Abstract
Parasites have had a significant impact on domestic ruminant health and production for a long time, but the emerging threat of drug resistance urgently requires an improved approach to parasite monitoring and control activities. The study reviewed the international literature to analyze the different proposals for the sampling approach and the quantitative estimation of parasite burdens in groups of animals. Moreover, the use of thresholds to decide when and which animal to treat was also investigated. The findings of the study highlighted the presence of a wide-ranging literature on quantitative monitoring for gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN), while more limited data were found for coccidia, and no specific indications were reported for tapeworms. Concerning liver flukes, bronchopulmonary nematodes (BPN) and permanent ectoparasites (lice and mange mites), the diagnostic process is usually aimed at the detection of the parasite rather than at the burden estimation. The main research gaps that need further investigation were also highlighted. For some groups of parasites (e.g., GIN and coccidia) the quantitative approach requires an improved standardization, while its usefulness needs to be confirmed for others (e.g., BPN and lice). The development of practical guidelines for monitoring is also encouraged.
Highlights
Parasites threaten animal welfare and the economic profitability of many ruminant farming systems worldwide [1,2]
We focused on three aspects of the host-based monitoring process, which are (1) the sampling approach, (2) the quantitative estimation and
Several studies have investigated the topic of the quantitative monitoring for endoparasites, and many of the published studies were methodological articles
Summary
Parasites threaten animal welfare and the economic profitability of many ruminant farming systems worldwide [1,2]. The occurrence of acaricide, insecticide and anthelmintic resistance (AR) is increasing at an alarming pace [3]. It is still not clear whether the treatment of ectoparasites with endectocides (i.e., macrocyclic lactones) is an effective driver of anthelmintic resistance for endoparasites [4], but some preliminary evidence already exists the other way round [5]. The control of parasites in ruminants generally relies on group-based diagnostics, since individual analyses and selective treatments are still logistically complex in many cases [7,8]. The group-based diagnostic approach should allow for a sufficiently precise determination of the parasitic burden at the herd/flock level, and possibly differentiate among sub-groups (e.g., young, first-year grazing animals, adult) [9] at the same time
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