Do Live Weight, Body Condition Score, Back Muscle or Back-Fat Reserves Create the Suspicion of Goats Infected with Eimeria or Trichostrongylids?

Thirty goats of the breeds Czech Brown Shorthaired and Czech White Shorthaired and their crosses were randomly selected from a flock at a farm in the Czech Republic. All animals were monitored for one year at monthly intervals for their nutritional status (live weight, LW; body-condition score, BCS; depth of musculus longissimus thoracis et lumborum, MLTL; back-fat thickness, BT) and infection intensity with Eimeria sp. (EIM) and strongylid nematodes (STR). Regression-correlation analysis showed a possible interrelation of BCS with EIM infection. Analysis of muscle and fat reserves indicated that BT was better than MLTL in identifying EIM infection. Goat nutritional status was not significantly correlated with STR infection. A linear tendency (p = 0.092), however, was detected for the response of MLTL to STR infection. Results of this study indicated theoretical use of BCS for Eimeria identification and suggested some perspective of BCS for targeting animals infected by strongylid nematode. Validity of our results, however, was limited by number of observed animals managed under specific breeding conditions.

The identification and semi-quantitative assessment of gastrointestinal nematodes in faecal samples using multiplex real-time PCR assays.

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) infections in ruminants is routinely based on morphological/morphometric analysis of parasite specimens recovered by coprological methods, followed by larval culture (LC) techniques. Such an approach is laborious, time-consuming, requires a skilled expert, and moreover suffers from certain limitations. Molecular tools are able to overcome the majority of these issues, providing accurate identification of nematode species and, therefore, may be valuable in sustainable parasite control strategies. METHODS: Two multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays for specific detection of five main and one invasive GIN species, including an internal amplification control to avoid false-negative results, were designed targeting SSU rRNA and COI genetic markers, as well as established ITS1/2 sequences. The assays were optimized for analysis of DNA extracted directly from sheep faeces and verified for Haemonchus contortus, Teladorsagia circumcincta, Trichostrongylus colubriformis, Nematodirus battus, Chabertia ovina, and Ashworthius sidemi. Semi-quantitative evaluation of infection intensity was enabled using a plasmid construct and a dilution series of sheep faeces with a known number of nematode eggs. Assays were tested on 44 individually collected faecal samples from three farms, and results were compared to those from faecal egg counts (FEC) using the concentration McMaster technique and LC. RESULTS: Multiplex real-time PCR assays showed great specificity to target nematodes. During the analysis of faecal samples, the assays proved to have higher sensitivity in strongylid-type egg detection over FEC by revealing three false-negative samples, while showing moderate agreement in evaluation of infection intensity. The multiplex assays further clarified GIN species identification compared to LC, which had confused determination of Teladorsagia spp. for Trichostrongylus spp. CONCLUSIONS: Our multiplex assays proved to be a rapid and accurate approach enabling simultaneous and reliable GIN species identification from faeces and semi-quantitative estimation of the number of eggs present. This approach increases diagnostic value and may add a high degree of precision to evaluation of anthelmintic efficacy, where it is important to identify species surviving after treatment.

Resistance of strongylid nematodes to anthelmintic drugs and driving factors at Czech goat farms.

BACKGROUND: Strongylid nematode infections may negatively affect both animal health and welfare, with deleterious consequences for livestock productivity. Many farmers in recent decades have relied on anthelmintics as the sole strategy of control, but the intensive use of these chemotherapeutics has led to the development of anthelmintic resistance (AR). Knowledge of both the efficacy of anthelmintics and factors promoting AR are essential to effectively control nematode infections, but no information on these topics for goats in the Czech Republic (CR) is available. This survey aimed to determine the occurrence of AR at Czech goat farms and to identify risk factors for the development of AR. A total of 24 herds of dairy goats across the CR were evaluated using in vitro tests for detecting AR, and a questionnaire survey was carried out to evaluate factors associated with AR. RESULTS: Resistance against benzimidazoles was confirmed at 18 (75%) farms, and the level of resistance was high in four (22%) of the affected herds based on the egg hatch test. Ivermectin-resistant nematodes were detected in 13 (54%) herds using the larval development test; Teladorsagia/Trichostrongylus and Haemonchus were the predominant types of resistant larvae. Eight (62%) of the affected herds were evaluated as highly resistant to ivermectin. Eleven (46%) of the herds were resistant to both benzimidazoles and ivermectin. This report is the first on dual AR in the CR. A univariate logistic regression analysis indicated that a high stocking rate and farmer inexperience were significantly associated with ivermectin and benzimidazole resistance, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our survey suggest that AR is widespread amongst herds of dairy goats in the CR, likely due to inappropriate practices of pasture and health management. AR may be an issue for expanding dairy-goat production in the CR in the near future unless both veterinary practitioners and farmers widely adopt strategies to prevent the development of AR.

A Qualitative Market Analysis Applied to Mini-FLOTAC and Fill-FLOTAC for Diagnosis of Helminth Infections in Ruminants.

Helminth infections, mainly by gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN), are one of the main concerns for animal health, welfare and productivity in grazing ruminant livestock worldwide. The use of a sensitive, precise, accurate, low-cost, and easy-to-perform copromicroscopic technique is of pivotal importance to perform reliable fecal egg count (FEC) and fecal egg count reduction test (FECRT), in order to determine the need of anthelmintic treatment, but also anthelmintic efficacy or resistance. This approach is fundamental to a correct and efficient control of GIN. Unfortunately, in worldwide ruminant farm practice, repeated anthelmintic treatments are carried out, without prior diagnosis of infection, contributing to the spread of Anthelmintic Resistance (AR). Tackling this phenomenon, improving mainly the GIN diagnosis and AR status in farm animals, is a priority of the European COST Action "COMBAR-COMBatting Anthelmintic Resistance in Ruminants" and of the STAR-IDAZ International Research Consortium on Animal Health. One of the specific objectives of the COMBAR Working Group 1 (WG1) is to conduct an European market analysis of new diagnostics and develop a business plan for commercial test introduction, leveraging technical know-how of participants. Since the Mini-FLOTAC in combination with the Fill-FLOTAC may be considered a good candidate for a standardized FEC and FECRT in the laboratory, as well as directly in the field, the aim of this study was to conduct SWOT (Strength-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats) and PESTEL (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal) analyses of these tools in 20 European countries involved in the COMBAR WG1, in order to identify the opportunities, barriers, and challenges that might affect the Mini-FLOTAC and Fill-FLOTAC commercialization in Europe.