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Seeder calves infected with Dictyocaulus viviparus were used to contaminate a field divided into three similar paddocks. Twenty-four autumn-born calves were allocated to three matched groups; one group was given topical ivermectin treatments (0.5 mg/kg) at 3, 8 and 13 weeks after turnout (Day 0); each member of a second group was given an oxfendazole pulse-release intraruminal device (OPRB) at turnout; while a third group was kept as untreated controls to monitor the natural epidemiological pattern of events. Severe pasteurella pneumonia exacerbated by lungworm infection occurred in the controls after Day 24. Two died and repeated doses of antibiotic and anthelmintic therapy were necessary to save the remainder. Clinical signs were much milder in the ivermectin and OPRB groups and resolved with only a single dose of antibiotic. The OPRB group excreted some lungworm larvae at this time, but none was detected in the faeces of the ivermectin group during the grazing season. At housing, five calves from each group and four lungworm-naive calves were challenged with D. viviparus larvae. The infection became patent in all challenge-control calves, but no larvae were passed by any of the trial animals. Post-mortem worm-counts revealed percentage takes for the challenge controls, trial controls, ivermectin and OPRB groups of 16.7, 0.01, 0.9 and 0.2, respectively. All trial groups had therefore developed a substantial immunity.

Conventional chemoprophylaxis of canine toxocariasis is based upon the treatment of young puppies. It is proposed that physiological considerations and the complexity of the host-parasite relationship in the case of Toxocara canis demand that anthelmintic evaluation should properly be conducted in such animals rather than in adolescent or adult dogs. A screening model using the critical trial technique in early weaned pups gave variable results even with compounds known to be of high efficacy in older dogs. Circumstantial evidence suggested that this inconsistency may be related to the rate of passage of ingesta through such young animals. More satisfactory results were obtained by pairing unweaned naturally infected puppies by weight and sex and treating one of each pair with the test compound. Natural in utero and transmammary infection was found to give fairly consistent worm-burdens within each litter and a good indication of efficacy could therefore be estimated by comparing post mortem worm-counts. On this basis, the apparent efficacies of pyrantel pamoate (5 mg kg-1) and piperazine (100 mg kg-1) were found to be 83.5 and 82.5%, respectively. This method was extended to evaluate a prophylactic programme in which anthelmintic therapy was given to pups when aged 10, 20 and 30 days. Intestinal T. canis populations were reduced, at 35 days of age, by between 94.2% and 98.0%. This programme increased overall weight gains between 10 and 30 days of age by 18% (P less than 0.05) although there was great variation between litters. The biggest response was observed in male pups between 20 and 30 days old.

Three trials were conducted in southern England involving 120 autumn-born calves to evaluate the ability of an oxfendazole pulse-release intraruminal device (OPRB) to control parasitic gastroenteritis (PGE). Matched groups were set-stocked on adjacent paddocks. One group received an OPRB at turn-out; one was treated with an alternative chemoprophylactic programme; while the third acted as an untreated control. In each trial clinical PGE occurred in the latter group but not in OPRB or alternative strategy groups. The OPRB, the morantel sustained release bolus (MSRB) and fenbendazole administered at 3 and 6 weeks after turn-out gave similar weight-gain benefits when compared with untreated controls (P less than 0.01), but the growth rate of animals given regular levamisole treatments from July to housing was significantly poorer than the matching OPRB group (P less than 0.05) although better than controls. Faecal egg-output of OPRB calves was reduced by 97.0-99.9% compared with 95.5 and 58.9% for MSRB and fenbendazole treatments. Consequently, the late summer/autumn peaks in pasture larval counts were considerably reduced in all treatment groups other than the late-season levamisole strategy which reduced overall egg-output by only 37.6%. Serum pepsinogen and gastrin values confirmed a greater degree of abomasal disturbance in calves grazing on the more highly contaminated pastures. Incidental lungworm infections became clinically apparent in the control groups of two trials but not in any OPRB or alternative treatment group.