Effect of ivermectin treatment on anti-hypodermin C titers of Asturiana cattle naturally infected with Hypoderma lineatum.

The collagenase (hypodermin C) from soluble crude extracts of Hypoderma lineatum 1st-instar larvae was purified by reverse-phase HPLC and used in a new indirect ELISA test. This pure protein had several advantages over the use of crude larval extracts allowing a much better discrimination between infested and non-infested cattle. The anti-hypodermin C titers of 19 Asturiana cattle were estimated over the course of a natural H. lineatum infestation cycle, in which the effect of ivermectin treatment was also investigated. The results showed differences in the onset and ending of the infestation with respect to those described for other European countries. The ivermectin treatment proved to be very effective and treated animals had relatively low anticollagenase titers.