Infection build-up and development of immunity in calves following primary Dictyocaulus viviparus infections of different levels at the beginning or in the middle of the grazing season

Abstract

An experiment was carried out to study the build-up of infection and development of immunity against Dictyocaulus viviparus infections in calves. Six groups of four calves were used. Groups 1–5 grazed on separate pastures and Group 6 served as a permanently housed control group. To simulate ‘low’ and ‘very low’ overwintered pasture infectivity, Groups 1 and 2 were infected experimentally six times with ten and two larvae, respectively, during the first 3 weeks on pasture in May. From the middle of July, Groups 2–4 were experimentally infected six times in 3 weeks with 10, 10 and 100 larvae, respectively, to simulate ‘low’ and ‘moderate’ pasture contamination by carriers. Group 5 served as a non-infected pasture control group. After housing of Groups 1–5 in October, all calves were treated with oxfendazole and challenged with 5000 larvae of D. viviparus to evaluate the development of immunity. The results showed a similar population build-up of lungworm infections in Groups 1–4. After the beginning of patency, 24–35 days after primary infection, an increase in faecal larval counts occurred 31–35 days later as a result of re-infection. For Group 2, this was only true when the infections with a total of 12 larvae in May were ignored, as these did not result in patent infections. Faecal larval counts were highest in Group 4, which was the only group with mild signs of lungworm disease occurring in the re-infection period. The worm counts at necropsy showed the development of immunity in Groups 1–4 but not in Group 5. This is consistent with the fact that Group 5 did not develop patent lungworm infections throughout the grazing season.