Current status for gastrointestinal nematode diagnosis in small ruminants: where are we and where are we going?

Sarah Jane Margaret Preston,Jorge Gonzalez,David Piedrafita,Mark Sandeman

doi:10.1155/2014/210350

Sarah Jane Margaret Preston, Jorge Gonzalez + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/210350

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Abstract

Gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) parasites pose a significant economic burden particularly in small ruminant production systems. Anthelmintic resistance is a serious concern to the effective control of GIN parasites and has fuelled the focus to design and promote sustainable control of practices of parasite control. Many facets of sustainable GIN parasite control programs rely on the ability to diagnose infection both qualitatively and quantitatively. Diagnostics are required to determine anthelmintic efficacies, for targeted treatment programs and selection of animals for parasite resistant breeding. This review describes much of the research investigated to date to improve the current diagnostic for the above practices which is based on counting the number of parasite eggs in faeces.

Highlights

Small ruminant production systems worldwide are significantly constrained by gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) parasites, reducing meat, milk, and fibre production [1,2,3]
Sustainable control programs and guidelines (Table 1) have been introduced to small ruminant producers to prolong the effectiveness of anthelmintics whilst reducing the production loss caused by GIN parasite infections
Measurement of blood loss can indicate the presence of infection with a blood-feeding GIN parasite, such as H. contortus, and this parameter has been utilised as a diagnostic tool to target animals for anthelmintic treatment and selection of parasite resistant sheep

Summary

Introduction

Small ruminant (goats and sheep) production systems worldwide are significantly constrained by gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) parasites, reducing meat, milk, and fibre production [1,2,3]. Sustainable control programs and guidelines (Table 1) have been introduced to small ruminant producers to prolong the effectiveness of anthelmintics whilst reducing the production loss caused by GIN parasite infections (reviewed by [9,10,11,12,13]). These programs/guidelines involve a combination of chemical and nonchemical strategies to adequately control GIN parasites; the success or otherwise of these programs is reliant on an ability to diagnose the parasitic infections qualitatively and quantitatively to estimate the severity of the infection and the potential cost to production traits [14, 15]. Diagnostic assays that reliably measure the level of genetic resistance are required for such applications and a range of indicators have been or are being investigated and will be reviewed below

Ideal Characteristics of Diagnostic Markers for GIN Parasite Infections

Immune Cell Markers and Cytokines

Findings

Conclusion