Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-08T02:07:09.826Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Anthelmintic resistance of intestinal nematodes to ivermectin and pyrantel in Estonian horses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2014

B. Lassen  and
S.-M. Peltola
B. Lassen*
Affiliation:
Estonian University of Life Sciences, Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 62, 51014Tartu, Estonia
S.-M. Peltola
Affiliation:
Estonian University of Life Sciences, Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 62, 51014Tartu, Estonia
*
*Fax: +372 7313706 E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

There is evidence of resistance in horses to anthelmintic treatment using ivermectin and pyrantel. However, little information is available about the parasites, treatment practices or anthelmintic resistance in the horse population in Estonia. In the present study, we examined 41 trotting and riding horses aged < 3 years from four stables in Estonia. Faecal samples were collected, and horses were selected for treatment if the nematode egg count per gram faeces exceeded 200. Horses (n= 32) that shed strongyle-type eggs were treated with pyrantel, whereas Parascaris equorum-positive animals received ivermectin. Up to 78% of horses required anthelmintic treatment and the efficiency of the anthelmintics was evaluated using a faecal egg count reduction test. Resistance of P. equorum was observed in 50% of horses treated with ivermectin and of strongyles in 27% of horses treated with pyrantel. Ivermectin treatment resulted in a mean reduction of 100% for strongyle eggs and an 89% reduction in P. equorum, and pyrantel-treated horses exhibited an 88% reduction in strongyle eggs. These results are considered to be the first indication of resistance to pyrantel, but further studies of ivermectin resistance are required. According to questionnaires completed by the owners of horses, resistance might be explained by a lack of evidence-based strategies, a strong preference for using ivermectin and possibly a subjective evaluation of the body weight of horses.

Type
Short Communications
Information
Journal of Helminthology , Volume 89 , Issue 6 , November 2015 , pp. 760 - 763
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Fritzen, B., Rohn, K., Schnieder, T. & von Samson-Himmelstjerna, G. (2010) Endoparasite control management on horse farms – lessons from worm prevalence and questionnaire data. Equine Veterinary Journal 42, 79–83.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kaplan, R.M. (2002) Anthelmintic resistance in nematodes of horses. Veterinary Research 33, 491–507.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kaplan, R.M. & Nielsen, M.K. (2010) Tutorial article. An evidence-based approach to equine parasite control: it ain't the 60s anymore. Equine Veterinary Education 22, 306–316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Larsen, M.L., Ritz, C., Petersen, S.L. & Nielsen, M.K. (2011) Determination of ivermectin efficacy against cyathostomins and Parascaris equorum on horse farms using selective therapy. Veterinary Journal 188, 44–47.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lindgren, K., Ljungvall, Ö., Nilsson, O., Ljungström, B.-L., Lindahl, C. & Höglund, J. (2008) Parascaris equorum in foals and in their environment on Swedish stud farm, with notes on treatment failure of ivermectin. Veterinary Parasitology 151, 337–343.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lloyd, S., Smith, J., Connan, R.M., Hatcher, M.A., Hedges, T.R., Humphrey, D.J. & Jones, A.C. (2000) Parasite control methods used by horse owners: factors predisposing to the development of anthelmintic resistance in nematodes. Veterinary Record 146, 487–492.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Näreaho, A., Vainio, K. & Oksanen, A. (2011) Impaired efficacy of ivermectin against Parascaris equorum, and both ivermectin and pyrantel against strongyle infections in trotter foals in Finland. Veterinary Parasitology 182, 372–377.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Osterman Lind, E., Kuzmina, A., Uggla, A., Waller, P. & Höglund, J. (2007) A field study on the effect of some anthelmintics on cyathostomins of horses in Sweden. Veterinary Research Communications 31, 53–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saari, S. & Nikander, S. (2009) Elinympäristöna hevonen – hevosen loiset ja loissairaudet. Helsingin yliopisto. 120 pp. Helsinki, Pfizer Animal Health (in Finnish).Google Scholar
Traversa, D., von Samson-Himmelstjerna, G., Demeler, J., Milillo, P., Schürmann, S., Barnes, H., Otranto, D., Perrucci, S., Frangipane di Regalbono, A., Beraldo, P., Boeckh, A. & Cobb, R. (2009) Anthelmintic resistance in cyathostomin populations from horseyards in Italy, United Kingdom and Germany. Parasites & Vectors 2 (Suppl. 2), S2.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vyšniauskas, A., Kaziūnaitė, V., Kaminskaitė, I., Petkevičius, S. & Craven, B.J. (2004) The role of extense efficacy in the evaluation of anthelmintic resistance in horse strongyles. Helminthologia 41, 73–79.Google Scholar