Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università di Sassari, Sassari, Italy.
ACME s.r.l., Reggio Emilia, Italy.
Parasit Vectors. 2021 May 8;14(1):246. doi: 10.1186/s13071-021-04747-w.
Equine ascariosis, caused by Parascaris spp., is a worldwide endoparasitic disease affecting young horses in particular. Despite the great number of horses reared in Italy, large-scale epidemiological surveys dealing with ascariosis prevalence in the country are not reported in the current literature. For this reason, the present survey aims to describe, for the first time, the spread and infestation of Parascaris spp. in a large population of Italian horses (6896 animals) using faecal egg counts, and further to identify risk factors associated with ascarid egg shedding.
Individual rectal faecal samples collected during routine veterinary examinations were used and Parascaris spp. prevalence was tested against the animal's age, sex, housing conditions, geographic provenance as well as the respective sampling season.
Among the examined stables, 35.8% showed at least one horse to be positive for Parascaris spp. eggs and an overall prevalence of 6.3% was found. Ascariosis rates tended to decrease significantly with age and, proportionally, 80.0% of the recorded Parascaris spp. eggs were found in 0.7% of the examined animals. Statistically significant differences among prevalence rates were found between the different geographic areas of provenance and prevalence was found to be higher in horses reared outdoors compared to those raised indoors. Analysis of data based on sex and season did not show any significant differences. Despite the lower prevalence found compared to other European countries, ascariosis was concluded to represent a significant health challenge for horses reared in Italy, especially foals. Age (foals and yearlings) and outdoor rearing were identified to be significant risk factors for Parascaris spp. egg shedding. Furthermore, the relevance of the infected horses over 6 years of age should not be underestimated as these represent a significant source of contamination for younger animals.
The development of improved treatment protocols based on regular faecal examination combined with follow-up assessment of the efficacy of integrated action plans would prove beneficial in regard to animal health and anthelmintic resistance reduction in the field.
由 Parascaris 属引起的马蛔虫病是一种全球性的内寄生虫病，尤其影响幼马。尽管意大利有大量的马匹饲养，但在当前的文献中没有报道针对该国蛔虫病流行率的大规模流行病学调查。因此，本次调查旨在首次描述使用粪便虫卵计数法，在意大利的大量马匹（6896 匹马）中，Parascaris spp. 的传播和感染情况，并进一步确定与蛔虫卵排出相关的风险因素。
在常规兽医检查期间收集个体直肠粪便样本，并根据动物的年龄、性别、饲养条件、地理来源以及相应的采样季节来检测 Parascaris spp. 的流行率。
在所检查的马厩中，35.8%至少有一匹马对 Parascaris spp. 卵呈阳性，总体流行率为 6.3%。蛔虫病的发病率随着年龄的增长而显著下降，在所记录的 Parascaris spp. 卵中，80.0%出现在所检查动物的 0.7%中。不同地理来源的流行率之间存在统计学上的显著差异，户外饲养的马匹的流行率高于室内饲养的马匹。根据性别和季节进行数据分析未显示出任何显著差异。尽管与其他欧洲国家相比，意大利的蛔虫病流行率较低，但对于在意大利饲养的马匹，尤其是幼驹来说，蛔虫病仍是一个重大的健康挑战。年龄（幼驹和一岁马）和户外饲养被确定为 Parascaris spp. 卵排出的显著风险因素。此外，不应低估 6 岁以上感染马匹的重要性，因为它们是年轻动物的重要污染源。
基于定期粪便检查制定改进的治疗方案，并结合综合行动计划效果的后续评估，将有助于改善动物健康，并减少田间抗蠕虫药物的耐药性。
