Parassitologia, Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Sassari, Sassari, Italy.
Acta Parasitol. 2022 Mar;67(1):362-368. doi: 10.1007/s11686-021-00470-9. Epub 2021 Oct 6.
In the fight against anthelmintic resistance, targeted selective treatments (TSTs), where only a small percentage of a flock receives treatment, have become increasingly popular. Overall, implementation of such treatments can be based on various parameters including Body condition score (BCS). As infection with non-bloodsucking nematodes, frequently encountered on sheep farms in the central Mediterranean basin, commonly causes bodyweight reduction, the aim of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of BCS as a parameter for the implementation of TSTs in lactating dairy sheep with subclinical gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) infections from the island of Sardinia, Italy.
Faecal samples from 1012 ewes divided into 2 groups (third and fifth month of lactation) were collected and their BCS recorded. Faecal egg counts and coprocultures were performed for the assessment of the GIN burden and identification of present species.
An overall GIN prevalence of 85.4% with a mean eggs per gram (EPG) of faeces of 210.1 ± 347.3 was found. Teladorsagia spp. and Trichostrongylus spp. were the GIN genera most identified. Overall, animals with the lowest BCS had the highest EPG values and a negative correlation (r = - 0.163) between the EPG values and BCS of the studied animals was found, which was most significant for older sheep.
This research confirmed BCSs and EPG values for GIN in sheep to be negatively correlated, particularly in older ewes. Application of TSTs for lactating sheep with a BCS < 2.25, especially to older ewes, could be beneficial in case of subclinical GIN infections, although further studies are needed to work out precise recommendation.
在对抗驱虫剂耐药性的斗争中，靶向选择性治疗（TST）越来越受欢迎，这种治疗方法只有一小部分羊群接受治疗。总的来说，这种治疗的实施可以基于各种参数，包括身体状况评分（BCS）。由于非吸血线虫的感染，在中地中海盆地的绵羊养殖场中经常发生，通常会导致体重减轻，因此本研究旨在评估 BCS 作为一种参数的有效性，用于在意大利撒丁岛患有亚临床胃肠道线虫（GIN）感染的哺乳期奶绵羊中实施 TST。
采集了来自 1012 只母羊的粪便样本，这些母羊分为两组（泌乳的第 3 个月和第 5 个月），并记录了它们的 BCS。进行粪便卵计数和粪培养，以评估 GIN 负担并鉴定现有的物种。
总体 GIN 流行率为 85.4%，粪便中的平均卵数（EPG）为 210.1±347.3。Teladorsagia spp. 和 Trichostrongylus spp. 是最常见的 GIN 属。总的来说，BCS 最低的动物 EPG 值最高，并且研究动物的 EPG 值和 BCS 之间存在负相关（r=-0.163），这种相关性在较老的绵羊中最为显著。
本研究证实了绵羊的 BCS 和 GIN 的 EPG 值呈负相关，尤其是在较老的母羊中。在亚临床 GIN 感染的情况下，对 BCS<2.25 的哺乳期绵羊应用 TST，特别是对较老的母羊，可能是有益的，尽管需要进一步的研究来制定出精确的建议。
