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Abstract
Ovine parasitic gastroenteritis is a complex disease routinely treated using anthelmintics. Although many different strongyle species may contribute to parasitic gastroenteritis, not all are equally pathogenic: in temperate regions, the primary pathogen is Teladorsagia circumcincta. In this study we investigated benzimidazole and ivermectin resistance on a commercial sheep farm in southeast Scotland. We assessed the impact of species diversity on the diagnosis of resistance using the faecal egg count reduction test and in vitro bioassays, and correlated the results with the frequency of benzimidazole resistance-associated genotypes measured in the T. circumcincta population by pyrosequencing of the β-tubulin isotype-1 gene.Faecal egg count reduction test results showed efficacies of 65% for albendazole and 77% for ivermectin, indicating moderate resistance levels on the farm. However, PCR speciation of the same populations pre- and post-treatment revealed that removal of susceptible species had masked the presence of a highly resistant population of T. circumcincta. Less than 25% of individuals in the pre-treatment populations were T. circumcincta, the remainder consisting of Cooperia curticei, Chabertia ovina, Oesophagostomum venulosum and Trichostrongylus spp. In contrast, post-treatment with albendazole or ivermectin, the majority (88% and 100% respectively) of the populations consisted of T. circumcincta. The egg hatch test for benzimidazole resistance and the larval development test for ivermectin resistance were carried out using eggs obtained from the same populations and the results were broadly consistent with the faecal egg count reduction test. Thirty individual T. circumcincta from each sampling time point were assessed for benzimidazole resistance by pyrosequencing, revealing a high frequency and diversity of resistance-associated mutations, including within the population sampled post-ivermectin treatment.These results highlight the potential diversity of parasite species present on UK farms, and their importance in the diagnosis of anthelmintic resistance. On this particular farm, we demonstrate the presence of a highly dual-resistant population of T. circumcincta, which was strongly selected by treatment with either benzimidazoles or ivermectin, while other potentially less pathogenic species were removed.
Highlights
Parasitic gastroenteritis (PGE) is ubiquitous on UK sheep farms and is a significant production limiting disease (Sargison, 2011), resulting in poor weight gain, diarrhoea, dehydration, anaemia and death (Durham and Elliott, 1975)
This study describes a faecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) undertaken on a commercial sheep farm in southeast Scotland to compare BZ and IVM resistance status detected in the field, combined with in vitro phenotypic bioassays and pyrosequencing of the β-tubulin isotype-1 gene
The FECRTs for both BZ and IVM indicated the presence of anthelmintic resistance (Table 3)
Summary
Parasitic gastroenteritis (PGE) is ubiquitous on UK sheep farms and is a significant production limiting disease (Sargison, 2011), resulting in poor weight gain, diarrhoea, dehydration, anaemia and death (Durham and Elliott, 1975). The clinical diagnosis in live animals is underpinned by faecal egg counts (FECs) to detect and enumerate strongyle eggs. Broad-spectrum anthelmintics, including benzimidazoles (BZ) and ivermectin (IVM), are used to treat PGE but resistance is widespread (Kaplan and Vidyashankar, 2012). Anthelmintic efficacy is determined using a faecal egg count reduction test (FECRT). This involves faecal sampling a group of animals pre- and post-treatment (Coles et al, 2006), or comparison of a post-treatment group with a control group (Coles et al, 1992). The reduction in strongyle FEC is calculated to determine the anthelmintic efficacy. If the reduction is less than 95%, and the lower 95% confidence interval is less than 90%, anthelmintic resistance is diagnosed (Coles et al, 1992)
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