Studies on epidemiology and anthelmintic resistance in gastrointestinal nematodes of cattle under different management systems in Haryana
Abstract
The epidemiology of gastro intestinal nematodes of cattle was studied for one year starting
from June, 2016 to May, 2017 to know the prevalence of nematodes in cattle (>3 years of age) in
relation to temperature, rainfall and relative humidity under different management systems i.e. small
holder dairy unit, commercial dairy farm, large organised farm and Gaushala in Haryana. The eggs of
strongyle spp. and Strongyloides sp. were found in faeces of naturally infected cattle throughout the
study period under different cattle management systems. The eggs of strongyle spp. were found higher
as compared to Strongyloides sp. throughout the year. However, the egg per gram of these animals was
found very low under all management systems throughout the year indicating very low grade of
infection. Out of four systems, incidence and severity of gastro intestinal nematodes was found
statistically higher (P< 0.05) in small holder dairy production system as compared to other three
systems. The infection of gastro intestinal nematodes was higher in small holder dairy production
system in the rainy season, while in Gaushala and large organized dairy farm it was found to be higher
in summer season. In commercial dairy farm it was almost equal in summer and winter season.For
anthelmintic resistance studies, twenty four cattle under small holder dairy units with egg per gram
(EPG) of more than or equal to 150 were divided into 4 groups of 6 animals each. Groups I, II and III
were administered fenbendazole (5mg/ kg body weight, orally), morantal (10mg/ kg body weight,
orally) and ivermectin (0.2mg/ kg body weight, subcutaneously), respectively. Group IV served as the
untreated control. Faecal samples were collected on 14th day after treatment from animals of all groups
and individual faecal egg counts were determined by modified McMaster technique. Faecal egg count
reduction percentage in groups I, II and III were 87.32, 100 and 100%, respectively. Identification of
infective larvae from pre treatment faecal cultures revealed the predominance of Haemonchus spp.
Larvae identified in post treatment culture of fenbendazole treated group were only Haemonchus spp.
No larvae were recovered from group II and III.This indicates presence of slight fenbendazole
resistance to Haemonchus spp. and no resistance to morantel and ivermectin in cattle. This is the first
report of fenbendazole resistance to Haemonchus spp. in cattle from India.
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