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Cases of parasite resistance to the main classes of anthelmintics are increasingly reported from small ruminants at farms in Europe. We visited a goat farm in Slovakia in November 2019 with suspected parasite problems that reduced productivity and performed an in vivo faecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) and an in vitro larval development test (LDT) for all three main classes of anthelmintics. The lowest efficacy (60 %) detected by FECRT was for ivermectin (IVM). Benzimidazole (BZ) efficacy ranged between 80.3 and 86.5 %, and levamisole (LEV) efficacy was 94 %. The results from the in vivo FECRT test were confirmed by the in vitro LDT. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) 173.6 ng/ml for IVM several times exceeded the recommended threshold of 21.6 ng/ml. Mean LD50 for BZ was equal to the threshold concentration, but the other threshold criteria indicated a low level of resistance in the population. The LDT did not indicate the presence of resistance only for LEV. The MIC 1.0 μg/ml for LEV was evaluated as susceptible with respect to species composition. Teladorsagia was the dominant genus after treatment with BZ, IVM, and LEV. Haemonchus contortus was identifi ed after treatment with BZ and LEV.

Considering the close contact of companion animals and humans, gastrointestinal parasitic zoonoses are very widespread and represent a high risk of transmission with the potential of severe consequences affecting the digestive tract of both humans and other animals. In this study we focused on enteric zoonoses caused by Toxocara canis nematode, Dipylidium caninum tapeworm and Giardia duodenalis protozoa. Our primary aim was to observe Toxocara canis egg excretion within the 27 consecutive days before and after orally treatment (2 Caniverm® tablets) on Day 13 in a naturally infected puppy. An average egg per gram (EPG) of T. canis detected by coprological quantitative McMaster method was 4558.33 and 666.66, before and after treatment, respectively. The percentage of faecal egg count reduction (%FECR) in in vivo Faecal Egg Count Reduction Test (FECRT) has confirmed an 85.37 % efficacy against T. canis. Secondly, the efficacy of Caniverm® against the tapeworm Dipylidium caninum was also determined. No D. caninum proglottides were detected on Day 14. The data showed 100 % effectiveness of the anthelmintic treatment. Metrobactin® 250 mg has been tested as experimental therapy against Giardia duodenalis on Day 3. On day 10, no cysts were observed in the faeces after per os ¼ tablet administration twice a day for 7 days.

Antiparasitic therapy in living ratites is based on the right dose and efficacy is only when the drug is pharmaceutically stable and safe. Ivermectin is considered to be the most widely used drug in the treatment of parasitosis in ruminants worlwide. For these reasons, in our study, we focused on the pharmaceutical investigation of ivermectin by SEM analysis of its powder particle shape and size, flow properties of solids (angle of repose, compressibility index, Hausner ratio) and zeta potential.

Our study describes changes in haematological parameters in wild ruminants with parasitic infection. Six European mouflons (Ovis musimon), six fallow deer (Dama dama) and six roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) were experimentally infected with the resistant strain of the model parasite 8000 L3 Haemonchus contortus. The blood samples were collected on Day 0, 16, 37, 58, 77, and 99 of the experiment. Mild anaemia was observed in mouflons and roe deer while red blood cells increased in red blood counts (total erythrocytes, haematocrit and haemoglobin). As for the white blood cells count, leucopenia with neutrophilia and lymphopenia was recorded in mouflons, in the fallow deer and roe deer leucocytosis with neutropenia and lymphocytosis were observed. Changes in the dynamics of haematological parameters were statistically insignificant.

This study determined the efficacies of four classes of anthelmintics (AH) in a goat flock where anthelmintic resistance (AR) to ivermectin was suspected. We selected and randomly distributed 105 animals with >500 eggs per gram of feces into seven groups of 15 animals: an untreated control group and groups treated with ivermectin, eprinomectin, albendazole sulfoxide, albendazole, levamisole, and closantel. The goats were individually weighed and treated with the recommended dose. Fecal samples were collected 14 days post-treatment to determine the fecal egg counts and for a fecal egg count reduction test (FECRT). Coprocultures were also performed for identifying any resistant genera. A molecular assay (polymerase chain reaction, PCR) was used to confirm benzimidazole resistance. The FECRTs for the ivermectin, eprinomectin, albendazole sulfoxide, and albendazole treatments were

The aim of this study was to identify the most common gastrointestinal (GI) parasites in flocks of dairy goats on 30 farms in Slovakia. A total of 944 adult goats were examined during the pasturing seasons for 2014 – 2016. Eggs from one or more species of gastrointestinal parasites were identified in 906 of the samples (95.90 %). Strongyle eggs were present in most of the samples (92.00 %), followed by Strongyloides papillosus (14.05 %), Trichuris spp. (7.84 %), Nematodirus spp. (3.98 %), and Moniezia spp. (2.65 %). The counts of strongyle eggs per gram of faeces ranged from 0 to 11 000. Subsamples from each farm were used to prepare faecal coprocultures to identify the genera of the nematodes. Third-stage larvae of Trichostrongylus spp. (100 %) and Teladorsagia/Ostertagia spp. (96.60 %) were present on most of the farms, followed by Oesophagostomum spp./Chabertia ovina (86.60 %) and Haemonchus contortus (76.60 %). Teladorsagia/Ostertagia spp. were the dominant genera on 60 % of the farms.

Gastrointestinal parasitic nematodes in sheep cause severe economic losses. Anthelmintics are the most commonly used drugs for prophylaxis and therapy against parasitic helminths. The problem of drug resistance has developed for all commercially available anthelmintics in several genera and classes of helminths. In vitro and in vivo tests are used to detect anthelmintic resistance. Two in vitro methods (larval migration inhibition test and micromotility test) for the detection of ivermectin (IVM) resistance were compared using IVM-resistant and IVM-susceptible isolates of Haemonchus contortus. The degree of resistance for each test was expressed as a resistance factor (RF). The micromotility test was more sensitive for quantitatively measuring the degree of resistance between susceptible and resistant isolates. The RFs for this test for IVM and eprinomectin ranged from 1.00 to 108.05 and from 3.87 to 32.32, respectively.

Cathaemasia hians is an obligate trematode parasite of Black storks that are on the List of protected birds in Europe. In the present study, adult trematodes were isolated from the Black stork post mortem and morphological study revealed C. hians species. In total, 10 worms were found in the oesophagus and the ventriculus of the bird. Histopathological examination of the tissue samples of oesophagus, proventriculus and ventriculus was performed on paraffin sections using a set of staining procedures. The sporadic lesions were seen in the tela submucosa of oesophagus containing connective tissue mast cells, eosinophils and heterophils and some foci were surrounded by the fibrous tissue. In addition, a few inflammatory nodules had larval-like material inside, probably being of the same species. There were no visible morphological alterations in the epithelial layer of lamina propria mucosae of proventriculus, rich in goblet cells as well as in the tela submucosa. Majority of trematodes were localized in the ventriculus, where the lamina propria mucosae was damaged or disrupted sporadically. In these sites, in the tela submucosa, a various food-originated inorganic/organic material and eggs of C. hians were deposited, stimulating a weak inflammatory response. Nodules containing larvae were not observed in any of ventriculus tissue layers. This study demonstrated, for the first time, infection with adults of C. hians trematode in the Black stork nesting in Slovakia. The presence of larvae and eggs in the tissues of the upper gastrointestinal tract of bird was associated with mild inflammatory response but feeding behaviour of adult worms in the ventriculus probably contributed to the enhanced susceptibility of the lamina propria mucosae to mechanical damage by inorganic material. Although larval stages have not yet been documented in the intermediate hosts in Slovakia, our report indicates that the life cycle of C. hians might occur in Central Europe.

Gastrointestinal nematodes pose a threat to animal health and affect farmers by negatively impacting farm management.

Gastrointestinal parasitic nematodes in sheep cause severe economic losses. Anthelmintics are the most commonly used drugs for prophylaxis and therapy against parasitic helminths. The problem of drug resistance has developed for all commercially available anthelmintics in several genera and classes of helminths. In vitro and in vivo tests are used to detect anthelmintic resistance. Two in vitro methods (larval migration inhibition test and micromotility test) for the detection of ivermectin (IVM) resistance were compared using IVM-resistant and IVM-susceptible isolates of Haemonchus contortus. The degree of resistance for each test was expressed as a resistance factor (RF). The micromotility test was more sensitive for quantitatively measuring the degree of resistance between susceptible and resistant isolates. The RFs for this test for IVM and eprinomectin ranged from 1.00 to 108.05 and from 3.87 to 32.32, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]