungulates maintained in mixed-species enclosures at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Three strategically-timed anthelmintic treatments were given during 1988-1989, and their success was evaluated by monitoring pretreatment and posttreatment fecal egg counts. Adequate parasite control was achieved for animals in 52 ungulate species, as evidenced by low pretreatment egg counts and the absence of egg-shedding after treatment. However, animals belonging to 11 species in the subfamilies Antilopinae, Hippotraginae, and Caprinae were identified as important targets for more intensive control efforts because they shed either greater than 100 eggs/g of feces before treatment, or greater than 0 eggs/g after treatment, at 2 or more sampling periods. These results and observations were used to generate management recommendations and illustrate how a model parasite control program can be developed for collections of exotic ungulates.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

[Parasite control and its effect on the environment].

Chemical methods continue to be the primary means for control of parasites in medicine and veterinary medicine. Environmental concerns are raised mainly in the control of free living stages of parasites, intermediate hosts, vectors of diseases and in control of sanitary pests. Similarly, the type of application in case of sheep-dips and spraying of acaricides and insecticides in poultry houses against chicken mites is problematical. The now available bolus with ivermectin may cause a stronger impact on the cattle dung fauna and subsequent degradation of the dung as already known after injection and pour on.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

A survey of internal parasites and parasite control on North Island deer farms.

AIM: To evaluate internal parasite control practices and their effectiveness, and to investigate relationships between indices of parasitism and production outcomes by analysis of data collected during a deer herd health and production profiling project. METHODS: A longitudinal study of 15 red deer farms in the North Island of New Zealand was carried out from March 1992 to April 1994. Anthelmintic usage was recorded. Sentinel weaner, yearling and adult hinds and stags were blood and faecal sampled in early autumn, winter, spring and summer for serum pepsinogen and faecal egg and larval counts. A descriptive analysis of control programmes and egg and larval counts was produced. In addition, further measurements of parasitism and parasite control, including faecal egg count and faecal larval count data, individual pepsinogen concentrations, timing and numbers of anthelmintic treatments, and a farm calf faecal lungworm larvae count index were firstly subjected to univariate statistical association with production outcomes, followed by stepwise multivariable logistic regression analysis. Timing and numbers of anthelmintic treatments, along with other farm, herd or animal management risk factors, were included into path models. RESULTS: A wide range of anthelmintic programmes in all age groups, within farms between years and between farms was recorded. Weaner deer received three to nine treatments in their first year. Many farmers treated older deer in only one of the years of study. Older stags were treated more often than younger stags. Oxfendazole, ivermectin and moxidectin were the most commonly used anthelmintics. Egg and larval counts varied between properties and between years in some seasons but a higher proportion of deer shed larvae than eggs. In winter the number of weaners shedding eggs was the same as in autumn, but fewer shed lungworm larvae. Counts were lower at 12 months of age. Counts in older stags and hinds were highest in early spring, and counts were higher in yearling stags than in adult stags. Geometric mean pepsinogen concentration was lowest in weaners and rose to adult levels by early spring. Statistical analyses showed a lower weaning weight associated with higher faecal larval count index, and a reduced number of anthelmintic treatments prior to weaning. Weaners grew faster in spring after late winter anthelmintic treatment than those without treatment or with later treatments. There were inverse relationships between both farm mean weaner and adult serum pepsinogen and summer growth of weaners, and weaning percentage of adult hinds, respectively. CONCLUSION: This study has highlighted current parasite control practices, relationships between indices of parasitism and production outcomes, and has identified areas for further research into parasitism in farmed deer.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2001

Epidemiology of helminth infections: implications for parasite control programmes, a South African perspective.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the epidemiology of helminthic infections and the efficacy of parasite treatment among rural South African primary school children in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. To assess the South African government's parasite control policy. METHODS: The study recruited 268 school children, aged 8 to 10, and randomly allocated them into treatment and placebo groups (treatment consisted of a single dose of albendazole (400 mg) and praziquantel (40 mg/kg)). Anthropometric measurements and the prevalence and intensity of helminth infections were taken at baseline (prior to treatment) and 16 weeks post treatment. Two weeks after treatment prevalence and intensity were again measured for an approximate 50% sub-sample of the children to investigate efficacy of treatment. An analysis of the South African government's policies concerning parasite control is assessed in the light of these epidemiological findings. RESULTS: Low levels of both stunting and wasting were observed throughout the study (approximately 10% and 1%, respectively), but did not vary significantly across either treatment group or time period (P >0.50). At baseline the observed prevalences for the three main helminths found in this study among the treated children were Ascaris lumbricoides 29.5%, Trichuris trichiura 51.9% and Schistosoma haematobium 22.3%. These prevalences declined significantly to 4.7% (P <0.0005), 38.0% (P < 0.03), and 3.3% (P < 0.0002), respectively, 16 weeks post treatment. The majority of infections observed at baseline were of light intensity, namely A. lumbricoides (50%), T. trichiura (80%) and S. haematobium (100%), and following treatment these levels were reduced significantly (P <0.0001, P< 0.05 and P < 0.005, respectively). The levels of both prevalence and intensity in the untreated group remained constant. The cure rates over the first two weeks of the study were found to be 94.4% for A. lumbricoides, 40% for T. trichiura and 72.2% for S. haematobium. CONCLUSION: The benefits of targeted, school-based treatment in reducing the prevalence and intensity of infection supports the South African government's focus of using school-based interventions as part of an integrated parasite control programme. These strategies and programmes are consistent with recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) and The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Albendazole↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Prospects for integration of novel parasite control options into grazing systems.

Novel parasite control methods are considered under criteria of efficacy, cost, ease of implementation and sustainability, together with a subjective assessment of when they are likely to become available commercially. It is concluded that vaccines, genetically resistant hosts, biological control, anthelmintics directed against free-living stages, and grazing management will probably satisfy all of these criteria, but that most of these methods are at least 5-10 years away from commercial exploitation. The exception is grazing management, which can be used immediately and at low cost, to minimise current use of anthelmintics. Research is required to assess the possibility of control programs based on grazing management that avoid anthelmintic treatment altogether. Extension of such control programs, in a context of declining government enthusiasm for provision of agricultural extension services, may be their greatest barrier to widespread adoption.

Animal Husbandry↗
PubMed1991

[Implications of biological pest and parasite control for environment].

Biological control of parasites, vectors and pests must consider safety to non-target organisms and to the environment. The WHO safety procedure was discussed in respect to such agents as Bacillus thuringiensis, Romanomermis culicivorax, Gambusia affinis and others. Monitoring of the environment in which biological control treatments are performed is necessary to secure safety requirements as well as the efficiency of biological control programmes.

Environmental Monitoring↗
PubMed2004

Plant parasite control and soil fauna diversity.

The use of pesticides to control plant parasites and diseases has generated serious problems of public health and environmental quality, leading to the promotion of alternative Integrated Pest Management strategies that tend to rely more on natural processes and the active participation of farmers as observers and experimenters in their own fields. We present three case studies that point at different options provided by locally available populations of soil organisms, the maintenance of diverse populations of pests or increased resistance of plants to pest attacks by their interactions with earthworms and other useful soil organisms. These examples demonstrate the diversity of options offered by the non-planned agro-ecosystem diversity in pest control and the need to identify management options that maintain this biodiversity.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

A survey of equine parasite control practices in Tennessee.

A weighted, random sample of 130 horse owners in Tennessee was selected from subscribers to an equine newsletter published by the Agricultural Extension Service. Data about the participants' farms, horses, parasite control practices, and sources of information regarding equine parasite control were obtained through a telephone survey. The response rate was 98%. The typical respondent kept 4 horses on 2 pastures totaling 15 acres, and did not rotate pastures as a parasite control measure. The majority (83%) of horse owners indicated that they administered anthelmintics according to a regular schedule; 9% delayed deworming until the onset of weight loss. Proportions of owners deworming the various classes of horses at least 1, 2, 3, or 4 times annually were as follows: foals (0 to 6 months) 100, 60, 15, and 0%, respectively; weanlings (6 to 12 months) 100, 91, 32, and 0%, respectively; yearlings (1 to 2 years) 100, 100, 86, and 51%, respectively; and adults (greater than 2 years) 100, 94, 56, and 24%, respectively. Median treatments of yearlings and adults were evenly spaced at 6-, 4-, or 3-month intervals when the owners dewormed 2, 3, or 4 times annually, respectively. Mean intervals between treatments of foals and weanlings were less regular. Of the horse owners who dewormed 2 or more times annually, most (53 to 80%) used the same product exclusively for all treatments. In all age classes of horses, ivermectin paste (46 to 63%) was the most common product used, followed by tube deworming (23 to 38%) and use of benzimidazoles (4 to 16%).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1994

The distribution of nematode egg counts and larval counts in grazing sheep and their implications for parasite control.

The frequency distribution of gastrointestinal nematode egg and lungworm larval counts was examined in 101 and 87 naturally infected ewes on two farms. The egg and larval outputs of the two flocks followed the negative binomial pattern of distribution (with k values below unity) at each time of sampling, which suggests highly overdispersed worm burdens. The results of the statistical analysis indicated that a relatively small part of the two flocks was responsible for the excretion of the majority of both gastrointestinal nematode eggs and Dictyocaulus filaria larvae. It is concluded that by eliminating "wormy" individuals of flocks either by selective breeding or by their selective anthelmintic treatment, effective control of parasite transmission can be achieved. Because of the phenomenon of nematode "clumping" it seems necessary to expand new methods for estimation of flock productivity caused by nematodes in livestock and to incorporate negative binomial parameter (k) in mathematical models of nematode population dynamics.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Global parasite control initiative of Japan (Hashimoto Initiative).

The Asian Centre of International Parasite Control (ACIPAC) was established in Bangkok in March 2000 as a JICA technical cooperation project in collaboration with the Mahidol University and the Ministry of Public Health, Thailand. Since then, ACIPAC carried out its activities with emphasis on the establishment of the concept of school health-based parasite control in the Great Mekong sub-region countries. In addition to contributing human resource development through its training courses on school-based malaria and STH control for programme managers and also through small-scale pilot projects implemented in partner countries, ACIPAC proposed that schoolchildren should be considered as health partners rather than simple recipients of health services including deworming programmes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Production responses following strategic parasite control in a beef cow/calf herd.

Strategic parasite control has been reported to improve performance in a beef cow/calf herd that does not demonstrate clinical parasitism. This study was conducted to determine if strategic anthelmintic treatment at turnout and at midsummer would improve growth and reproduction. Two cow/calf groups of similar composition were grazed on separate, but equivalent pastures in the spring, and at midsummer, they were moved to new pastures. The treated group was given fenbendazole at tumout (cows) and at midsummer (cows and calves). The control group was not treated. The study was repeated in the following year. Across both years of the study, parasite egg counts were substantially reduced in both the treated cows (P < 0.005) and treated calves (P < 0.0001). The calves in the treated group significantly (P < 0.0001) outgained the control calves in both years of the study by 19.3 kg and 13.2 kg, respectively. Average daily gain (ADG) after adjusting for birth weight and birth date for treated calves was 0.13 kg greater than for control calves (0.83 vs 0.70) for the 2-year study (P < 0.0001) There was also a significant (P = 0.0357) increase in the reproductive performance of the cows. The pregnancy rate averaged across years was 94% for the treated cows compared to 82% for the control animals.

Animals↗