The first reported case of resistance of gastrointestinal nematodes to benzimidazole anthelmintic in goats in Poland.

Fecal egg count reduction (FECR) test with albendazole and egg hatch test (EHT) with thiabendazole (TBZ) were performed in a dairy goat herd suspected of anthelmintic resistance to benzimidazoles. The herd had been regularly dewormed with fenbendazole for 5 previous years and despite that it remained infected with several species of gastrointestinal nematodes (Trichostrongylus colubriformis, Teladorsagia circumcincta, and Haemonchus contortus). Albendazole was administered per os at dose of 20 mg/kg to 10 goats (treated group), while 10 other goats remained untreated (control group). Fecal egg count (FEC) was determined using McMaster egg counting method before and 7 days after the treatment in the treated group, and once (at the latter moment) in the control group. EHT was performed on the pooled rectal sample collected from treated goats. EHT comprised the negative control and 7 consecutive concentrations of TBZ (0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 μg/ml) according to the standard procedure. Two hundred eggs/larvae were counted to determine percentage of unhatched eggs, which was adjusted by the natural mortality. TBZ dose effective in preventing hatching of 50% of eggs (ED50) was determined using the log-probit transformation. Median FEC (range) before the treatment was 1000 (250–3450) epg in the treated group and dropped to 150 (50–500) epg after the treatment (p=0.005). Median FEC (range) after the treatment was also significantly lower in the treated than in control group (p=0.009), where it was 725 (0–5050) epg. FECR between the treated and control group was 81% (95% CI: 49%, 93%). FECR in the treated group was 83% and 74% based on average and individual approach, respectively. ED50 value of TBZ was 0.78 μg/ml. Only H. contortus persisted in the treated group after treatment. The results indicate resistance of H. contortus to a benzimidazole anthelmintic, which is the first such case reported in Polish goats.